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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ardath, by Marie Corelli
+#9 in our series by Marie Corelli
+
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+Title: Ardath
+       The Story of a Dead Self
+
+Author: Marie Corelli
+
+Release Date: February, 2004 [EBook #5114]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on May 1, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARDATH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+ARDATH
+
+THE STORY OF A DEAD SELF
+
+
+BY MARIE CORELLI
+
+
+AUTHOR OF "THELMA," ETC.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PART I.--SAINT AND SCEPTIC
+
+
+     "What merest whim
+     Seems all this poor endeavor after Fame
+     To one who keeps within his steadfast aim
+     A love immortal, an Immortal too!
+     Look not so 'wildered, for these things are true
+     And never can be borne of atomics
+     That buzz about our slumbers like brain-flies
+     Leaving us fancy-sick. No, I am sure
+     My restless spirit never could endure
+     To brood so long upon one luxury.
+     Unless it did, though fearfully, espy
+     A HOPE BEYOND THE SHADOW OF A DREAM!"
+
+             KEATS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE MONASTERY.
+
+
+Deep in the heart of the Caucasus mountains a wild storm was
+gathering. Drear shadows drooped and thickened above the Pass of
+Dariel,--that terrific gorge which like a mere thread seems to
+hang between the toppling frost-bound heights above and the black
+abysmal depths below,--clouds, fringed ominously with lurid green
+and white, drifted heavily yet swiftly across the jagged peaks
+where, looming largely out of the mist, the snow-capped crest of
+Mount Kazbek rose coldly white against the darkness of the
+threatening sky. Night was approaching, though away to the west a
+road gash of crimson, a seeming wound in the breast of heaven,
+showed where the sun had set an hour since. Now and again the
+rising wind moaned sobbingly through the tall and spectral pines
+that, with knotted roots fast clenched in the reluctant earth,
+clung tenaciously to their stony vantageground; and mingling with
+its wailing murmur, there came a distant hoarse roaring as of
+tumbling torrents, while at far-off intervals could be heard the
+sweeping thud of an avalanche slipping from point to point on its
+disastrous downward way. Through the wreathing vapors the steep,
+bare sides of the near mountains were pallidly visible, their icy
+pinnacles, like uplifted daggers, piercing with sharp glitter the
+density of the low-hanging haze, from which large drops of
+moisture began presently to ooze rather than fall. Gradually the
+wind increased, and soon with sudden fierce gusts shook the pine-
+trees into shuddering anxiety,--the red slit in the sky closed,
+and a gleam of forked lightning leaped athwart the driving
+darkness. An appalling crash of thunder followed almost
+instantaneously, its deep boom vibrating in sullenly grand echoes
+on all sides of the Pass, and then--with a swirling, hissing rush
+of rain--the unbound hurricane burst forth alive and furious. On,
+on! splitting huge boughs and flinging them aside like straws,
+swelling the rivers into riotous floods that swept hither and
+thither, carrying with them masses of rock and stone and tons of
+loosened snow--on, on! with pitiless force and destructive haste,
+the tempest rolled, thundered, and shrieked its way through
+Dariel. As the night darkened and the clamor of the conflicting
+elements grew more sustained and violent, a sudden sweet sound
+floated softly through the turbulent air--the slow, measured
+tolling of a bell. To and fro, to and fro, the silvery chime swung
+with mild distinctness--it was the vesper-bell ringing in the
+Monastery of Lars far up among the crags crowning the ravine.
+There the wind roared and blustered its loudest; it whirled round
+and round the quaint castellated building, battering the gates and
+moving their heavy iron hinges to a most dolorous groaning; it
+flung rattling hailstones at the narrow windows, and raged and
+howled at every corner and through every crevice; while snaky
+twists of lightning played threateningly over the tall iron Cross
+that surmounted the roof, as though bent on striking it down and
+splitting open the firm old walls it guarded. All was war and
+tumult without:--but within, a tranquil peace prevailed, enhanced
+by the grave murmur of organ music; men's voices mingling together
+in mellow unison chanted the Magnificat, and the uplifted steady
+harmony of the grand old anthem rose triumphantly above the noise
+of the storm. The monks who inhabited this mountain eyrie, once a
+fortress, now a religious refuge, were assembled in their little
+chapel--a sort of grotto roughly hewn out of the natural rock.
+Fifteen in number, they stood in rows of three abreast, their
+white woollen robes touching the ground, their white cowls thrown
+back, and their dark faces and flashing eyes turned devoutly
+toward the altar whereon blazed in strange and solitary brilliancy
+a Cross of Fire. At the first glance it was easy to see that they
+were a peculiar Community devoted to some peculiar form of
+worship, for their costume was totally different in character and
+detail from any such as are worn by the various religious
+fraternities of the Greek, Roman, or Armenian faith, and one
+especial feature of their outward appearance served as a
+distinctly marked sign of their severance from all known monastic
+orders--this was the absence of the disfiguring tonsure. They were
+all fine-looking men seemingly in the prime of life, and they
+intoned the Magnificat not drowsily or droningly, but with a rich
+tunefulness and warmth of utterance that stirred to a faint
+surprise and contempt the jaded spirit of one reluctant listener
+present among them. This was a stranger who had arrived that
+evening at the monastery, and who intended remaining there for the
+night--a man of distinguished and somewhat haughty bearing, with a
+dark, sorrowful, poetic face, chiefly remarkable for its mingled
+expression of dreamy ardor and cold scorn, an expression such as
+the unknown sculptor of Hadrian's era caught and fixed in the
+marble of his ivy-crowned Bacchus-Antinous, whose half-sweet,
+half-cruel smile suggests a perpetual doubt of all things and all
+men. He was clad in the rough-and-ready garb of the travelling
+Englishman, and his athletic figure in its plain-cut modern attire
+looked curiously out of place in that mysterious grotto which,
+with its rocky walls and flaming symbol of salvation, seem suited
+only to the picturesque prophet-like forms of the white-gowned
+brethren whom he now surveyed, as he stood behind their ranks,
+with a gleam of something like mockery in his proud, weary eyes.
+
+"What sort of fellows are these?" he mused--"fools or knaves? They
+must be one or the other,--else they would not thus chant praises
+to a Deity of whose existence there is, and can be, no proof. It
+is either sheer ignorance or hypocrisy,--or both combined. I can
+pardon ignorance, but not hypocrisy; for however dreary the
+results of Truth, yet Truth alone prevails; its killing bolt
+destroys the illusive beauty of the Universe, but what then? Is it
+not better so than that the Universe should continue to seem
+beautiful only through the medium of a lie?"
+
+His straight brows drew together in a puzzled, frowning line as he
+asked himself this question, and he moved restlessly. He was
+becoming impatient; the chanting of the monks grew monotonous to
+his ears; the lighted cross on the altar dazzled him with its
+glare. Moreover he disliked all forms of religious service, though
+as a lover of classic lore it is probable he would have witnessed
+a celebration in honor of Apollo or Diana with the liveliest
+interest. But the very name of Christianity was obnoxious to him.
+Like Shelley, he considered that creed a vulgar and barbarous
+superstition. Like Shelley, he inquired, "If God has spoken, why
+is the world not convinced?" He began to wish he had never set
+foot inside this abode of what he deemed a pretended sanctity,
+although as a matter of fact he had a special purpose of his own
+in visiting the place-a purpose so utterly at variance with the
+professed tenets of his present life and character that the mere
+thought of it secretly irritated him, even while he was determined
+to accomplish it. As yet he had only made acquaintance with two of
+the monks, courteous, good-humored personages, who had received
+him on his arrival with the customary hospitality which it was the
+rule of the monastery to afford to all belated wayfarers
+journeying across the perilous Pass of Dariel. They had asked him
+no questions as to his name or nation, they had simply seen in him
+a stranger overtaken by the storm and in need of shelter, and had
+entertained him accordingly. They had conducted him to the
+refectory, where a well-piled log fire was cheerfully blazing, and
+there had set before him an excellent supper, flavored with
+equally excellent wine. He had, however, scarcely begun to
+converse with them when the vesper-bell had rung, and, obedient to
+its summons, they had hurried away, leaving him to enjoy his
+repast in solitude. When he had finished it, he had sat for a
+while dreamily listening to the solemn strains of the organ, which
+penetrated to every part of the building, and then moved by a
+vague curiosity to see how many men there were dwelling thus
+together in this lonely retreat, perched like an eagle's nest
+among the frozen heights of Caucasus, he had managed to find his
+way, guided by the sound of the music, through various long
+corridors and narrow twisting passages, into the cavernous grot
+where he now stood, feeling infinitely bored and listlessly
+dissatisfied. His primary object in entering the chapel had been
+to get a good full view of the monks, and of their faces
+especially,--but at present this was impossible, as from the
+position he was obliged to occupy behind them their backs alone
+were visible.
+
+"And who knows," he thought moodily, "how long they will go on
+intoning their dreary Latin doggerel? Priestcraft and Sham!
+There's no escape from it anywhere, not even in the wilds of
+Caucasus! I wonder if the man I seek is really here, or whether
+after all I have been misled? There are so many contradictory
+stories told about him that one doesn't know what to believe. It
+seems incredible that he should be a monk; it is such an
+altogether foolish ending to an intellectual career. For whatever
+may be the form of faith professed by this particular fraternity,
+the absurdity of the whole system of religion remains the same.
+Religion's day is done; the very sense of worship is a mere coward
+instinct--a relic of barbarism which is being gradually eradicated
+from our natures by the progress of civilization. The world knows
+by this time that creation is an empty jest; we are all beginning
+to understand its bathos! And if we must grant that there is some
+mischievous supreme Farceur who, safely shrouded in invisibility,
+continues to perpetrate so poor and purposeless a joke for his own
+amusement and our torture, we need not, for that matter, admire
+his wit or flatter his ingenuity! For life is nothing but vexation
+and suffering; are we dogs that we should lick the hand that
+crushes us?"
+
+At that moment, the chanting suddenly ceased. The organ went on,
+as though musically meditating to itself in minor cords, through
+which soft upper notes, like touches of light on a dark landscape,
+flickered ripplingly,--one monk separated himself from the
+clustered group, and stepping slowly up to the altar, confronted
+the rest of his brethren. The fiery Cross shone radiantly behind
+him, its beams seeming to gather in a lustrous halo round his
+tall, majestic figure,--his countenance, fully illumined and
+clearly visible, was one never to be forgotten for the striking
+force, sweetness, and dignity expressed in its every feature. The
+veriest scoffer that ever made mock of fine beliefs and fair
+virtues must have been momentarily awed and silenced in the
+presence of such a man as this,--a man upon whom the grace of a
+perfect life seemed to have fallen like a royal robe, investing
+even his outward appearance with spiritual authority and grandeur.
+At sight of him, the stranger's indifferent air rapidly changed to
+one of eager interest,--leaning forward, he regarded him intently
+with a look of mingled astonishment and unwilling admiration,--the
+monk meanwhile extended his hands as though in blessing and spoke
+aloud, his Latin words echoing through the rocky temple with the
+measured utterance of poetical rhythm. Translated they ran thus:
+
+"Glory to God, the Most High, the Supreme and Eternal!"
+
+And with one harmonious murmur of accord the brethren responded:
+
+"GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!"
+
+"Glory to God, the Ruler of Spirits and Master of Angels!"
+
+"GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!"
+
+"Glory to God who in love never wearies of loving!"
+
+"GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!"
+
+"Glory to God in the Name of His Christ our Redeemer!"
+
+"GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!"
+
+"Glory to God for the joys of the Past, the Present and Future!"
+
+"GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!"
+
+"Glory to God for the Power of Will and the working of Wisdom!"
+
+"GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!"
+
+"Glory to God for the briefness of life, the gladness of death,
+and the promised Immortal Hereafter!"
+
+"GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN!"
+
+Then came a pause, during which the thunder outside added a
+tumultuous Gloria of its own to those already recited,--the organ
+music died away into silence, and the monk now turning so that he
+faced the altar, sank reverently on his knees. All present
+followed his example, with the exception of the stranger, who, as
+if in deliberate defiance, drew himself resolutely up to his full
+height, and, folding his arms, gazed at the scene before him with
+a perfectly unmoved demeanor,--he expected to hear some long
+prayer, but none came. There was an absolute stillness, unbroken
+save by the rattle of the rain-drops against the high oriel
+window, and the whistling rush of the wind. And as he looked, the
+fiery Cross began to grow dim and pale,--little by little, its
+scintillating lustre decreased, till at last it disappeared
+altogether, leaving no trace of its former brilliancy but a small
+bright flame that gradually took the shape of a seven-pointed Star
+which sparkled through the gloom like a suspended ruby. The chapel
+was left almost in complete darkness--he could scarcely discern
+even the white figures of the kneeling worshippers,--a haunting
+sense of the Supernatural seemed to permeate that deep hush and
+dense shadow,--and notwithstanding his habitual tendency to
+despise all religious ceremonies, there was something novel and
+strange about this one which exercised a peculiar influence upon
+his imagination. A sudden odd fancy possessed him that there were
+others present besides himself and the brethren,--but who these
+"others" were, he could not determine. It was an altogether
+uncanny, uncomfortable impression--yet it was very strong upon
+him--and he breathed a sigh of intense relief when he heard the
+soft melody of the organ once more, and saw the oaken doors of the
+grotto swing wide open to admit a flood of cheerful light from the
+outer passage. The vespers were over,--the monks rose and paced
+forth two by two, not with bent heads and downcast eyes as though
+affecting an abased humility, but with the free and stately
+bearing of kings returning from some high conquest. Drawing a
+little further back into his retired corner, he watched them pass,
+and was forced to admit to himself that he had seldom or never
+seen finer types of splendid, healthful, and vigorous manhood at
+its best and brightest. As noble specimens of the human race alone
+they were well worth looking at,--they might have been warriors,
+princes, emperors, he thought--anything but monks. Yet monks they
+were, and followers of that Christian creed he so specially
+condemned,--for each one wore on his breast a massive golden
+crucifix, hung to a chain and fastened with a jewelled star.
+
+"Cross and Star!" he mused, as he noticed this brilliant and
+singular decoration, "an emblem of the fraternity, I suppose,
+meaning ... what? Salvation and Immortality? Alas, they are poor,
+witless builders on shifting sand if they place any hope or
+reliance on those two empty words, signifying nothing! Do they,
+can they honestly believe in God, I wonder? or are they only
+acting the usual worn-out comedy of a feigned faith?"
+
+And he eyed them somewhat wistfully as their white apparelled
+figures went by--ten had already left the chapel. Two more passed,
+then other two, and last of all came one alone--one who walked
+slowly, with a dreamy, meditative air, as though he were deeply
+absorbed in thought. The light from the open door streamed fully
+upon him as he advanced--it was the monk who had recited the Seven
+Glorias. The stranger no sooner beheld him than he instantly
+stepped forward and touched him on the arm.
+
+"Pardon!" he said hastily in English, "I think I am not mistaken--
+your name is, or used to be Heliobas?"
+
+The monk bent his handsome head in a slight yet graceful
+salutation, and smiled.
+
+"I have not changed it," he replied, "I am Heliobas still." And
+his keen, steadfast, blue eyes rested half inquiringly, half
+compassionately, on the dark, weary, troubled face of his
+questioner who, avoiding his direct gaze, continued:
+
+"I should like to speak to you in private. Can I do so now--to-
+night--at once?"
+
+"By all means!" assented the monk, showing no surprise at the
+request. "Follow me to the library, we shall be quite alone
+there."
+
+He led the way immediately out of the chapel, and through a stone-
+paved vestibule, where they were met by the two brethren who had
+first received and entertained the unknown guest, and who, not
+finding him in the refectory where they had left him, were now
+coming in search of him. On seeing in whose company he was,
+however, they drew aside with a deep and reverential obeisance to
+the personage called Heliobas--he, silently acknowledging it,
+passed on, closely attended by the stranger, till he reached a
+spacious, well-lighted apartment, the walls of which were entirely
+lined with books. Here, entering and closing the door, he turned
+and confronted his visitor--his tall, imposing figure in its
+trailing white garments calling to mind the picture of some saint
+or evangelist--and with grave yet kindly courtesy, said:
+
+"Now, my friend, I am at your disposal! In what way can Heliobas,
+who is dead to the world, serve one for whom surely as yet the
+world is everything?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+CONFESSION.
+
+
+His question was not very promptly answered. The stranger stood
+still, regarding him intently for two of three minutes with a look
+of peculiar pensiveness and abstraction, the heavy double fringe
+of his long dark lashes giving an almost drowsy pathos to his
+proud and earnest eyes. Soon, however, this absorbed expression
+changed to one of sombre scorn.
+
+"The world!" he said slowly and bitterly. "You think _I_ care for
+the world? Then you read me wrongly at the very outset of our
+interview, and your once reputed skill as a Seer goes for naught!
+To me the world is a graveyard full of dead, worm-eaten things,
+and its supposititious Creator, whom you have so be praised in
+your orisons to-night, is the Sexton who entombs, and the Ghoul
+who devours his own hapless Creation! I myself am one of the
+tortured and dying, and I have sought you simply that you may
+trick me into a brief oblivion of my doom, and mock me with the
+mirage of a life that is not and can never be! How can you serve
+me? Give me a few hours' respite from wretchedness! that is all I
+ask!"
+
+As he spoke his face grew blanched and haggard, as though he
+suffered from some painfully repressed inward agony. The monk
+Heliobas heard him with an air of attentive patience, but said
+nothing; he therefore, after waiting for a reply and receiving
+none, went on in colder and more even tones:
+
+"I dare say my words seem strange to you--though they should not
+do so if, as reported, you have studied all the varying phases of
+that purely intellectual despair which, in this age of excessive
+over-culture, crushes men who learn too much and think too deeply.
+But before going further I had better introduce myself. My name is
+Alwyn ..."
+
+"Theos Alwyn, the English author, I presume?" interposed the monk
+interrogatively.
+
+"Why, yes!" this in accents of extreme surprise--"how did you know
+that!"
+
+"Your celebrity," politely suggested Heliobas, with a wave of the
+hand and an enigmatical smile that might have meant anything or
+nothing.
+
+Alwyn colored a little. "Your mistake," he said indifferently, "I
+have no celebrity. The celebrities of my country are few, and
+among them those most admired are jockeys and divorced women. I
+merely follow in the rear-line of the art or profession of
+literature--I am that always unluckiest and most undesirable kind
+of an author, a writer of verse--I lay no claim, not now at any
+rate, to the title of poet. While recently staying in Paris I
+chanced to hear of you ..."
+
+The monk bowed ever so slightly--there was a dawning gleam of
+satire in his brilliant eyes.
+
+"You won special distinction and renown there, I believe, before
+you adopted this monastic life?" pursued Alwyn, glancing at him
+curiously.
+
+"Did I?" and Heliobas looked cheerfully interested. "Really I was
+not aware of it, I assure you! Possibly my ways and doings may
+have occasionally furnished the Parisians with something to talk
+about instead of the weather, and I know I made some few friends
+and an astonishing number of enemies, if that is what you mean by
+distinction and renown!"
+
+Alwyn smiled--his smile was always reluctant, and had in it more
+of sadness than sweetness, yet it gave his features a singular
+softness and beauty, just as a ray of sunlight falling on a dark
+picture will brighten the tints into a momentary warmth of seeming
+life.
+
+"All reputation means that, I think," he said, "unless it be
+mediocre--then one is safe; one has scores of friends, and scarce
+a foe. Mediocrity succeeds wonderfully well nowadays--nobody hates
+it, because every one feels how easily they themselves can attain
+to it. Exceptional talent is aggressive--actual genius is
+offensive; people are insulted to have a thing held up for their
+admiration which is entirely out of their reach. They become like
+bears climbing a greased pole; they see a great name above them--a
+tempting sugary morsel which they would fain snatch and devour--
+and when their uncouth efforts fail, they huddle together on the
+ground beneath, look up with dull, peering eyes, and impotently
+snarl! But you,"--and here his gazed rested doubtfully, yet
+questioningly, on his companion's open, serene countenance--'you,
+if rumor speaks truly, should have been able to tame YOUR bears
+and turn them into dogs, humble and couchant! Your marvellous
+achievements as a mesmerist--"
+
+"Excuse me!" returned Heliobas quietly, "I never was a mesmerist."
+
+"Well-as a spiritualist then; though I cannot admit the existence
+of any such thing as spiritualism."
+
+"Neither can I," returned Heliobas, with perfect good-humor,
+"according to the generally accepted meaning of the term. Pray go
+on, Mr. Alwyn!"
+
+Alwyn looked at him, a little puzzled and uncertain how to
+proceed. A curious sense of irritation was growing up in his mind
+against this monk with the grand head and flashing eyes--eyes that
+seemed to strip bare his innermost thoughts, as lightning strips
+bark from a tree.
+
+"I was told," he continued after a pause, during which he had
+apparently considered and prepared his words, "that you were
+chiefly known in Paris as being the possessor of some mysterious
+internal force--call it magnetic, hypnotic, or spiritual, as you
+please--which, though perfectly inexplicable, was yet plainly
+manifested and evident to all who placed themselves under your
+influence. Moreover, that by this force you were able to deal
+scientifically and practically with the active principle of
+intelligence in man, to such an extent that you could, in some
+miraculous way, disentangle the knots of toil and perplexity in an
+over-taxed brain, and restore to it its pristine vitality and
+vigor. Is this true? If so, exert your power upon me,--for
+something, I know not what, has of late frozen up the once
+overflowing fountain of my thoughts, and I have lost all working
+ability. When a man can no longer work, it were best he should
+die, only unfortunately I cannot die unless I kill myself,--which
+it is possible I may do ere long. But in the meantime,"--he
+hesitated a moment, then went on, "in the meantime, I have a
+strong wish to be deluded--I use the word advisedly, and repeat
+it--DELUDED into an imaginary happiness, though I am aware that as
+an agnostic and searcher after truth--truth absolute, truth
+positive--such a desire on my part seems even to myself
+inconsistent and unreasonable. Still I confess to having it; and
+therein, I know, I betray the weakness of my nature. It may be
+that I am tired "--and he passed his hand across his brow with a
+troubled gesture--"or puzzled by the infinite, incurable distress
+of all living things. Perhaps I am growing mad!--who knows!--but
+whatever my condition, you,--if report be correct,--have the magic
+skill to ravish the mind away from its troubles and transport it
+to a radiant Elysium of sweet illusions and ethereal ecstasies. Do
+this for me, as you have done it for others, and whatever payment
+you demand, whether in gold or gratitude, shall be yours."
+
+He ceased; the wind howled furiously outside, flinging gusty
+dashes of rain against the one window of the room, a tall arched
+casement that clattered noisily with every blow inflicted upon it
+by the storm. Heliobas gave him a swift, searching glance, half
+pitying, half disdainful.
+
+"Haschisch or opium should serve your turn," he said curtly. "I
+know of no other means whereby to temporarily still the clamorings
+of conscience."
+
+Alwyn flushed darkly. "Conscience!" he began in rather a resentful
+tone,
+
+"Aye, conscience!" repeated Heliobas firmly. "There is such a
+thing. Do you profess to be wholly without it?"
+
+Alwyn deigned no reply--the ironical bluntness of the question
+annoyed him.
+
+"You have formed a very unjust opinion of me, Mr. Alwyn,"
+continued Heliobas, "an opinion which neither honors your courtesy
+nor your intellect--pardon me for saying so. You ask me to 'mock'
+and 'delude' you as if it were my custom and delight to make dupes
+of my suffering fellow-creatures! You come to me as though I were
+a mesmerist or magnetizer such as you can hire for a few guineas
+in any civilized city in Europe--nay, I doubt not but that you
+consider me that kind of so-called 'spiritualist' whose
+enlightened intelligence and heaven-aspiring aims are demonstrated
+in the turning of tables and general furniture-gyration. I am,
+however, hopelessly deficient in such knowledge. I should make a
+most unsatisfactory conjurer! Moreover, whatever you may have
+heard concerning me in Paris, you must remember I am in Paris no
+longer. I am a monk, as you see, devoted to my vocation; I am
+completely severed from the world, and my duties and occupations
+in the present are widely different to those which employed me in
+the past. Then I gave what aid I could to those who honestly
+needed it and sought it without prejudice or personal distrust;
+but now my work among men is finished, and I practice my science,
+such as it is, on others no more, except in very rare and special
+cases."
+
+Alwyn heard, and the lines of his face hardened into an expression
+of frigid hauteur.
+
+"I suppose I am to understand by this that you will do nothing for
+me?" he said stiffly.
+
+"Why, what CAN I do?" returned Heliobas, smiling a little. "All
+you want--so you say--is a brief forgetfulness of your troubles.
+Well, that is easily obtainable through certain narcotics, if you
+choose to employ them and take the risk of their injurious action
+on your bodily system. You can drug your brain and thereby fill it
+with drowsy suggestions of ideas--of course they would only he
+SUGGESTIONS, and very vague and indefinite ones too, still they
+might be pleasant enough to absorb and repress bitter memories for
+a time. As for me, my poor skill would scarcely avail you, as I
+could promise you neither self-oblivion nor visionary joy. I have
+a certain internal force, it is true--a spiritual force which when
+strongly exercised overpowers and subdues the material--and by
+exerting this I could, if I thought it well to do so, release your
+SOUL--that is, the Inner Intelligent Spirit which is the actual
+You--from its house of clay, and allow it an interval of freedom.
+But what its experience might be in that unfettered condition,
+whether glad or sorrowful, I am totally unable to predict."
+
+Alwyn looked at him steadfastly.
+
+"You believe in the Soul?" he asked.
+
+"Most certainly!"
+
+"As a separate Personality that continues to live on when the body
+perishes?"
+
+"Assuredly."
+
+"And you profess to be able to liberate it for a time from its
+mortal habitation--"
+
+"I do not profess," interposed Heliobas quietly. "I CAN do so."
+
+"But with the success of the experiment your power ceases?--you
+cannot foretell whether the unimprisoned creature will take its
+course to an inferno of suffering or a heaven of delight?--is
+this what you mean?"
+
+Heliobas bent his head in grave assent.
+
+Alwyn broke into a harsh laugh--"Come then!" he exclaimed with a
+reckless air,--"Begin your incantations at once! Send me hence, no
+matter where, so long as I am for a while escaped from this den of
+a world, this dungeon with one small window through which, with
+the death rattle in our throats, we stare vacantly at the blank
+unmeaning honor of the Universe! Prove to me that the Soul exists
+--ye gods! Prove it! and if mine can find its way straight to the
+mainspring of this revolving Creation, it shall cling to the
+accused wheels and stop them, that they may grind out the tortures
+of Life no more!"
+
+He flung up his hand with a wild gesture: his countenance, darkly
+threatening and defiant, was yet beautiful with the evil beauty of
+a rebellious and fallen angel. His breath came and went quickly,--
+he seemed to challenge some invisible opponent. Heliobas meanwhile
+watched him much as a physician might watch in his patient the
+workings of a new disease, then he said in purposely cold and
+tranquil tones:
+
+"A bold idea! singularly blasphemous, arrogant, and--fortunately
+for us all--impracticable! Allow me to remark that you are
+overexcited, Mr. Alwyn; you talk as madmen may, but as reasonable
+men should not. Come," and he smiled,--a smile that was both grave
+and sweet, "come and sit down--you are worn out with the force of
+your own desperate emotions--rest a few minutes and recover your
+self."
+
+His voice thouqh gentle was distinctly authoritative, and Alwyn
+meeting the full gaze of his calm eyes felt bound to obey the
+implied command. He therefore sank listlessly into an easy chair
+near the table, pushing back the short, thick curls from his brow
+with a wearied movement; he was very pale,--an uneasy sense of
+shame was upon him, and he sighed,--a quick sigh of exhausted
+passion. Heliobas seated himself opposite and looked at him
+earnestly, he studied with sympathetic attention the lines of
+dejection and fatigue which marred the attractiveness of features
+otherwise frank, poetic, and noble. He had seen many such men. Men
+in their prime who had begun life full of high faith, hope, and
+lofty aspiration, yet whose fair ideals once bruised in the mortar
+of modern atheistical opinion had perished forever, while they
+themselves, like golden eagles suddenly and cruelly shot while
+flying in mid-air, had fallen helplessly, broken-winged among the
+dust-heaps of the world, never to rise and soar sunwards again.
+Thinking this, his accents were touched with a certain compassion
+when after a pause he said softly:
+
+"Poor boy!--poor, puzzled, tired brain that would fain judge
+Infinity by merely finite perception! You were a far truer poet,
+Theos Alwyn, when as a world-foolish, heaven-inspired lad you
+believed in God, and therefore, in godlike gladness, found all
+things good!"
+
+Alwyn looked up--his lips quivered.
+
+"Poet--poet!" he murmured--"why taunt me with the name?" He
+started upright in his chair--"Let me tell you all," he said
+suddenly; "you may as well know what has made me the useless wreck
+I am; though perhaps I shall only weary you."
+
+"Far from it," answered Heliobas gently. "Speak freely--but
+remember I do not compel your confidence."
+
+"On the contrary, I think you do!" and again that faint, half-
+mournful smile shone for an instant in his deep, dark eyes,
+"though you may not be conscious of it. Anyhow I feel impelled to
+unburden my heart to you: I have kept silence so long! You know
+what it is in the world, ... one must always keep silence, always
+shut in one's grief and force a smile, in company with the rest of
+the tormented, forced-smiling crowd. We can never be ourselves--
+our veritable selves--for, if we were, the air would resound with
+our ceaseless lamentations! It is HORRIBLE to think of all the
+pent-up sufferings of humanity--all the inconceivably hideous
+agonies that remain forever dumb and unrevealed! When I was
+young,--how long ago that seems! yes, though my actual years are
+taut thirty, I feel an alder-elde of accumulated centuries upon
+me--when I was young, the dream of my life was Poesy. Perhaps I
+inherited the fatal love of it from my mother--she was a Greek-and
+she had a subtle music in her that nothing could quell, not even
+my father's English coldness. She named me Theos, little guessing
+what a dreary sarcasm that name would prove! It was well, I think,
+that she died early."
+
+"Well for her, but perhaps not so well for you," said Heliobas
+with a keen, kindly glance at him.
+
+Alwyn sighed. "Nay, well, for us both,--for I should have chafed
+at her loving restraint, and she would unquestionably have been
+disappointed in me. My father was a conscientious, methodical
+business man, who spent all his days up to almost the last moment
+of his life in amassing money, though it never gave him any joy so
+far as I could see, and when at his death I became sole possessor
+of his hardly-earned fortune, I felt far more sorrow than
+satisfaction. I wished he had spent his gold on himself and left
+me poor, for it seemed to me I had need of nothing save the little
+I earned by my pen--I was content to live an anchorite and dine
+off a crust for the sake of the divine Muse I worshipped. Fate,
+however, willed it otherwise,--and though I scarcely cared for the
+wealth I inherited, it gave me at least one blessing--that of
+perfect independence. I was free to follow my own chosen vocation,
+and for a brief wondering while I deemed myself happy, ... happy
+as Keats must have been when the fragment of 'Hyperion' broke
+from his frail life as thunder breaks from a summer-cloud. I was
+as a monarch swaying a sceptre that commanded both earth and
+heaven; a kingdom was mine-a kingdom of golden ether, peopled with
+shining shapes Protean,--alas! its gates are shut upon me now, and
+I shall enter it no more!"
+
+"'No more' is a long time, my friend!" interposed Heliobas gently.
+"You are too despondent,--perchance too diffident, concerning your
+own ability."
+
+"Ability!" and he laughed wearily. "I have none,--I am as weak and
+inapt as an untaught child--the music of my heart is silenced! Yet
+there is nothing I would not do to regain the ravishment of the
+past--when the sight of the sunset across the hills, or the moon's
+silver transfiguration of the sea filled me with deep and
+indescribable ecstasy--when the thought of Love, like a full chord
+struck from a magic harp, set my pulses throbbing with delirious
+delight--fancies thick as leaves in summer crowded my brain--Earth
+was a round charm hung on the breast of a smiling Divinity--men
+were gods--women were angels'--the world seemed but a wide scroll
+for the signatures of poets, and mine, I swore, should be clearly
+written!"
+
+He paused, as though ashamed of his own fervor. and glanced at
+Heliobas, who, leaning a little forward in his chair was regaling
+him with friendly, attentive interest; then he continued more
+calmly:
+
+"Enough! I think I had something in me then,--something that was
+new and wild and, though it may seem self praise to say so, full
+of that witching glamour we name Inspiration; but whatever that
+something was, call it genius, a trick of song, what you will,--it
+was soon crushed out of me. The world is fond of slaying its
+singing buds and devouring them for daily fare--one rough pressure
+of finger and thumb on the little melodious throats, and they are
+mute forever. So I found, when at last in mingled pride, hope, and
+fear I published my poems, seeking for them no other recompense
+save fair hearing and justice. They obtained neither--they were
+tossed carelessly by a few critics from hand to hand, jeered at
+for a while, and finally flung back to me as lies--lies all! The
+finely spun web of any fancy,--the delicate interwoven intricacies
+of thought,--these were torn to shreds with as little compunction
+as idle children feel when destroying for their own cruel sport
+the velvety wonder of a moth's wing, or the radiant rose and
+emerald pinions of a dragon-fly. I was a fool--so I was told with
+many a languid sneer and stale jest--to talk of hidden mysteries
+in the whisper of the wind and the dash of the waves--such sounds
+were but common cause and effect. The stars were merely
+conglomerated masses of heated vapor condensed by the work of ages
+into meteorites and from meteorites into worlds--and these went on
+rolling in their appointed orbits, for what reason nobody knew,
+but then nobody cared! And Love--the key-note of the theme to
+which I had set my mistaken life in tune--Love was only a graceful
+word used to politely define the low but very general sentiment of
+coarse animal attraction--in short, poetry such as mine was
+altogether absurd and out of date when confronted with the facts
+of every-day existence--facts which plainly taught us that man's
+chief business here below was simply to live, breed, and die--the
+life of a silk-worm or caterpillar on a slightly higher platform
+of ability; beyond this--nothing!"
+
+"Nothing?" murmured Heliobas, in a tone of suggestive inquiry--
+"really nothing?"
+
+"Nothing!" repeated Alwyn, with an air of resigned hopelessness;
+"for I learned that, according to the results arrived at by the
+most advanced thinkers of the day, there was no God, no Soul, no
+Hereafter--the loftiest efforts of the highest heaven--aspiring
+minds were doomed to end in non-fruition, failure, and
+annihilation. Among all the desperately hard truths that came
+rattling down upon me like a shower of stones, I think this was
+the crowning one that killed whatever genius I had. I use the word
+'genius' foolishly--though, after all, genius itself is nothing to
+boast of, since it is only a morbid and unhealthy condition of the
+intellectual faculties, or at least was demonstrated to me as such
+by a scientific friend of my own who, seeing I was miserable, took
+great pains to make me more so if possible. He proved,--to his own
+satisfaction if not altogether to mine,--that the abnormal
+position of certain molecules in the brain produced an
+eccentricity or peculiar bias in one direction which, practically
+viewed, might be described as an intelligent form of monomania,
+but which most people chose to term 'genius,' and that from a
+purely scientific standpoint it was evident that the poets,
+painters, musicians, sculptors, and all the widely renowned 'great
+ones' of the earth should be classified as so many brains more or
+less affected by abnormal molecular formation, which strictly
+speaking amounted to brain-deformity. He assured me, that to the
+properly balanced, healthily organized brain of the human animal,
+genius was an impossibility--it was a malady as unnatural as rare.
+'And it is singular, very singular,' he added with a complacent
+smile, 'that the world should owe all its finest art and
+literature merely to a few varieties of molecular disease!' I
+thought it singular enough, too,--however, I did not care to argue
+with him; I only felt that if the illness of genius had at any
+time affected ME, it was pretty well certain I should now suffer
+no more from its delicious pangs and honey-sweet fever. I was
+cured! The probing-knife of the world's cynicism had found its way
+to the musically throbbing centre of divine disquietude in my
+brain, and had there cut down the growth of fair imaginations for
+ever. I thrust aside the bright illusions that had once been my
+gladness; I forced myself to look with unflinching eyes at the
+wide waste of universal Nothingness revealed to me by the rigid
+positivists and iconoclasts of the century; but my heart died
+within me; my whole being froze as it were into an icy apathy,--I
+wrote no more; I doubt whether I shall ever write again. Of a
+truth, there is nothing to write about. All has been said. The
+days of the Troubadours are past,--one cannot string canticles of
+love for men and women whose ruling passion is the greed of gold.
+Yet I have sometimes thought life would be drearier even than it
+is, were the voices of poets altogether silent; and I wish--yes! I
+wish I had it in my power to brand my sign-manual on the brazen
+face of this coldly callous age-brand it deep in those letters of
+living lire called Fame!"
+
+A look of baffled longing and un gratified ambition came into his
+musing eyes,-his strong, shapely white hand clenched nervously, as
+though it grasped some unseen yet perfectly tangible substance.
+Just then the storm without, which had partially lulled during the
+last few minutes, began its wrath anew: a glare of lightning
+blazed against the uncurtained window, and a heavy clap of thunder
+burst overhead with the sudden crash of an exploding bomb.
+
+"You care for Fame?" asked Ileliobas abruptly, as soon as the
+terrific uproar had subsided into a distant, dull rumbling mingled
+with the pattering dash of hail.
+
+"I care for it--yes!" replied Alwyn, and his voice was very low
+and dreamy. "For though the world is a graveyard, as I have said,
+full of unmarked tombs, still here and there we find graves, such
+as Shelley's or Byron's, whereon pale flowers, like sweet
+suggestions of ever-silenced music, break into continuous bloom.
+And shall I not win my own death-garland of asphodel?"
+
+There was an indescribable, almost heart-rending pathos in his
+manner of uttering these last words--a hopelessness of effort and
+a despairing sense of failure which he himself seemed conscious
+of, for, meeting the fixed and earnest gaze of Ileliobas, he
+quickly relapsed into his usual tone of indolent indifference.
+
+"You see," he said, with a forced smile, "my story is not very
+interesting! No hairbreadth escapes, no thrilling adventures, no
+love intrigues--nothing but mental misery, for which few people
+have any sympathy. A child with a cut finger gets more universal
+commiseration than a man with a tortured brain and breaking heart,
+yet there can be no quotion as to which is the most intense duel
+long enduring anguish of the two. However, such as my troubles are
+I have told you all I have laid bare my 'wound of living'--a
+wound that throbs and burns, and aches, more intolerably with
+every pissing hour and day--it is not unnatural, I think, that I
+should seek for a little cessation of suffering; a brief dreaming
+space in which to rest for a while, and escape from the deathful
+Truth--Truth, that like the flaming sword placed east of the
+fabled garden of Eden, turns ruthlessly every way, keeping us out
+of the forfeited paradise of imaginative aspiration, which made
+the men of old time great because they deemed themselves immortal.
+It was a glorious faith! that strong consciousness, that in the
+change and upheaval of whole universes the soul of man should
+forever over-ride disaster! But now that we know ourselves to be
+of no more importance, relatively speaking, than the animalculae
+in a drop of stagnant water, what great works can be done, what
+noble deeds accomplished, in the face of the declared and proved
+futility of everything? Still, if you can, as you say, liberate me
+from this fleshly prison, and give me new sensations and different
+experiences, why then let me depart with all possible speed, for I
+am certain I shall find in the storm-swept areas of space nothing
+worse than life as lived in this present world. Remember, I am
+quite incredulous as to your professed power--" he paused and
+glanced at the white-robed, priestly figure opposite, then added,
+lightly, "but I am curious to test it all the same. Are you ready
+to being your spells?--and shall I say the Nunc Dimittis?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+DEPARTURE.
+
+
+Heliobas was silent--he seemed engaged in deep and anxious
+thought,--and he kept his steadfast eyes fixed on Alwyn's
+countenance, as though he sought there the clew to some difficult
+problem.
+
+"What do you know of the Nunc Dimittis?" he asked at last, with a
+half-smile. "You might as well say PATER NOSTER,--both canticle
+and prayer would be equally unmeaning to you! For poet as you
+are,--or let me say as you WERE,--inasmuch as no atheist was ever
+a poet at the same time--"
+
+"You are wrong," interrupted Alwyn quickly. "Shelley was an
+atheist."
+
+"Shelley, my good friend, was NOT an atheist [Footnote: See the
+last two verses of Adonais]. He strove to be one,--nay, he made
+pretence to be one,--but throughout his poems we hear the voice of
+his inner and better self appealing to that Divinity and Eternity
+which, in spite of the material part of him, he instinctively felt
+existent in his own being. I repeat, poet as your WERE, and poet
+as you will be again when the clouds on your mind are cleared,--
+you present the strange, but not uncommon spectacle of an Immortal
+Spirit fighting to disprove its own Immortality. In a word, you
+will not believe in the Soul."
+
+"I cannot!" said Alwyn, with a hopeless gesture.
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Science can give us no positive proof of its existence; it cannot
+be defined."
+
+"What do you mean by Science?" demanded Heliobas. "The foot of the
+mountain, at which men now stand, grovelling and uncertain how to
+climb? or the glittering summit itself which touches God's
+throne?"
+
+Alwyn made no answer.
+
+"Tell me," pursued Heliobas, "how do you define the vital
+principle? What mysterious agency sets the heart beating and the
+blood flowing? By the small porter's lantern of to-day's so-called
+Science, will you fling a light on the dark riddle of an
+apparently purposeless Universe, and explain to me why we live at
+all?"
+
+"Evolution," responded Alwyn shortly, "and Necessity."
+
+"Evolution from what?" persisted Heliobas. "From one atom? WHAT
+atom? And FROM WHENCE came the atom? And why the NECESSITY of any
+atom?"
+
+"The human brain reels at such questions!" said Alwyn, vexedly and
+with impatience. "I cannot answer them--no one can!"
+
+"No one?" Heliobas smiled very tranquilly. "Do not be too sure of
+that! And why should the human brain 'reel'?--the sagacious,
+calculating, clear human brain that never gets tired, or puzzled,
+or perplexed!--that settles everything in the most practical and
+common-sense manner, and disposes of God altogether as an
+extraneous sort of bargain not wanted in the general economy of
+our little solar system! Aye, the human brain is a wonderful
+thing!--and yet by a sharp, well-directed knock with this"--and he
+took up from the table a paper-knife with a massive, silver-
+mounted, weighty horn-handle--"I could deaden it in such wise that
+the SOUL could no more hold any communication with it, and it
+would lie an inert mass in the cranium, of no more use to its
+owner than a paralyzed limb."
+
+"You mean to infer that the brain cannot act without the influence
+of the soul?"
+
+"Precisely! If the hands on the telegraph dial will not respond to
+the electric battery, the telegram cannot be deciphered. But it
+would be foolish to deny the existence of the electric battery
+because the dial is unsatisfactory! In like manner, when, by
+physical incapacity, or inherited disease, the brain can no longer
+receive the impressions or electric messages of the Spirit, it is
+practically useless. Yet the Spirit is there all the same, dumbly
+waiting for release and another chance of expansion."
+
+"Is this the way you account for idiocy and mania?" asked Alwyn
+incredulously.
+
+"Most certainly; idiocy and mania always come from man's
+interference with the laws of health and of nature--never
+otherwise. The Soul placed within us by the Creator is meant to be
+fostered by man's unfettered Will; if man chooses to employ that
+unfettered Will in wrong directions, he has only himself to blame
+for the disastrous results that follow. You may perhaps ask why
+God has thus left our wills unfettered: the answer is simple--that
+we may serve Him by CHOICE and not by COMPULSION. Among the myriad
+million worlds that acknowledge His goodness gladly and
+undoubtingly, why should He seek to force unwilling obedience from
+us castaways!"
+
+"As we are on this subject," said Alwyn, with a tinge of satire in
+his tone, "if you grant a God, and make Him out to be supreme
+Love, why in the name of His supposed inexhaustible beneficence
+should we be castaways at all?"
+
+"Because in our overweening pride and egotism we have ELECTED to
+be such," replied Heliobas. "As angels have fallen, so have we.
+But we are not altogether castaways now, since this signal," and
+he touched the cross on his breast, "shone in heaven."
+
+Alwyn shrugged his shoulders disdainfully.
+
+"Pardon me," he murmured coldly, "with every desire to respect
+your religious scruples, I really cannot, personally speaking,
+accept the tenets of a worn-out faith, which all the most
+intellectual minds of the day reject as mere ignorant
+superstition. The carpenter's son of Judea was no doubt a very
+estimable person,--a socialist teacher whose doctrines were very
+excellent in theory but impossible of practice. That there was
+anything divine about Him I utterly deny; and I confess I am
+surprised that you, a man of evident culture, do not seem to see
+the hollow absurdity of Christianity as a system of morals and
+civilization. It is an ever-sprouting seed of discord and hatred
+between nations; it has served as a casus belli of the most
+fanatical and merciless character; it is answerable for whole seas
+of cruel and unnecessary bloodshed ..."
+
+"Have you nothing NEW to say on the subject?" interposed Heliobas,
+with a slight smile. "I have heard all this so often before, from
+divers kinds of men both educated and ignorant, who have a willful
+habit of forgetting all that Christ Himself prophesied concerning
+His creed of Self-renunciation, so difficult to selfish humanity:
+'Think not that I come to send peace on the earth. I come, not to
+send peace, but a sword.' Again 'Ye shall be hated of all men for
+my name's sake.' ... 'all ye shall be offended because of me.'
+Such plain words as these seem utterly thrown away upon this
+present generation. And do you know I find a curious lack of
+originality among so-called 'freethinkers'; in fact their thoughts
+can hardly be designated as 'free' when they all run in such
+extremely narrow grooves of similitude--a flock of sheep mildly
+trotting under the guidance of the butcher to the slaughterhouse
+could not be more tamely alike in their bleating ignorance as to
+where they are going. Your opinions, for instance, differ scarce a
+whit from those of the common boor who, reading his penny Radical
+paper, thinks he can dispense with God, and talks of the
+'carpenter's son of Judea' with the same easy flippancy and scant
+reverence as yourself. The 'intellectual minds of the day' to
+which you allude, are extraordinarily limited of comprehension,
+and none of them, literary or otherwise, have such a grasp of
+knowledge as any of these dead and gone authors," and he waved his
+hand toward the surrounding loaded bookshelves, "who lived
+centuries ago, and are now, as far as the general public is
+concerned, forgotten. All the volumes you see here are vellum
+manuscripts copied from the original slabs of baked clay, stone
+tablets, and engraved sheets of ivory, and among them is an
+ingenious treatise by one Remeni Adranos, chief astronomer to the
+then king of Babylonia, setting forth the Atom and Evolution
+theory with far more clearness and precision than any of your
+modern professors. All such propositions are old--old as the
+hills, I assure you; and these days in which you live are more
+suggestive of the second childhood of the world than its
+progressive prime. Especially in your own country the general
+dotage seems to have reached a sort of climax, for there you have
+the people actually forgetting, deriding, or denying their
+greatest men who form the only lasting glories of their history;
+they have even done their futile best to tarnish the unsoilable
+fame of Shakespeare. In that land you,--who, according to your own
+showing, started for the race of life full of high hopes and
+inspiration to still higher endeavor--you have been, poisoned by
+the tainted atmosphere of Atheism which is slowly and insidiously
+spreading itself through all ranks, particularly among the upper
+classes, who, while becoming every day more lax in their morals
+and more dissolute of behavior, consider themselves far too wise
+and 'highly cultured' to believe in anything. It is a most
+unwholesome atmosphere, charged with the morbidities and microbes
+of national disease and downfall; it is difficult to breathe it
+without becoming fever-smitten; and in your denial of the divinity
+of Christ, I do not blame you any more than I would blame a poor
+creature struck down by a plague. You have caught the negative,
+agnostic, and atheistical infection from others,--it is not the
+natural, healthy condition of your temperament."
+
+"On the contrary it IS, so far as that point goes," said Alwyn
+with sudden heat--"I tell you I am amazed,--utterly amazed, that
+you, with your intelligence, should uphold such a barbaric idea as
+the Divinity of Christ! Human reason revolts at it,--and after
+all, make as light of it as you will, reason is the only thing
+that exalts us a little above the level of the beasts."
+
+"Nay--the beasts share the gift of reason in common with us,"
+replied Heliobas, "and Man only proves his ignorance if he denies
+the fact. Often indeed the very insects show superior reasoning
+ability to ourselves, any thoroughly capable naturalist would bear
+me out in this assertion."
+
+"Well, well!" and Alwyn grew impatient--"reason or no reason, I
+again repeat that the legend on which Christianity is founded is
+absurd and preposterous,--why, if there were a grain of truth in
+it, Judas Iscariot instead of being universally condemned, ought
+to be honored and canonized as the first of saints!"
+
+"Must I remind you of your early lesson days?" asked Heliobas
+mildly. "You will find it written in a Book you appear to have
+forgotten, that Christ expressly prophesied, 'Woe to that man' by
+whom He was betrayed. I tell, you, little as you credit it, there
+is not a word that the Sinless One uttered while on this earth,
+that has not been or shall not be in time fulfilled. But I do not
+wish to enter into any controversies with you; you have told me
+your story,--I have heard it with interest,--and I may add with
+sympathy. You are a poet, struck dumb by Materialism because you
+lacked strength to resist the shock,--you would fain recover your
+singing-speech--and this is in truth the reason why you have come
+to me. You think that if you could gain some of the strange
+experiences which others have had while under my influence, you
+might win back your lost inspiration--though you do not know WHY
+you think this--neither do I--I can only guess."
+
+"And your guess is ... ?" demanded Alwyn with an air of affected
+indifference.
+
+"That some higher influence is working for your rescue and
+safety," replied Heliobas. "What influence I dare not presume to
+imagine, but--there are always angels near!"
+
+"Angels!" Alwyn laughed aloud. "How many more fairy tales are you
+going to weave for me out of your fertile Oriental imagination?
+Angels! ... See here, my good Heliobas, I am perfectly willing to
+grant that you may be a very clever man with an odd prejudice in
+favor of Christianity,--but I must request that you will not talk
+to me of angels and spirits or any such nonsense, as if I were a
+child waiting to be amused, instead of a full-grown man with ..."
+
+"With so full-grown an intellect that it has out-grown God!"
+finished Heliobas serenely. "Quite so! Yet angels, after all, are
+only immortal Souls such as yours or mine when set free of their
+earthly tenements. For instance, when I look at you thus," and he
+raised his eyes with a lustrous, piercing glance--"I see the
+proud, strong, and rebellious Angel in you far more distinctly
+than your outward shape of man ... and you ... when you look at
+me--"
+
+He broke off, for Alwyn at that moment sprang from his chair, and,
+staring fixedly at him, uttered a quick, fierce exclamation.
+
+"Ah! I know you now!" he cried in sudden and extraordinary
+excitement--"I know you well! We have met before!--Why,--after all
+that has passed,--do we meet again?"
+
+This singular speech was accompanied by a still more singular
+transfiguration of countenance--a dark, fiery glory burned in his
+eyes, and, in the stern, frowning wonder and defiance of his
+expression and attitude, there was something grand yet terrible,--
+menacing yet supernaturally sublime. He stood so for an instant's
+space, majestically sombre, like some haughty, discrowned emperor
+confronting his conqueror,--a rumbling, long-continued roll of
+thunder outside seemed to recall him to himself, and he pressed
+his hand tightly down over his eyelids, as though to shut out some
+overwhelming vision. After a pause he looked up again,--wildly,
+confusedly,--almost beseechingly,--and Heliobas, observing this,
+rose and advanced toward him.
+
+"Peace!" he said, in low, impressive tones,--"we have recognized
+each other,--but on earth such recognitions are brief and soon
+forgotten!" He waited for a few seconds,--then resumed lightly,
+"Come, look at me now! ... what do you see?"
+
+"Nothing ... but yourself!" he replied, sighing deeply as he
+spoke--"yet ... oddly enough, a moment ago I fancied you had
+altogether a different appearance,--and I thought I saw ... no
+matter what! ... I cannot describe it!" His brows contracted in a
+puzzled line. "It was a curious phenomenon--very curious ... and
+it affected me strangely..." he stopped abruptly,--then added,
+with a slight flush of annoyance on his face, "I perceive you are
+an adept in the art of optical illusion!"
+
+Heliobas laughed softly. "Of course! What else can you expect of a
+charlatan, a trickster, and a monk to boot! Deception, deception
+throughout, my dear sir! ... and have you not ASKED to be
+deceived?"
+
+There was a fine, scarcely perceptible satire in his manner; he
+glanced at the tall oaken clock that stood in one corner of the
+room--its hands pointed to eleven. "Now, Mr. Alwyn," he went on,
+"I think we have talked quite enough for this evening, and my
+advice is, that you retire to rest, and think over what I have
+said to you. I am willing to help you if I can,--but with your
+beliefs, or rather your non-beliefs, I do not hesitate to tell you
+frankly that the exertion of MY internal force upon YOURS in your
+present condition might be fraught with extreme danger and
+suffering. You have spoken of Truth, 'the deathful Truth'; this
+being, however, nothing but Truth according to the world's
+opinion, which changes with every passing generation, and
+therefore is not Truth at all. There is another Truth--the
+everlasting Truth--the pivot of all life, which never changes; and
+it is with this alone that my science deals. Were I to set you at
+liberty as you desire,--were your intelligence too suddenly
+awakened to the blinding awfulness of your mistaken notions of
+life, death, and futurity, the result might be more overpowering
+than either you or I can imagine! I have told you what I can do,--
+your incredulity does not alter the fact of my capacity. I can
+sever you,--that is, your Soul, which you cannot define, but which
+nevertheless exists,--from your body, like a moth from its
+chrysalis; but I dare not even picture to myself what scorching
+flame the moth might not heedlessly fly into! You might in your
+temporary state of release find that new impetus to your thoughts
+you so ardently desire, or you might not,--in short, it is
+impossible to form a guess as to whether your experience might be
+one of supernal ecstasy or inconceivable horror." He paused a
+moment,--Alwyn was watching him with a close intentness that
+bordered on fascination and presently he continued, "It is best
+from all points of view, that you should consider the matter more
+thoroughly than you have yet done; think it over well and
+carefully until this time to-morrow--then, if you are quite
+resolved--"
+
+"I am resolved NOW!" said Alwyn slowly and determinately. "If you
+are so certain of your influence, come! ... unbar my chains! ...
+open the prison-door! Let me go hence to-night; there is no time
+like the present!"
+
+"To night!" and Heliobas turned his keen, bright eyes full upon
+him, with a look of amazement and reproach--"To night' without
+faith, preparation or prayer, you are willing to be tossed through
+the realms of space like a grain of dust in a whirling tempest?
+Beyond the glittering gyration of unnumbered stars--through the
+sword-like flash of streaming comets--through darkness--through
+light--through depths of profoundest silence--over heights of
+vibrating sound--you--YOU will dare to wander in these God-
+invested regions--you a blasphemer and a doubter of God!"
+
+His voice thrilled with passion,--his aspect was so solemn, and
+earnest, and imposing that Alwyn, awed and startled, remained for
+a moment mute--then, lifting his head proudly, answered--
+
+"Yes, I DARE! If I am immortal I will test my immortality! I will
+face God and find these angels you talk about! What shall prevent
+me?"
+
+"Find the angels!" Heliobas surveyed him sadly as he spoke. "Nay!
+... pray rather that they may find THEE!" He looked long and
+steadfastly at Alwyn's countenance, on which there was just then
+the faint glimmer of a rather mocking smile,--and as he looked,
+his own face darkened suddenly into an expression of vague trouble
+and uneasiness--and a strange quiver passed visibly through him
+from head to foot.
+
+"You are bold, Mr. Alwyn,"--he said at last, moving a little away
+from his guest and speaking with some apparent effort--"bold to a
+fault, but at the same time you are ignorant of all that lies
+behind the veil of the Unseen. I should be much to blame if I sent
+you hence to-night, utterly unguided--utterly uninstructed. I
+myself must think--and pray--before I venture to incur so terrible
+a responsibility. To-morrow perhaps--to-night, no! I cannot--
+moreover I will not!"
+
+Alwyn flushed hotly with anger. "Trickster!" he thought. "He feels
+he has no power over me, and he fears to run the risk of failure!"
+
+"Did I hear you aright?" he said aloud in cold determined accents.
+"You cannot? you will not? ... By Heaven!"--and his voice rose, "I
+say you SHALL!" As he uttered these words a rush of indescribable
+sensations overcame him,--he seemed all at once invested with some
+mysterious, invincible, supreme authority,--he felt twice a man
+and more than half a god, and moved by an irresistible impulse
+which he could neither explain nor control, he made two or three
+hasty steps forward,--when Heliobas, swiftly retreating, waved him
+off with an eloquent gesture of mingled appeal and menace.
+
+"Back! back!" he cried warningly. "If you come one inch nearer to
+me I cannot answer for your safety--back, I say! Good God! you do
+not know your OWN power!"
+
+Alwyn scarcely heeded him,--some fatal attraction drew him on, and
+he still advanced, when all suddenly he paused, trembling
+violently. His nerves began to throb acutely,--the blood in his
+veins was like fire,--there was a curious strangling tightness in
+his throat that interrupted and oppressed his breathing,--he
+stared straight before him with large, luminous, impassioned eyes.
+What--WHAT was that dazzling something in the air that flashed and
+whirled and shone like glittering wheels of golden flame? His lips
+parted ... he stretched out his hands in the uncertain manner of a
+blind man feeling his way ... "Oh God! ... God!" ... he muttered
+as though stricken by some sudden amazement,--then, with a
+smothered, gasping cry, he staggered and fell heavily forward on
+the floor--insensible!
+
+At the self-same instant the window blew open, with a loud crash--
+it swung backward and forward on its hinges, and a torrent of rain
+poured through it slantwise into the room. A remarkable change had
+taken place in the aspect and bearing of Heliobas,--he stood as
+though rooted to the spot, trembling from head to foot,--he had
+lost all his usual composure,--he was deathly pale, and breathed
+with difficulty. Presently recovering himself a little he strove
+to shut the swinging casement, but the wind was so boisterous,
+that he had to pause a moment to gain strength for the effort, and
+instinctively he glanced out at the tempestuous night. The clouds
+were scurrying over the sky like great black vessels on a foaming
+sea,--the lightning flashed incessantly, and the thunder
+reverberated Over the mountains in tremendous volleys as of
+besieging cannon. Stinging drops of icy sleet dashed his face and
+the front of his white garb as he inhaled the stormy freshness of
+the strong, upward-sweeping blast for a few seconds--and then,
+with the air of one gathering together all his scattered forces,
+he shut to the window firmly and barred it across. Turning now to
+the unconscious Alwyn, he lifted him from the floor to a low couch
+near at hand, and there laid him gently down. This done, he stood
+looking at him with an expression of the deepest anxiety, but made
+no attempt to rouse him from his death-like swoon. His own
+habitual serenity was completely broken through,--he had all the
+appearance of having received some unexpected and overwhelming
+shock,--his very lips were blanched and quivered nervously.
+
+He waited for several minutes, attentively watching the recumbent
+figure before him, till gradually,--very gradually,--that figure
+took upon itself the pale, stern beauty of a corpse from which
+life has but recently and painlessly departed. The limbs grew
+stiff and rigid--the features smoothed into that mysteriously wise
+placidity which is so often seen in the faces of the dead,--the
+closed eyelids looked purple and livid as though bruised ... there
+was not a breath, not a tremor, to offer any outward suggestion of
+returning animation,--and when, after some little time, Heliobas
+bent down and listened, there was no pulsation of the heart ... it
+had ceased to beat! To all appearances Alwyn was DEAD--any
+physician would have certified the fact, though how he had come by
+his death there was no evidence to show. And in that condition,
+... stirless, breathless ... white as marble, cold and inanimate
+as stone, Heliobas left him. Not in indifference, but in sure
+knowledge--knowledge far beyond all mere medical science--that the
+senseless clay would in due time again arise to life and motion;
+that the casket was but temporarily bereft of its jewel,--and that
+the jewel itself, the Soul of the Poet, had by a superhuman access
+of will, managed to break its bonds and escape elsewhere. But
+whither? ... Into what vast realms of translucent light or drear
+shadow? ... This was a question to which the mystic monk, gifted
+as he was with a powerful spiritual insight into "things unseen
+and eternal," could find no satisfactory answer, and in his
+anxious perplexity he betook himself to the chapel, and there, by
+the red glimmer of the crimson star that shone dimly above the
+altar, he knelt alone and prayed in silence till the heavy night
+had passed, and the storm had slain itself with the sword of its
+own fury on the dark slopes of the Pass of Dariel.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+"ANGELUS DOMINE."
+
+
+The next morning dawned pallidly over a sea of gray mist--not a
+glimpse of the landscape was visible--nothing but a shadowy
+vastness of floating vapor that moved slowly fold upon fold, wave
+upon wave, as though bent on blotting out the world. A very faint,
+chill light peered through the narrow arched window of the room
+where Alwyn lay, still wrapped in that profound repose, so like
+the last long sleep from which some of our modern scientists tell
+us there can be no awakening. His condition was unchanged,--the
+wan beams of the early clay falling cross his features intensified
+their waxen stillness and pallor,--the awful majesty of death was
+on him,--the pathetic helplessness and perishableness of Body
+without Spirit. Presently the monastery bell began to ring for
+matins, and as its clear chime struck through the deep silence,
+the door opened, and Heliobas, accompanied by another monk, whose
+gentle countenance and fine, soft eyes betokened the serenity of
+his disposition, entered the apartment. Together they approached
+the couch, and gazed long and earnestly at the supernaturally
+slumbering man.
+
+"He is still far away!" said Heliobas at last, sighing as he
+spoke. "So far away that my mind misgives me. ... Alas, Hilarion!
+how limited is our knowledge! ... even with all the spiritual aids
+of spiritual life how little can be accomplished! We learn one
+thing, and another presents itself--we conquer one difficulty, and
+another instantly springs up to obstruct our path. Now if I had
+only had the innate perception required to foresee the possible
+flight of this released Immortal. creature, might I not have saved
+it from some incalculable misery and suffering?"
+
+"I think not," answered in rather musing accents the monk called
+Hilarion--"I think not. Such protection can never be exercised by
+mere human intelligence, if this soul is to be saved or shielded
+in its invisible journeying it will be by some means that not all
+the marvels of our science can calculate. You say he was without
+faith?"
+
+"Entirely"
+
+"What was his leading principle?"
+
+"A desire for what he called Truth," replied Heliobas.
+
+"He, like many others of his class, never took the trouble to
+consider very deeply the inner meaning of Pilate's famous
+question, 'What IS Truth?' WE know what it is, as generally
+accepted--a few so called facts which in a thousand years will all
+be contradicted, mixed up with a few finite opinions propounded by
+unstable minded men. In brief, Truth, according to the world, is
+simply whatever the world is pleased to consider as Truth for the
+time being. 'Tis a somewhat slight thing to stake one's immortal
+destinies upon!"
+
+Hilarion raised one of Alwyn's cold, pulseless hands--it was
+stiff, and white as marble.
+
+"I suppose," he said, "there is no doubt of his returning hither?"
+
+"None whatever," answered Heliobas decisively. "His life on earth
+is assured for many years yet,--inasmuch as his penance is not
+finished, his recompense not won. Thus far my knowledge of his
+fate is certain."
+
+"Then you will bring him back to-day?" pursued Hilarion.
+
+"Bring him back? I? I cannot!" said Heliobas, with a touch of sad
+humility in his tone. "And for this very reason I feared to send
+him hence,--and would not have done so,--not without preparation
+at any rate,--could I have had my way. His departure was more
+strange than any I have ever known--moreover, it was his own
+doing, not mine. I had positively refused to exert my influence
+upon him, because I felt he was not in my sphere, and that
+therefore neither I nor any of those higher intelligences with
+which I am in communication could control or guide his wanderings.
+He, however, was as positively determined that I SHOULD exert it--
+and to this end he suddenly concentrated all the pent up fire of
+his nature in one rapid effort of Will, and advanced upon me. ...
+I warned him, but in vain! quick as lightning flash meets
+lightning flash, the two invisible Immortal Forces within us
+sprang into instant opposition,--with this difference, that while
+he was ignorant and unconscious of HIS power, I was cognizant and
+fully conscious of MINE. Mine was focused, as it were, upon him,--
+his was untrained and. scattered,--the result was that mine won
+the victory: yet understand me well, Hilarion,--if I could have
+held myself in, I would have done so. It was he,--he who DREW my
+force out of me as one would draw a sword out of its scabbard--the
+sword may be ever so stiffly fixed in its sheath, but the strong
+hand will wrench it forth somehow, and use it for battle when
+needed."
+
+"Then," said Hilarion wonderingly, "you admit this man possesses a
+power greater than your own?"
+
+"Aye, if he knew it!" returned Heliobas, quietly. "But he does not
+know. Only an angel could teach him--and in angels he does not
+believe."
+
+"He may believe now. ... !"
+
+"He may. He will--he must, ... if he has gone where I would have
+him go."
+
+"A poet, is he not!" queried Hilarion softly, bending down to look
+more attentively at the beautiful Antinous-like face colorless and
+cold as sculptured alabaster.
+
+"An uncrowned monarch of a world of song!" responded Heliobas,
+with a tender inflection in his rich voice. "A genius such as the
+earth sees but once in a century! But he has been smitten with the
+disease of unbelief and deprived of hope,--and where there is no
+hope there is no lasting accomplishment." He paused, and with a
+touch as gentle as a woman's, rearranged the cushions under
+Alwyn's heavy head, and laid his hand in grave benediction on the
+broad white brow shaded by its clustering waves of dark hair. "May
+the Infinite Love bring him out of danger into peace and safety!"
+he said solemnly,--then turning away, he took his companion by the
+arm, and they both left the room, closing the door quietly behind
+them. The chapel bell went on tolling slowly, slowly, sending
+muffled echoes through the fog for some minutes--then it ceased,
+and profound stillness reigned.
+
+The monastery was always a very silent habitation,--situated as it
+was on so lofty and barren a crag, it was far beyond the singing-
+reach of the smaller sweet-throated birds--now and then an eagle
+clove the mist with a whirr of wings and a discordant scream on
+his way toward some distant mountain eyrie--but no other sound of
+awakening life broke the hush of the slowly widening dawn. An hour
+passed--and Alwyn still remained in the same position,--as
+pallidly quiescent as a corpse stretched out for burial. By and by
+a change begin to thrill mysteriously through the atmosphere, like
+the flowing of amber wine through crystal--the heavy vapors
+shuddered together as though suddenly lashed by a whip of flame,--
+they rose, swayed to and fro, and parted asunder. ... then,
+dissolving into thin, milk-white veils of fleecy film, they
+floated away, disclosing as they vanished, the giant summits of
+the encircling mountains, that lifted themselves to the light, one
+above another, in the form of frozen billows. Over these a
+delicate pink flush flitted in tremulous wavy lines--long arrows
+of gold began to pierce the tender shimmering blue of the sky--
+soft puffs of cloud tinged with vivid crimson and pale green were
+strewn along the eastern horizon like flowers in the path of an
+advancing hero,--and then all at once there was a slight cessation
+of movement in the heavens--an attentive pause as though the whole
+universe waited for some great splendor as yet unrevealed. That
+splendor came, in a red blaze of triumph the Sun rose, pouring a
+shower of beamy brilliancy over the white vastness of the heights
+covered with perpetual snow,--jagged peaks, sharp as scimetars and
+sparkling with ice, caught fire, and seemed to melt away in an
+absorbing sea of radiance, ... the waiting clouds moved on,
+redecked in deeper hues of royal purple--and the full Morning
+glory was declared. As the dazzling effulgence streamed through
+the window and flooded the couch where Alwyn lay, a faint tinge of
+color returned to his face,--his lips moved,--his broad chest
+heaved with struggling sighs,--his eyelids quivered,--and his
+before rigid hands relaxed and folded themselves together in an
+attitude of peace and prayer. Like a statue becoming slowly and
+magically flushed with life, the warm hues of the naturally
+flowing blood deepened through the whiteness of his skin,--his
+breathing grew more and more easy and regular,--his features
+gradually assumed their wonted appearance, and presently ...
+without any violent start or exclamation ... he awoke! But was it
+a real awakening? or rather a continuation of some strange
+impression received in slumber?
+
+He rose to his feet, pushing back the hair from his brow with an
+entranced look of listening wonderment--his eyes were humid yet
+brilliant--his whole aspect was that of one inspired. He paced
+once or twice up and down the room, but he was evidently
+unconscious of his surroundings--he seemed possessed by thoughts
+which absorbed his whole being. Presently he seated himself at the
+table, and absently fingering the writing materials that were upon
+it, he appeared meditatively to question their use and meaning.
+Then, drawing several sheets of paper toward him, he began to
+write with extraordinary rapidity and eagerness--his pen travelled
+on smoothly, uninterrupted by blot or erasure. Sometimes he
+paused--but when he did it was always with an upraised,
+attentively listening expression. Once he murmured aloud "ARDATH!
+Nay, I shall not forget!--we will meet at ARDATH!" and again he
+resumed his occupation. Page after page he covered with close
+writing-no weak, uncertain scrawl, but a firm bold, neat
+caligraphy,--his own peculiar, characteristic hand. The sun
+mounted higher and higher in the heavens, ... hour after hour
+passed, and still lie wrote on, apparently unaware of the flitting
+time. At mid-day the bell, which had not rung since early dawn,
+began to swing quickly to and fro in the chapel turret,--the deep
+bass of the organ breathed on the silence a thunderous monotone,
+and a bee-like murmur of distant voices proclaimed the words:
+"Angelas Domine nuntiavit Mariae"
+
+At the first sound of this chant, the spell that enchained Alwyn's
+mind was broken; drawing a quick dashing line under what he had
+written, he sprang up erect and dropped his pen.
+
+"Heliobas!" he cried loudly, "Heliobas! WHERE IS THE FIELD OF
+ARDATH?"
+
+His voice seemed strange and unfamiliar to his own ears,--he
+waited, listening, and the chant went on--"Et Verbo caro factus
+est, et habitavit in nobis."
+
+Suddenly, as if he could endure his solitude no longer, he rushed
+to the door and threw it open, thereby nearly flinging himself
+against Heliobas, who was entering the room at the same moment. He
+drew back, ... stared wildly, and passing his hand across his
+forehead confusedly, forced a laugh.
+
+"I have been dreaming!" he said, ... then with a passionate
+gesture he added, "God! if the dream were true!"
+
+He was strongly excited, and Heliobas, slipping one arm round him
+in a friendly manner, led him back to the chair he had vacated,
+observing him closely as he did so.
+
+"You call THIS dreaming," he inquired with a slight smile,
+pointing to the table strewn with manuscript on which the ink was
+not yet dry. "Then dreams are more productive than active
+exertion! Here is goodly matter for printers! ... a fair result it
+seems of one morning's labor!"
+
+Alwyn started up, seized the written sheets, and scanned them
+eagerly.
+
+"It is my handwriting!" he muttered in a tone of stupefied
+amazement.
+
+"Of course! Whose handwriting should it be?" returned Heliobas,
+watching him with scientifically keen, yet kindly interest.
+
+"Then it IS true!" he exclaimed. "True--by the sweetness of her
+eyes,--true, by the love-lit radiance of her smile!--true, O thou
+God whom I dared to doubt! true by the marvels of Thy matchless,
+wisdom!"
+
+And with this strange outburst, he began to read in feverish haste
+what he had written. His breath came and went quickly,--his cheeks
+flushed, his eyes dilated,--line after line he perused with
+apparent wonder and rapture,--when suddenly interrupting himself
+he raised his head and recited in a half whisper:
+
+"With thundering notes of song sublime I cast my sins away from
+me--On stairs of sound I mount--I climb! The angels wait and pray
+for me!
+
+"I heard that stanza somewhere when I was a boy ... why do I think
+of it now? SHE has waited,--so she said,--these many thousand
+days!"
+
+He paused meditatively,--and then resumed his reading, Heliobas
+touched his arm.
+
+"It will take you some time to read that, Mr. Alwyn," he gently
+observed. "You have written more than you know."
+
+Alwyn roused himself and looked straight at the speaker. Putting
+down his manuscript and resting one hand upon it, he gazed with an
+air of solemn inquiry into the noble face turned steadfastly
+toward his own.
+
+"Tell me," he said wistfully, "how has it happened? This
+composition is mine and yet not mine. For it is a grand and
+perfect poem of which I dare not call myself the author! I might
+as well snatch HER crown of starry flowers and call myself an
+Angel!"
+
+He spoke with mingled fervor and humility. To any ordinary
+observer he would have seemed to be laboring under home strange
+hallucination,--but Heliobas was more deeply instructed.
+
+"Come, come! ... your thoughts are wide of this world," he said
+kindly. "Try to recall them! I can tell you nothing, for I know
+nothing. ... you have been absent many hours."
+
+"Absent? yes!" and Alwyn's voice thrilled with an infinite
+regret. "Absent from earth.. ah! would to God I might hive stayed
+with her, in Heaven! My love, my love! where shal I find her if
+not in the FIELD OF ARDATH?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+A MYSTIC TRYST.
+
+
+As he uttered the last words, his eyes darkened into a soft
+expression of musing tenderness, and he remained silent for many
+minutes, during which the entranced, almost unearthly beauty of
+his face underwent a gradual change ... the mystic light that had
+for a time transfigured it, faded and died away--and by degrees he
+recovered all his ordinary self possession. Presently glancing at
+Heliobas, who stood patiently waiting till he should have overcome
+whatever emotions were at work in his mind, he smiled.
+
+"You must think me mad!" he said. "Perhaps I am,--but if so, it is
+the madness of love that has seized me. Love! ... it is a passion
+I have never known before.. I have used it as a mere thread
+whereon to string madrigals. a background of uncertain tint
+serving to show off the brighter lines of Poesy--but now! ... now
+I am enslaved and bound, conquered and utterly subdued by love!
+... love for the sweetest, queenliest, most radiant creature that
+ever captured or commanded the worship of man! I may SEEM mad--but
+I know I am sane--I realize the actual things of this world about
+me mind is--my clear, my thoughts are collected, and yet I repeat,
+I LOVE! ... aye! with all the force and fervor of this strongly
+beating human heart of mine;"--and he touched his breast as he
+spoke. "And it comes to this, most wise and worthy Heliobas,--if
+your spells have conjured up this vision of immortal youth and
+grace and purity that has suddenly assumed such sovereignty over
+my life--then you must do something further, ... you must find, or
+teach me how to find, the living Reality of my Dream!"
+
+Heliobas surveyed him with some wonder and commiseration.
+
+"A moment ago and you yourself declared your DREAM was true!" he
+observed. "This," and he pointed to the manuscript on the table,
+"seemed to you sufficient to prove it. Now you have altered you
+opinion: . . Why? I have worked no spells upon you, and I am
+entirely ignorant as to what your recent experience has been.
+Moreover, what do you mean by a 'living Reality'? The flesh and
+blood, bone and substance that perishes in a brief seventy years
+or so and crumbles into indistinguishable dust? Surely, ... if, as
+I conjecture from your words, you have seen one of the fair
+inhabitants of higher spheres than ours, . . you would not drag her
+spiritual and death unconscious brightness down to the level of
+the 'reality of a merely human life? Nay, if you would, you could
+not!"
+
+Alwyn looked at him inquiringly and with a perplexed air.
+
+"You speak in enigmas," he said somewhat vexedly. "However, the
+whole thing is an enigma and would puzzle the most sagacious head.
+That the physicial workings of the brain, in a site of trance,
+should arouse in me a passion of love for an imaginary being, and,
+at the same time, enable to write a poem such as must make the
+fame of any man, is certainly a remarkable and noteworthy result
+of scientific mesmerism!"
+
+"Now, my dear sir," interrupted Heliobas in a tone of good-natured
+remonstrance,--"do not--if you have any respect for science at
+all--do not, I beg of you, talk to me of the 'physical workings'
+of a DEAD BRAIN?"
+
+"A dead brain!" echoed Alwyn. "What do you mean?"
+
+"What I say," returned Heliobas, composedly. "'Physical workings'
+of any kind are impossible unless the motive power of physical
+life be in action. You, regarded as a HUMAN creature merely, had
+during seven hours practically CEASED TO BE,--the vital principle
+no longer existed in your body, having taken its departure
+together with its inseparable companion, the Soul. When it
+returned, it set the clockwork of your material mechanism in
+motion again, obeying the sovereignty of the Spirit that sought to
+express by material means, the utterance of heaven-inspired
+thought. Thus your hand mechanically found its way to the pen--
+thus you wrote, unconscious of what you were writing, yielding
+yourself entirely to the guidance of the spiritual part of your
+nature, which AT THAT PARTICULAR JUNCTURE was absolutely
+predominant, though now weighted anew by earthy influences it has
+partially relaxed its supernal sway. All this I readily perceive
+and understand ... but what you did, and where you were conducted
+during the time of your complete severance from the tenement of
+clay in which you are again imprisoned, ... this I have yet to
+learn."
+
+While Heliobas was speaking, Alwyn's countenance had grown vaguely
+troubled, and now into his deep poetic eyes there came a look of
+sudden penitence.
+
+"True!" he said softly, almost humbly, "I will tell you everything
+while I remember it,--though it is not likely I shall ever forget!
+I believe there must be some truth after all in what you say
+concerning the Soul, ... at any rate, I do not at present feel
+inclined to call your theories in question. To begin with, I find
+myself unable altogether to explain what it was that happened to
+me during my conversation with you last night. It was a very
+strange sensation! I recollect that I had expressed a wish to be
+placed under your magnetic or electric influence, and that you had
+refused my request. Then an odd idea suggested itself to me--
+namely, that I could if I chose COMPEL your assent,--and, filled
+with this notion, I think I addressed you, or was about to address
+you, in a rather peremptory manner, when--all at once--a flash of
+blinding light struck me fiercely across the eyes like a scourge!
+Stung with the hot pain, and dazzled by the glare, I turned away
+from you and fled ... or so it seemed--fled on my own instinctive
+impulse ... into DARKNESS!"
+
+He paused and drew a long, shuddering breath, like one who has
+narrowly escaped imminent destruction.
+
+"Darkness!" he went on in low accents that thrilled with the
+memory of a past feat--"dense, horrible, frightful darkness!--
+darkness that palpitated heavily with the labored motion of unseen
+things!--darkness that clung and closed about me in masses of
+clammy, tangible thickness,--its advancing and resistless weight
+rolled over me like a huge waveless ocean--and, absorbed within
+it, I was drawn down--down--down toward some hidden, impalpable
+but All Supreme Agony, the dull unceasing throbs of which I felt,
+yet could not name. 'O GOD!' I cried aloud, abandoning myself to
+wild despair, 'O GOD! WHERE ARE THOU?' Then I heard a great
+rushing sound as of a strong wind beaten through with wings, and a
+Voice, grand and sweet as a golden trumpet blown suddenly in the
+silence of night, answered: 'HERE! ... AND EVERYWHERE!' With that,
+a slanting stream of opaline radiance cleft the gloom with the
+sweep of a sword-blade, and I was caught up quickly ... I know not
+how ... for I saw nothing!"
+
+Again he pushed and looked wistfully at Heliobas, who in turn
+regarded him with gentle steadfastness.
+
+"It was wonderful--terrible!" ... he continued slowly--"yet
+beautiful! ... that Invisible Strength that rescued, surrounded, and
+uplifted me; and--" here he hesitated, and a faint flush colored
+his cheeks and stole up to the roots of his clustering hair--
+"dream or no dream, I feel I cannot now altogether reject the idea
+of an existing Divinity. In brief ... I believe in God!"
+
+"Why?" asked Heliobas quietly.
+
+Alwyn met his gaze frankly and with a soft brightening of his
+handsome features.
+
+"I cannot give you any logical reasons," he said. "Moreover,
+logical reasoning would not now affect me in a matter which seems
+to me more full of conviction than any logic. I believe, ...
+simply because I believe!"
+
+Heliobas smiled--a very warm and kindly smile--but said nothing,
+and Alwyn resumed his narrative.
+
+"As I tell you, I was caught up,--snatched out of that black
+profundity with inconceivable swiftness,--and when the ascending
+movement ceased, I found myself floating lightly like a wind-blown
+leaf through twining arches of amber mist, colored here and there
+with rays of living flame ... I heard whispers, and fragments of
+song and speech, all sweeter than the sweetest of our known music,
+... and still I saw nothing. Presently some one called me by name
+--'THEOS! ... THEOS!' I strove to answer, but I had no words
+wherewith to match that silver-toned, far-reaching utterance; and
+once again the rich vibrating notes pealed through the vaporous
+fire-tinted air--'THEOS, MY BELOVED! HIGHER! ... HIGHER! ... All
+my being thrilled and quivered to that call. I yearned to obey,
+... I struggled to rise--my efforts were in vain; when, to my joy
+and wonder, a small, invisible hand, delicate yet strong, clasped
+mine, and I was borne aloft with breathless, indescribable,
+lightning-like rapidity--on ... on ... and ever upward, till at
+last, alighting on a smooth, fair turf, thick-grown with fragrant
+blossoms of strange loveliness and soft hues, I beheld Her! ...
+and she bade me welcome."
+
+"And who," questioned Heliobas, in tones of hushed reverence, "Who
+was this Being that thus enchants your memory?"
+
+"I know not!" replied Alwyn, with a dreamy smile of rapture on his
+lips and in his eyes. "And yet her face ... oh! the entrancing
+beauty of that face! ... was not altogether unfamiliar. I felt
+that I must have loved and lost her ages upon ages ago! Crowned
+with white flowers, and robed in a garb that seemed spun from
+midsummer moonbeams, she stood ... a smiling Maiden-Sweetness in a
+paradise of glad sights and sounds, ... ah! Eve, with the first
+sunrise radiance on her brows, was not more divinely fair! ...
+Venus, new-springing from the silver sea-foam, was not more
+queenly glorious! 'I WILL REMIND THEE OF ALL THOU HAST FORGOTTEN,'
+she said, and I understood her soft, half-reproachful accents. 'IT
+IS NOT YET TOO LATE! THOU HAST LOST MUCH AND SUFFERED MUCH, AND
+THOU HAST BLINDLY ERRED, BUT NOTWITHSTANDING ALL THESE THINGS,
+THOU ART MY BELOVED SINCE THESE MANY THOUSAND DAYS!'"
+
+"Days--which the world counts as years!" murmured Heliobas. "You
+saw no one but her?"
+
+"No one--we were alone together. A vast woodland stretched before
+us, she took my hand and led me beneath broad-arching trees to
+where a lake, silvered by some strange radiance, glittered
+diamond-like in the stirring of a balmy wind. Here she bade me
+rest--and sank gently on the flowery bank beside me. Then viewing
+her more closely I greatly feared her beauty--for I saw a wondrous
+halo wide and dazzling--a golden aureole that spread itself around
+her in scintillating points of light--light that reflected itself
+also on me and bathed me in its luminous splendor. And as I gazed
+at her in speechless awe, she leaned toward me nearer and nearer,
+her deep, pure eyes burning softly into mine ... her hands touched
+me--her arms closed round me ... her bright head lay in all its
+shining loveliness on my breast! A tremulous ecstasy thrilled me
+as with fire ... I gazed upon her as one might gaze on some
+fluttering, rare-plumaged bird ... I dare not move or speak ... I
+drank her sweetness down into my soul! Now and then a sound as of
+distant harps playing broke the love-weighted silence ... and thus
+we remained together a heavenly breathing-space of wordless
+rapture; till suddenly and swiftly, as though she had received an
+invisible summons, she arose, her looks expressing a saintly
+patience, and laying her two hands upon my brows--'Write,' she
+said, 'WRITE AND PROCLAIM A MESSAGE OF HOPE TO THE SORROWFUL STAR!
+WRITE AND LET THINE UTTERANCE BE A TRUE ECHO OF THE ETERNAL MUSIC
+WITH WHICH THESE SPHERES ARE FILLED! WRITE TO THE RHYTHMIC BEAT OF
+THE HARMONIES WITHIN THEE ... FOR LO! ONCE MORE AS IN AFORETIME MY
+CHANGELESS LOVE RENEWS IN THEE THE POWER OF PERFECT SONG!' With
+that she moved away serenely and beckoned me to follow ... I
+obeyed in haste and trembling ... long rays of rosy light swept
+after her like trailing wings, and as she walked, the golden
+nimbus round her form glowed with a thousand brilliant and
+changeful hues like the rainbows seen in the spray of falling
+water! Through lush green grass thick with blossom,--under groves
+heavy with fragrant leaves and laden with the songs of birds ...
+over meadows cool and mountain-sheltered, on we went--she, like
+the goddess of advancing Spring, I eagerly treading in her radiant
+footsteps ... and presently we came to a place where two paths
+met, ... one all overgrown with azure and white flowers, that
+ascended away and away into undiscerned distance, ... the other
+sloping deeply downward, and full of shadows, yet dimly illumined
+by a pale, mysterious splendor like frosty moonlight streaming on
+sad-colored seas. Here she turned and faced me, and I saw her
+divine eyes droop with the moisture of unshed tears. 'THEOS! ...
+THEOS!' ... she cried, and the passionate cadence of her voice was
+as the singing of a nightingale in lonely woodlands ... 'AGAIN ...
+AGAIN WE MUST PART! ... PART! ... OH, MY BELOVED! ... MY BELOVED!
+HOW LONG WILT THOU SEVER ME FROM THY SOUL AND LEAVE ME ALONE AND
+SORROWFUL AMID THE JOYS OF HEAVEN?' As she thus spoke a sense of
+utter shame and loss and failure overwhelmed me, ... pierced to
+the very core of my being by an unexplained yet most bitter
+remorse, I cast myself down in deep abasement before her, ... I
+caught her glittering robe ... I strove to say 'Forgive!' but I
+was speechless as a convicted traitor in the presence of a wronged
+queen! All at once the air about us was rent by a great noise of
+thunder intermingled with triumphal music,--she drew her sheeny
+garment from my touch in haste, and stooping to me where I knelt,
+she kissed my forehead ... 'THY ROAD LIES THERE'--she murmured in
+quick, soft tones, pointing to the vista of varying light and
+shadow,--'MINE, YONDER!' and she looked toward the flower-
+garlanded avenue--'HASTEN! ... IT IS TIME THOU WERT FAR HENCE! ...
+RETURN TO THINE OWN STAR LEST ITS PORTALS BE CLOSED ON THEE
+FOREVER AND THOU BE PLUNGED INTO DEEPER DARKNESS! SEEK THOU THE
+FIELD OF ARDATH!--AS CHRIST LIVES, I WILL MEET THEE THERE!
+FAREWELL!' With these words she left me, passing away, arrayed in
+glory, treading on flowers, and ever ascending till she
+disappeared! ... while I, stricken with a great repentance, went
+slowly, as she bade me, down into the shadow, and a rippling
+breeze-like melody, as of harps and lutes most tenderly attuned,
+followed me as I descended. And now," said Alwyn, interrupting his
+narrative and speaking with emphatic decision, "surely there
+remains but one thing for me to do--that is, to find the 'Field of
+Ardath.'"
+
+Heliobas smiled gravely. "Nay, if you consider the whole episode a
+dream," he observed, "why trouble yourself? Dreams are seldom
+realized, ... and as to the name of Ardath, have you ever heard it
+before?"
+
+"Never!" replied Alwyn. "Still--if there is such a place on this
+planet I will most certainly journey thither! Maybe YOU know
+something of its whereabouts?"
+
+"Finish your story," said Heliobas, quietly evading the question.
+"I am curious to hear the end of your strange adventure."
+
+"There is not much more to tell," and Alwyn sighed a little as he
+spoke. "I wandered further and further into the gloom, oppressed
+by many thoughts and troubled by vague fears, till presently it
+grew so dark that I could scarcely see where I was going, though I
+was able to guide myself in the path that stretched before me by
+means of the pale luminous rays that frequently pierced the
+deepening obscurity, and these rays I now noticed fell ever
+downwards in the form of a cross. As I went on I was pursued as it
+were by the sound of those delicate harmonies played on invisible,
+sweet strings; and after a while I perceived at the extreme end of
+the long, dim vista a door standing open, through which I entered
+and found myself alone in a quiet room. Here I sat down to rest,--
+the melody of the distant harps and lutes still floated in soft
+echoes on the silence ... and presently words came breaking
+through the music, like buds breaking from their surrounding
+leaves.. words that I was compelled to write down as quickly as I
+heard them ... and I wrote on and on, obeying that symphonious and
+rhythmical dictation with a sense of growing ease and pleasure,
+... when all suddenly a dense darkness overcame me, followed by a
+gradual dawning gray and golden light ... the words dispersed into
+fragmentary half-syllables ... the music died away, ... I started
+up amazed ... to find myself here! ... here in this monastery of
+Lars, listening to the chanting of the Angelus!"
+
+He ceased, and looked wistfully out through the window at the
+white encircling rim of the opposite snow-mountains, now bathed in
+the full splendor of noon. Heliobas advanced and laid one hand
+kindly on his shoulder. ...
+
+"And do not forget," he said, "that you have brought with you from
+the higher regions a Poem that will in all probability make your
+fame! 'Fame! fame! next grandest word to God!' ... so wrote one of
+your craft, and no doubt you echo the sentiment! Have you not
+desired to blazon your name on the open scroll of the world? Well!
+... now you can have your wish--the world waits to receive your
+signature!"
+
+"That is all very well!" and Alwyn smiled rather dubiously as he
+glanced at the manuscript on the table beside him. "But the
+question is,--considering how it was written,--can I, dare I call
+this poem MINE?"
+
+"Most assuredly you can," returned Heliobas. "Though your
+hesitation is a worthy one, and as rare as it is worthy. Well
+would it be for all poets and artists were they to pause thus, and
+consider before rashly calling their work their own! Self-
+appreciation is the death-blow of genius. The poem is as much
+yours as your life is yours--no more and no less. In brief, you
+have recovered your lost inspiration; the lately dumb oracle
+speaks again:--and are you not satisfied?"
+
+"No!" said Alwyn quickly, with a sudden brightening of his eyes as
+he met the keenly searching glance that accompanied this question.
+"No! for I love! ... and the desire of love burns in me as
+ardently as the desire of fame!" He paused, and in quieter tones
+continued, "You see I speak freely and frankly to you as though--
+," and he laughed a little, "as though I were a good Catholic, and
+you my father-confessor! Good heavens! if some of the men I know
+in London were to hear me, they would think me utterly crazed! But
+craze or no craze, I feel I shall never be satisfied now till I
+find out whether there IS anywhere is the world a place called
+Ardath. Can you, will you help me in the search? I am almost
+ashamed to ask you, for you have already done so much for me, and
+I really owe to your wonderful power my trance or soul-liberty, or
+whatever it may be called. ..."
+
+"You owe me nothing," interposed Heliobas calmly, "not even
+thanks. Your own will accomplished your freedom, and I am not
+responsible for either your departure or your return. It was a
+predestined occurrence, yet perfectly scientific and easy of
+explanation. Your inward force attracted mine down upon you in one
+strong current, with the result that your Spirit instantly parted
+asunder from your body, and in that released condition you
+experienced what you have described. But _I_ had no, more to do
+with that experience than I shall have with your journey to the
+'field of Ardath,' should you decide to go there."
+
+"There IS an Ardath then!" cried Alwyn excitedly.
+
+Heliobas eyed him with something of scorn. "Naturally! Are you
+still so much of a sceptic that you think an ANGEL would have
+bidden you seek a place that had no existence? Oh, yes! I see you
+are inclined to treat your ethereal adventure as a mere dream,--
+but _I_ know it was a reality, more real than anything in this
+present world." And turning to the loaded bookshelves he took down
+a large volume, and spread it open on the table.
+
+"You know this book?" he asked.
+
+Alwyn glanced at it. "The Bible! Of course!" he replied
+indifferently. "Everybody knows it!"
+
+"Pardon!" and Heliobas smiled. "It would be more correct to say
+nobody knows it. To read is not always to understand. There are
+meanings and mysteries in it which have never yet been penetrated,
+and which only the highest and most spiritually gifted intellects
+can ever hope to unravel. Now" ... and he turned over the pages
+carefully till he came to the one he sought, "I think there is
+something here that will interest you--listen!" and he read aloud,
+"'The Angel Uriel came unto me and said: Go into a field of
+flowers where no house is builded and eat only the flowers of the
+field--taste no flesh, drink no wine, but eat flowers only. And
+pray unto the Highest continually, and then will I come and talk
+to thee. So I went my way into the field which is called ARDATH,
+... '"
+
+"The very place!" exclaimed Alwyn, eagerly bending over the sacred
+book; then drawing back with a gesture of disappointment he added,
+"But you are reading from Esdras, the Apocrypha! an utterly
+unreliable source of information!"
+
+"On the contrary, as reliable as any history ever written,"
+rejoined Heliobas calmly. "Study it for yourself, ... you will see
+that the prophet was at that time resident in Babylon; the field
+he mentions was near the city ..."
+
+"Yes--WAS!" interrupted Alwyn incredulously.
+
+"Was and IS," continued Heliobas. "No earthquake has crumbled it,
+no sea has invaded it, and no house has been 'builded' thereon. It
+is, as it was then, a waste field, lying about four miles west of
+the Babylonian ruins, and there is nothing whatever to hinder you
+from journeying thither when you please."
+
+Alwyn's expression as he heard this was one of stupefied
+amazement. Part of his so-called "dream" had already proved itself
+true--a "field of Ardath" actually existed!
+
+"You are certain of what you say?" he demanded.
+
+"Positively certain!" returned Heliobas.
+
+There was a silence, during which a little tinkling bell resounded
+in the outer corridor, followed by the tread of sandaled feet on
+the stone pavement. Heliobas closed the Bible and returned it to
+its shelf.
+
+"That was the dinner-bell," he announced cheerfully. "Will you
+accompany me to the refectory, Mr. Alwyn? ... we can talk further
+of this matter afterwards." Alwyn roused himself from the fit of
+abstraction into which he had fallen, and gathering together the
+loose sheets of his so strangely written manuscript, he arranged
+them all in an orderly heap without speaking. Then he looked up
+and met the earnest eyes of Heliobas with an expression of settled
+resolve in his own.
+
+"I shall set out for Babylon to-morrow," he said quietly. "As well
+go there as anywhere! ... and on the result of my journey I shall
+stake my future! In the mean time--" He hesitated, then suddenly
+extending his hand with a frank grace that became him well," In
+spite of my brusquerie last night, I trust we are friends?"
+
+"Why, most assuredly we are!" returned Heliobas, heartily pressing
+the proffered palm. "You had your doubts of me and you have them
+still; but what of that! I take no offence at unbelief. I pity
+those who suffer from its destroying influence too profoundly to
+find room in my heart for anger. Moreover, I never try to convert
+anybody. ... it is so much more satisfactory when sceptics convert
+themselves, as you are unconsciously doing! Come, ... shall we
+join the brethren?"
+
+Over Alwyn's face flitted a transient shade of uneasiness and
+hauteur.
+
+"I would rather they knew nothing about all this," he began.
+
+"Make your mind quite easy on that score," rejoined Heliobas.
+"None of my companions here are aware of your recent departure,
+except my very old personal friend Hilarion, who, with myself, saw
+your body while in its state of temporary death. But he is one of
+those remarkably rare wise men who know when it is best to be
+silent; then again, he is ignorant as to the results of your soul-
+transmigration, and will, as far as I am concerned, remain in
+ignorance. Your confidence I assure you is perfectly safe with me
+--as safe as though it had been received under the sacred seal of
+confession."
+
+With this understanding Alwyn seemed relieved and satisfied, and
+thereupon they left the apartment together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+"NOURHALMA" AND THE ORIGINAL ESDRAS.
+
+
+Later on in the afternoon of the same day, when the sun, poised
+above the western mountain-range, appeared to be lazily looking
+about him with a drowsy, golden smile of farewell before
+descending to his rest, Alwyn was once more alone in the library.
+Twilight shadows were already gathering in the corners of the
+long, low room, but he had moved the writing-table to the window,
+in order to enjoy the magnificence of the surrounding scenery, and
+sat where the light fell full upon his face as he leaned back in
+his chair, with his hands clasped behind his head, in an attitude
+of pleased, half-meditative indolence. He had just finished
+reading from beginning to end the poem he had composed in his
+trance ... there was not a line in it he could have wished
+altered,--not a word that would have been better omitted,--the
+only thing it lacked was a title, and this was the question on
+which he now pondered. The subject of the poem itself was not new
+to him--it was a story he had known from boyhood, ... an old
+Eastern love-legend, fantastically beautiful as many such legends
+are, full of grace and passionate fervor--a theme fitted for the
+nightingale-utterance of a singer like the Persian Hafiz--though
+even Hafiz would have found it difficult to match the exquisitely
+choice language and delicately ringing rhythm in which this quaint
+idyll of long past ages was now most perfectly set like a jewel in
+fine gold. Alwyn himself entirely realized the splendid literary
+value of the composition--he knew that nothing more artistic in
+conception or more finished in treatment had appeared since the
+St. Agnes Eve of Keats--and as he thought of this, he yielded to a
+growing sense of self-complacent satisfaction which gradually
+destroyed all the deeply devout humility he had at first felt
+concerning the high and mysterious origin of his inspiration. The
+old inherent pride of his nature reasserted itself--he reviewed
+all the circumstances of his "trance" in the most practical
+manner--and calling to mind how the poet Coleridge had improvised
+the delicious fragment of Kubla Khan in a dream, he began to see
+nothing so very remarkable in his own unconscious production of a
+complete poem while under mesmeric or magnetic influences.
+
+"After all," he mused, "the matter is simple enough when one
+reasons it out. I have been unable to write anything worth writing
+for a long time, and I told Heliobas as much. He, knowing my
+apathetic condition of brain, employed his force accordingly,
+though he denies having done so, ... and this poem is evidently
+the result of my long pent-up thoughts that struggled for
+utterance yet could not before find vent in words. The only
+mysterious part of the affair is this 'Field of Ardath,' ... how
+its name haunts me! ... and how HER face shines before the eyes of
+my memory! That SHE should be a phantom of my own creation seems
+impossible--for when have I, even in my wildest freaks of fancy,
+ever imagined a creature half so fair!"
+
+His gaze rested dreamily on the opposite snow-clad peaks, above
+which large fleecy clouds, themselves like moving mountains, were
+slowly passing, their edges glowing with purple and gold as they
+neared the sinking sun. Presently rousing himself, he took up a
+pen and first of all addressing an envelope to
+
+     "THE HONBLE. FRANCIS VILLIERS,
+        "Constitutional Club,
+            "LONDON"
+
+he rapidly wrote off the following letter:
+
+   "MONASTERY OF LARS,
+   "PASS OF DARIEL, CAUCASUS."
+
+"MY DEAR VILLIERS:--Start not at the above address! I am not yet
+vowed to perpetual seclusion, silence or celibacy! That I of all
+men in the world should be in a Monastery will seem to you, who
+know my prejudices, in the last degree absurd--nevertheless here I
+am,--though here I do not remain, as it is my fixed intention to-
+morrow at daybreak to depart straightway from hence en route for
+the supposed site and ruins of Babylon. Yes,--Babylon! why not?
+Perished greatness has always been a more interesting subject of
+contemplation to me than existing littleness--and I dare say I
+shall wander among the tumuli of the ancient fallen city with more
+satisfaction than in the hot, humanity-packed streets of London,
+Paris, or Vienna--all destined to become tumuli in their turn.
+Moreover. I am on the track of an adventure,--on the search for a
+new sensation, having tried nearly all the old ones and found them
+NIL. You know my nomadic and restless disposition ... perhaps
+there is something of the Greek gipsy about me--a craving for
+constant change of scene and surroundings,--however, as my absence
+from you and England is likely to be somewhat prolonged, I send
+you in the mean time a Poem--there! 'Season your admiration for a
+while,' and hear me out patiently. I am perfectly aware of all you
+would say concerning the utter folly and uselessness of writing
+poetry at all in this present age of milk-and-watery-literature,
+shilling sensationals, and lascivious society dramas,--and I have
+a very keen recollection too of the way in which my last book was
+maltreated by the entire press--good heavens! how the critics
+yelped like dogs about my heels, snapping, sniffing, and snarling!
+I could have wept then like the sensitive fool I was. ... I can
+laugh now! In brief, my friend--for you ARE my friend and the
+best of all possible good fellows--I have made up my mind to
+conquer those that have risen against me--to break through the
+ranks of pedantic and pre-conceived opinions--and to climb the
+heights of fame, regardless of the little popular pipers of tame
+verso that obstruct my path and blow their tin whistles in the
+public ears to drown, if possible, my song. I WILL be heard! ...
+and to this end I pin my faith on the work I now transmit to your
+care. Have it published immediately and in the best style--I will
+cover all expenses. Advertise sufficiently, yet with becoming
+modesty, for 'puffery' is a thing I heartily despise,--and were
+the whole press to turn round and applaud me as much as it has
+hitherto abused and ridiculed me, I would not have one of its
+penny lines of condescendingly ignorant approval quoted in
+connection with what must be a perfectly unostentatious and simple
+announcement of this new production from my pen. The manuscript is
+exceptionally clear, even for me who do not as a male write a very
+bad scrawl--so that you can scarcely have much bother with the
+proof-correcting--though even were this the case, and the printers
+turned out to be incorrigible blockheads and blunderers, I know
+you would grudge neither time nor trouble expended in my service.
+Good Frank Villiers! how much I owe you!--and yet I willingly
+incur another debt of gratitude by placing this matter in your
+hands, and am content to borrow more of your friendship, but only
+believe me, in order to repay it again with the truest interest!
+By the way, do you remember when we visited the last Paris Salon
+together, how fascinated we were by one picture--the head of a
+monk whose eyes looked out like a veritable illumination from
+under the folds of a drooping white cowl? ... and on referring to
+our catalogues we found it described as the portrait of one
+'Heliobas,' an Eastern mystic, a psychist formerly well known in
+Paris, but since retired into monastic life? Well! I have
+discovered him here; he is apparently the Superior or chief of
+this Order--though what Order it is and when founded is more than
+I can tell. There are fifteen monks altogether, living contentedly
+in this old, half-ruined habitation among the barren steeps of the
+frozen Caucasus,--splendid, princely looking fellows all of them,
+Heliobas himself being an exceptionally fine specimen of his race.
+I have just dined with the whole community, and have been fairly
+astonished by the fluent brilliancy and wit of their conversation.
+They speak all languages. English included, and no subject comes
+amiss to them, for they are familiar with the latest political
+situations in all countries,--they know all about the newest
+scientific discoveries (which, by-the-by, they smile at blandly,
+as though these last were mere child's play), and they discuss our
+modern social problems and theories with a Socratic-like
+incisiveness and composure such as our parliamentary howlers would
+do well to imitate. Their doctrine is.. but I will not bore you by
+a theological disquisition,--enough to say it is founded on
+Christianity, and that at present I don't quite know what to make
+of it! And now, my dear Villiers, farewell! An answer to this is
+unnecessary; besides I can give you no address, as it is uncertain
+where I shall be for the next two or three months. If I don't get
+as much pleasure as I anticipate from the contemplation of the
+Babylonian ruins, I shall probably take up my abode in Bagdad for
+a time and try to fancy myself back in the days of 'good Haroun
+Alrascheed'. At any rate, whatever becomes of me, I know I have
+entrusted my Poem to safe hands--and all I ask of you is that it
+may be brought out with the least possible delay,--for its
+IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION seems to me just now the most vitally
+important thing in the world, except ... except the adventure on
+which I am at present engaged, of which more hereafter, ... when
+we meet. Until then think as well of me as you can, and believe me
+       "Ever and most truly your friend,
+           "THEOS ALWYN."
+
+This letter finished, folded, and sealed, Alwyn once more took up
+his manuscript and meditated anew concerning its title. Stay! ...
+why not call it by the name of the ideal heroine whose heart-
+passion and sorrow formed the nucleus of the legend? ... a name
+that he in very truth was all unconscious of having chosen, but
+which occurred frequently with musical persistence throughout the
+entire poem. "NOURHALMA!" ... it had a soft sound ... it seemed to
+breathe of Eastern languor and love-singing,--it was surely the
+best title he could have. Straightway deciding thereon, he wrote
+it clearly at the top of the first page, thus: "Nourhalma; A Love
+Legend of the Past," ... then turning to the end, he signed his
+own name with a bold flourish, thus attesting his indisputable
+right to the authorship of what was not only destined to be the
+most famous poetical masterpiece of the day, but was also to prove
+the most astonishing, complex, and humiliating problem ever
+suggested to his brain. Carefully numbering the pages, he folded
+them in a neat packet, which he tied strongly and sealed--then
+addressing it to his friend, he put letter and packet together,
+and eyed them both somewhat wistfully, feeling that with them went
+his great chance of immortal Fame. Immortal Fame!--what a grand
+vista of fair possibilities those words unveiled to his
+imagination! Lost in pleasant musings, he looked out again on the
+landscape. The sun had sunk behind the mountains so far, that
+nothing was left of his glowing presence but a golden rim from
+which great glittering rays spread upward, like lifted lances
+poised against the purple and roseate clouds. A slight click
+caused by the opening of the door disturbed his reverie,--he
+turned round in his chair, and half rose from it as Heliobas
+entered, carrying a small richly chased silver casket.
+
+"Ah, good Heliobas! here you are at last," he said with a smile.
+"I began to think you were never coming. My correspondence is
+finished,--and, as you see, my poem is addressed to England--where
+I pray it may meet with a better fate than has hitherto attended
+my efforts!"
+
+"You PRAY?" queried Heliobas, meaningly, "or you HOPE? There is a
+difference between the two."
+
+"I suppose there is," he returned nonchalantly. "And certainly--to
+be correct--I should have said I HOPE, for I never pray. What have
+you there?"--this as Heliobas set the casket he carried down on
+the table before him. "A reliquary? And is it supposed to contain
+a fragment of the true cross? Alas! I cannot believe in these
+fragments,--there are too many of them!"
+
+Heliobas laughed gently.
+
+"You are right! Moreover, not a single splinter of the true cross
+is in existence. It was, like other crosses then in general use,
+thrown aside as lumber,--and had rotted away into the earth long
+before the Empress Helena started on her piously crazed
+wanderings. No, I have nothing of that sort in here,"--and taking
+a key from a small chain that hung at his girdle he unlocked the
+casket. "This has been in the possession of the various members of
+our Order for ages,--it is our chief treasure, and is seldom, I
+may say never, shown to strangers,--but the mystic mandate you
+have received concerning the 'field of Ardath' entitles you to see
+what I think must needs prove interesting to you under the
+circumstances." And opening the box he lifted out a small square
+volume bound in massive silver and double-clasped. "This," he went
+on, "is the original text of a portion of the 'Visions of Esdras,'
+and dates from the thirteenth year after the downfall of Babylon's
+commercial prosperity."
+
+Alwyn uttered an exclamation of incredulous amazement. "Not
+possible!" he cried. ... then he added eagerly, "May I look at
+it?"
+
+Silently Heliobas placed it in his outstretched hand. As he undid
+the clasps a faint odor like that of long dead rose-leaves came
+like a breath on the air, ... he opened it, and saw that its pages
+consisted of twelve moderately thick sheets of ivory, which were
+covered all over with curious small characters finely engraved
+thereon by some evidently sharp and well-pointed instrument. These
+letters were utterly unknown to Alwyn: he had seen nothing like
+them in any of the ancient tongues, and he examined them
+perplexedly.
+
+"What language is this?" he asked at last, looking up. "It is not
+Hebrew--nor yet Sanskrit--nor does it resemble any of the
+discovered forms of hieroglyphic writing. Can YOU understand it?"
+
+"Perfectly!" returned Heliobas. "If I could not, then much of the
+wisdom and science of past ages would be closed to my researches.
+It is the language once commonly spoken by certain great nations
+which existed long before the foundations of Babylon were laid.
+Little by little it fell into disuse, till it was only kept up
+among scholars and sages, and in time became known only as 'the
+language of prophecy.' When Esdras wrote his Visions they were
+originally divided into two hundred and four books,--and, as you
+will see by referring to what is now called the
+Apocrypha,[Footnote: Vide 2 Esdras xiv.44-48.] he was commanded to
+publish them all openly to the 'worthy and unworthy' all except
+the 'seventy last,' which were to be delivered solely to such as
+were 'wise among the people.' Thus one hundred and thirty-four
+were written in the vulgar tongue,--the remaining seventy in the
+'language of prophecy,' for the use of deeply learned and
+scientific men alone. The volume you hold is one of those
+seventy."
+
+"How did you come by it?" asked Alwyn, curiously turning the book
+over and over.
+
+"How did our Order come by it, you mean," said Heliobas. "Very
+simply. Chaldean fraternities existed in the time of Esdras, and
+to the supreme Chief of these, Esdras himself delivered it. You
+look dubious, but I assure you it is quite authentic,--we have its
+entire history up to date."
+
+"Then are you all Chaldeans here?"
+
+"Not all--but most of us. Three of the brethren are Egyptians, and
+two are natives of Damascus. The rest are, like myself,
+descendants of a race supposed to have perished from off the face
+of the earth, yet still powerful to a degree undreamed of by the
+men of this puny age."
+
+Alwyn gave an upward glance at the speaker's regal form--a glance
+of genuine admiration.
+
+"As far as that goes," he said, with a frank laugh, "I'm quite
+willing to believe you and your companions are kings in disguise,
+--you all have that appearance! But regarding this book,"--and
+again he turned over the silver-bound relic--"if its authenticity
+can be proved, as you say, why, the British Museum would give, ah!
+... let me see!--it would give ..."
+
+"Nothing!" declared Heliobas quietly, "believe me, nothing! The
+British Government would no doubt accept it as a gift, just as it
+would with equal alacrity accept the veritable signature of Homer,
+which we also possess in another retreat of ours on the Isle of
+Lemnos. But our treasures are neither for giving nor selling, and
+with respect to this original 'Esdras,' it will certainly never
+pass out of our hands."
+
+"And what of the other missing sixty-nine books?" asked Alwyn.
+
+"They may possibly be somewhere in the world,--two of them, I
+know, were buried in the coffin of one of the last princes of
+Chaldea,--perhaps they will be unearthed some day. There is also a
+rumor to the effect that Esdras engraved his 'Last Prophecy' on a
+small oval tablet of pure jasper, which he himself secreted, no
+one knows where. But to come to the point of immediate issue, ...
+shall I find out and translate for you the allusions to the 'field
+of Ardath' contained in this present volume?"
+
+"Do!" said Alwyn, eagerly, at once returning the book to Heliobas,
+who, seating himself at the table, began carefully looking over
+its ivory pages--"I am all impatience! Even without the vision I
+have had, I should still feel a desire to see this mysterious
+Field for its own sake,--it must have some very strange
+associations to be worth specifying in such a particular manner!"
+
+Heliobas answered nothing--he was entirely occupied in examining
+the small, closely engraved characters in which the ancient record
+was written; the crimson afterglow of the now descended sun flared
+through the window and sent a straight, rosy ray on his bent head
+and white robes, lighting to a more lustrous brilliancy the golden
+cross and jeweled star on his breast, and flashing round the
+silver clasps of the time-honored relic before him. Presently he
+looked up...
+
+"Here we have it!" and he placed his finger on one especial
+passage--it reads as follows:
+
+"'And the Angel bade me enter a waste field, and the field was
+barren and dry save of herbs, and the name of the field was
+ARDATH.
+
+"'And I wandered therein through the hours of the long night, and
+the silver eyes of the field did open before me and I saw signs
+and wonders:
+
+"'And I heard a voice crying aloud, Esdras, Esdras.
+
+"'And I arose and stood on my feet and listened and refrained not
+till I heard the voice again.
+
+"'Which said unto me, Behold the field thou thoughtest barren, how
+great a glory hath the moon unveiled!
+
+"'And I beheld and was sore amazed: for I was no longer myself but
+another.
+
+"'And the sword of death was in that other's soul, and yet that
+other was but myself in pain;
+
+"'And I knew not those things that were once familiar,--and my
+heart failed within me for very fear.
+
+"'And the voice cried aloud again saying: Hide thee from the
+perils of the past and the perils of the future, for a great and
+terrible thing is come upon thee, against which thy strength is as
+a reed in the wind and thy thoughts as flying sand ...
+
+"' [Footnote: See 2 Esdras x. 30-32.] And, lo, I lay as one that
+had been dead and mine understanding was taken from me. And he
+(the Angel) took me by the right hand and comforted me and set me
+upon my feet and said unto me:
+
+"'What aileth thee? and why art thou so disquieted? and why is
+thine understanding troubled and the thoughts of thine heart?
+
+"'And I said, Because thou hast forsaken me and yet I did
+according to thy words, and I went into the field and lo! I have
+seen and yet see that I am not able to express.'"
+
+Here Heliobas paused, having read the last sentence with
+peculiarly impressive emphasis.
+
+"That is all"--he said--"I see no more allusions to the name of
+Ardath. The last three verses are the same as those in the
+accepted Apocrypha."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+AN UNDESIRED BLESSING.
+
+
+Alwyn had listened with an absorbed yet somewhat mystified air of
+attention.
+
+"The venerable Esdras was certainly a poet in his own way!" he
+remarked lightly. "There is something very fascinating about the
+rhythm of his lines, though I confess I don't grasp their meaning.
+Still, I should like to have them all the same,--will you let me
+write them out just as you have translated them?"
+
+Willingly assenting to this, Heliobas read the extract over again,
+Alwyn taking down the words from his dictation.
+
+"Perhaps," he then added musingly, "perhaps it would be as well to
+copy a few passages from the Apocrypha also."
+
+Whereupon the Bible was brought into requisition, and the desired
+quotations made, consisting of verses xxiv. to xxvi. in the
+[Footnote: The reader is requested to refer to the parts of
+"Esdras" here indicated.] ninth chapter of the Second Book of
+Esdras, and verses xxv. to xxvi. in the tenth chapter of the same.
+This done, Heliobas closed and clasped the original text of the
+Prophet's work and returned it to its casket; then addressing his
+guest in a kindly, yet serious tone, he said: "You are quite
+resolved to undertake this journey, Mr. Alwyn?"
+
+Alwyn looked dreamily out of the window at the flame of the sunset
+hues reflected from the glowing sky on the white summit of the
+mountains.
+
+"Yes, ... I ... I think so!" The answer had a touch of indecision
+in it.
+
+"In that case," resumed Heliobas, "I have prepared a letter of
+introduction for you to one of our Order known as Elzear of
+Melyana,--he is a recluse, and his hermitage is situated close to
+the Babylonian ruins. You will find rest and shelter there after
+the fatigues of travel. I have also traced out a map of the
+district, and the exact position of the field you seek, . . here it
+is," and he laid a square piece of parchment on the table; "you
+can easily perceive at a glance how the land lies. There are a few
+directions written at the back, so I think you will have no
+difficulty. This is the letter to Elzear,"--here he held out a
+folded paper--"will you take it now?"
+
+Alwyn received it with a dubious smile, and eyed the donor as if
+he rather suspected the sincerity of his intentions.
+
+"Thanks very much!" he murmured listlessly. "You are exceedingly
+good to make it all such plain sailing for me,--and yet ... to be
+quite frank with you, I can't help thinking I am going on a fool's
+errand!"
+
+"If that is your opinion, why go at all?" queried Heliobas, with a
+slight disdain in his accents. "Return to England instead--forget
+the name of 'Ardath,' and forget also the one who bade you meet
+her there, and who has waited for you 'these many thousand days!'"
+
+Alwyn started as if he had been stung.
+
+"Ah!" he exclaimed. "If I could be certain of seeing her again!
+... if ... good God! the idea seems absurd! ... if that Flower-
+Crowned Wonder of my dream should actually fulfill her promise and
+keep her tryst ..."
+
+"Well!" demanded Heliobas--"If so, what then?"
+
+"Well then I will believe in anything!" he cried--"No miracle will
+seem miraculous.. no impossibility impossible!"
+
+Heliobas sighed, and regarded him thoughtfully.
+
+"You THINK you will believe!" he said somewhat sadly--"But doubts
+such as yours are not easily dispelled. Angels have ere now
+descended to men, men have neither received nor recognized them.
+Angels walk by our side through crowded cities and lonely
+woodlands,--they watch us when we sleep, they hear us when we
+pray, ... and yet the human eye sees nothing save the material
+objects within reach of its vision, and is not very sure of those,
+while it can no more discern the spiritual presences than it can
+without a microscope discern the lovely living creatures contained
+in a drop of dew or a ray of sunshine. Our earthly sight is very
+limited--it can neither perceive the infinitely little nor the
+infinitely great. And it is possible,--nay, it is most probable,
+that even as Peter of old denied his Divine Master, so you, if
+brought face to face with the Angel of your last night's
+experience, would deny and endeavor to disprove her identity."
+
+"Never!" declared Alwyn, with a passionate gesture--"I should know
+her among a thousand!"
+
+For one instant Heliobas bent upon him a sudden, searching, almost
+pitiful glance, then withdrawing his gaze he said gently:
+
+"Well, well! let us hope for the best--God's ways are inscrutable
+--and you tell me that now--now after your strange so-called
+'vision'--you believe in God?"
+
+"I did say so, certainly..." and Alwyn's face flushed a little..
+"but..."
+
+"Ah! ... you hesitate! there is a 'but' in the case!" and Heliobas
+turned upon him with a grand reproach in his brilliant eyes..
+"Already stepping backward on the road! ... already rushing once
+again into the darkness! ..." He paused, then laying one hand on
+the young man's shoulder, continued in mild yet impressive
+accents: "My friend, remember that the doubter and opposer of God,
+is also the doubter and opposer of his own well-being. Let this
+unnatural and useless combat of Human Reason, against Divine
+Instinct cease within you--you, who as a poet are bound to
+EQUALIZE your nature that it may the more harmoniously fulfil its
+high commission. You know what one of your modern writers says of
+life? ... that it is a 'Dream in which we clutch at shadows as
+though they were substances, and sleep deepest when fancying
+ourselves most awake.'[Footnote: Carlyle's Sartor Resartus.]
+Believe me, YOU have slept long enough--it is time you awoke to
+the full realization of your destinies."
+
+Alwyn heard in silence, feeling inwardly rebuked and half ashamed
+--the earnestly spoken words moved him more than he cared to show--
+his head drooped--he made no reply. After all, he thought, he had
+really no more substantial foundation for his unbelief than others
+had for their faith. With all his studies in the modern schools of
+science, he was not a whit more advanced in learning than
+Democritus of old--Democritus who based his system of morals on
+the severest mathematical lines, taking as his starting-point a
+vacuum and atoms, and who after stretching his intellect on a
+constant rack of searching inquiry for years, came at last to the
+unhappy conclusion that man is absolutely incapable of positive
+knowledge, and that even if truth is in his possession he can
+never be certain of it. Was he, Theos Alwyn, wiser than
+Democritus? ... or was this stately Chaldean monk, with the clear,
+pathetic eyes and tender smile, and the symbol of Christ on his
+breast, wiser than both? ... wiser in the wisdom of eternal things
+than any of the subtle-minded ancient Greek philosophers or modern
+imitators of their theories? Was there, COULD there be something
+not yet altogether understood or fathomed in the Christian creed?
+... as this idea occurred to him he looked up and met his
+companion's calm gaze fixed upon him with a watchful gentleness
+and patience.
+
+"Are you reading my thoughts, Heliobas?" he asked, with a forced
+laugh. "I assure you they are not worth the trouble."
+
+Heliobas smiled, but made no answer. Just then one of the monks
+entered the room with a large lighted lamp, which he set on the
+table, and the conversation thus interrupted was not again
+resumed.
+
+The evening shadows were now closing in rapidly, and already above
+the furthest visible snow-peak the first risen star sparkled
+faintly in the darkening sky. Soon the vesper bell began ringing
+as it had rung on the previous night when Alwyn, newly arrived,
+had sat alone in the refectory, listlessly wondering what manner
+of men he had come amongst, and what would be the final result of
+his adventure into the wilds of Caucasus. His feelings had
+certainly undergone some change since then, inasmuch as he was no
+longer disposed to ridicule or condemn religious sentiment, though
+he was nearly as far from actually believing in Religion itself as
+ever. The attitude of his mind was still distinctly skeptical--the
+immutable pride of what he considered his own firmly rooted
+convictions was only very slightly shaken--and he now even viewed
+the prospect of his journey to the "field of Ardath" as a mere
+fantastic whim--a caprice of his own fancy which he chose to
+gratify just for the sake of curiosity.
+
+But notwithstanding the stubbornness of the materialistic
+principles with which he had become imbued, his higher instincts
+were, unconsciously to himself, beginning to be aroused--his
+memory involuntarily wandered back to the sweet, fresh days of his
+earliest manhood before the poison of Doubt had filtered through
+his soul--his character, naturally of the lofty, imaginative, and
+ardent cast, re-asserted its native force over the blighting blow
+of blank Atheism which had for a time paralyzed its efforts--and
+as he unwittingly yielded more and more to the mild persuasions of
+these genial influences, so the former Timon-like bitterness of
+his humor gradually softened. There was no trace in him now of the
+dark, ironic, and reckless scorn that, before his recent visionary
+experience, had distinguished his whole manner and bearing--the
+smile came more readily to his lips--and he seemed content for the
+present to display the sunny side of his nature--a nature
+impassioned, frank, generous, and noble, in spite of the taint of
+overweening, ambitions egotism which somewhat warped its true
+quality and narrowed the range of its sympathies. In his then
+frame of mind, a curious, vague sense of half-pleasurable
+penitence was upon him,--delicate, undefined, almost devotional
+suggestions stirred his thoughts with the refreshment that a cool
+wind brings to parched and drooping flowers,--so that when
+Heliobas, taking up the silver "Esdras" reliquary and preparing to
+leave the apartment in response to the vesper summons, said
+gently, "Will you attend our service, Mr. Alwyn?" he assented at
+once, with a pleased alacrity which somewhat astonished himself as
+he remembered how, on the previous evening, he had despised and
+inwardly resented all forms of religious observance.
+
+However, he did not stop to consider the reason of his altered
+mood, . . he followed the monks into chapel with an air of manly
+grace and quiet reverence that became him much better than the
+offensive and defensive demeanor he had erewhile chosen to assume
+in the same prayer-hallowed place,--he listened to the impressive
+ceremonial from beginning to end without the least fatigue or
+impatience,--and though when the brethren knelt, he could not
+humble himself so far as to kneel also, he still made a slight
+concession to appearances by sitting down and keeping his head in
+a bent posture--"out of respect for the good intentions of these
+worthy men," as he told himself, to silence the inner conflict of
+his own opposing and contradictory sensations. The service
+concluded, he waited as before to see the monks pass out, and was
+smitten with a sudden surprise, compunction, and regret, when
+Heliobas, who walked last as usual, paused where he stood, and
+confronted him, saying:
+
+"I will bid you farewell here, my friend! ... I have many things
+to do this evening, and it is best I should see you no more before
+your departure."
+
+"Why?" asked Alwyn astonished--"I had hoped for another
+conversation with you."
+
+"To what purpose!" inquired Heliobas mildly. "That I should assert
+... and you deny ... facts that God Himself will prove in His own
+way and at His own appointed time? Nay, we should do no good by
+further arguments."
+
+"But," stammered Alwyn hastily, flushing hotly as he spoke, "you
+give me no chance to thank you ... to express my gratitude."
+
+"Gratitude?" questioned Heliobas almost mournfully, with a tinge
+of reproach in his soft, mellow voice. "Are you grateful for
+being, as you think, deluded by a trance? ... cheated, as it were,
+into a sort of semi-belief in the life to come by means of
+mesmerism? Your first request to me, I know, was that you might be
+deceived by my influence into a state of imaginary happiness,--and
+now you fancy your last night's experience was merely the result
+of that pre-eminently foolish desire. You are wrong! ... and, as
+matters stand, no thanks are needed. If I had indeed mesmerized or
+hypnotized you, I might perhaps have deserved some reward for the
+exertion of my purely professional skill, but ... as I have told
+you already ... I have done absolutely nothing. Your fate is, as
+it has always been, in your own hands. You sought me of your own
+accord ... you used me as an instrument, an unwilling instrument,
+remember! ... whereby to break open the prison doors of your
+chafed, and fretting spirit,--and the end of it all is that you
+depart from hence tomorrow of your own free-will and choice, to
+fulfill the appointed tryst made with you, as you believe, by a
+phantom in a vision. In brief"--here he spoke more slowly and with
+marked emphasis--"you go to the field of Ardath to solve a
+puzzling problem ... namely, as to whether what we call life is
+not a Dream--and whether a Dream may not perchance be proved
+Reality! In this enterprise of yours I have no share--nor will I
+say more than this ... God speed you on your errand!"
+
+He held out his hand--Alwyn grasped it, looking earnestly
+meanwhile at the fine intellectual face, the clear pathetic eyes,
+the firm yet sensitive mouth, on which there just then rested a
+serious yet kindly smile.
+
+"What a strange man you are, Heliobas!" he said impulsively ... "I
+wish I knew more about you!"
+
+Heliobas gave him a friendly glance.
+
+"Wish rather that you knew more about yourself"--he answered
+simply--"Fathom your own mystery of being--you shall find none
+deeper, greater, or more difficult of comprehension!"
+
+Alwyn still held his hand, reluctant to let it go. Finally
+releasing it with a slight sigh, he said:
+
+"Well, at any rate, though we part now it will not be for long. We
+MUST meet again!"
+
+"Why, if we must, we shall!" rejoined Heliobas cheerily. "MUST
+cannot be prevented! In the mean time ... farewell!"
+
+"Farewell!" and as this word was spoken their eyes met.
+Instinctively and on a sudden impulse, Alwyn bowed his head in the
+lowest and most reverential salutation he had perhaps ever made to
+any creature of mortal mold, and as he did so Heliobas paused in
+the act of turning away.
+
+"Do you care for a blessing, gentle Skeptic!" he asked in a soft
+tone that thrilled tenderly through the silence of the dimly-lit
+chapel,--then, receiving no reply, he laid one hand gently on the
+young man's dark, clustering curls, and with the other slowly
+traced the sign of the cross upon the smooth, broad fairness of
+his forehead.--"Take it, my son! ... the only blessing I can give
+thee,--the blessing of the Cross of Christ, which in spite of thy
+desertion claims thee, redeems thee, and will yet possess thee for
+its own!"
+
+And before Alwyn could recover from his astonishment sufficiently
+to interrupt and repudiate this, to him, undesired form of
+benediction, Heliobas had gone, and he was left alone. Lifting his
+head he stared out into the further corridor, down which he just
+perceived a distant glimmer of vanishing white robes,--and for a
+moment he was filled with speechless indignation. It seemed to him
+that the sign thus traced on his brow must be actually visible
+like a red brand burnt into his flesh,--and all his old and
+violent prejudices against Christianity rushed back upon him with
+the resentful speed of once baffled foes returning anew to storm a
+citadel. Almost as rapidly, however, his anger cooled,--he
+remembered that in his vision of the previous night, the light
+that had guided him through the long, shadowy vista had always
+preceded him in the form of a Cross,--and in a softer mood he
+glanced at the ruby Star shining steadily above the otherwise
+darkened altar. Involuntarily the words "We have seen His Star in
+the East and have come to worship Him"--occurred to his memory,
+but he dismissed them as instantly as they suggested themselves,
+and finding his own thoughts growing perplexing and troublesome he
+hastily left the chapel.
+
+Joining some of the monks who were gathered in a picturesque group
+round the fire in the refectory he sat chatting with them for
+about half an hour or so, hoping to elicit from them in the course
+of conversation some particulars concerning the daily life,
+character, and professing aims of their superior,--but in this
+attempt he failed. They spoke of Heliobas as believing men may
+speak of saints, with hushed reverence and admiring tenderness--
+but on any point connected with his faith, or the spiritual nature
+of his theories, they held their peace, evidently deeming the
+subject too sacred for discussion. Baffled in all his inquiries
+Alwyn at last said good-night, and retired to rest in the small
+sleeping-apartment prepared for his accommodation, where he
+enjoyed a sound, refreshing, and dreamless slumber.
+
+The next morning he was up at daybreak, and long before the sun
+had risen above the highest peak of Caucasus, he had departed from
+the Lars Monastery, leaving a handsome donation in the poor-box
+toward the various charitable works in which the brethren were
+engaged, such as the rescue of travellers lost in the snow, or the
+burial of the many victims murdered on or near the Pass of Dariel
+by the bands of fierce mountain robbers and assassins, that at
+certain seasons infest that solitary region. Making the best of
+his way to the fortress of Passanaur, he there joined a party of
+adventurous Russian climbers who had just successfully
+accomplished the assent of Mount Kazbek, and in their company
+proceeded through the rugged Aragua valley to Tiflis, which he
+reached that same evening. From this dark and dismal-looking town,
+shadowed on all sides by barren and cavernous hills, he dispatched
+the manuscript of his mysteriously composed poem, together with
+the letter concerning it, to his friend Villiers in England,--and
+then, yielding to a burning sense of impatience within himself,--
+impatience that would brook no delay,--he set out resolutely, and
+at once, on his long pilgrimage to the "land of sand and ruin and
+gold"--the land of terrific prophecy and stern fulfilment,--the
+land of mighty and mournful memories, where the slow river
+Euphrates clasps in its dusky yellow ring the ashes of great
+kingdoms fallen to rise no more.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON.
+
+
+It was no light or easy journey he had thus rashly undertaken on
+the faith of a dream,--for dream he still believed it to be. Many
+weary days and nights were consumed in the comfortless tedium of
+travel, . . and though he constantly told himself what unheard-of
+folly it was to pursue an illusive chimera of his own
+imagination,--a mere phantasm which had somehow or other taken
+possession of his brain at a time when that brain must have been
+acted upon (so he continued to think) by strong mesmeric or
+magnetic influence, he went on his way all the same with a sort of
+dogged obstinacy which no fatigue could daunt or lessen. He never
+lay down to rest without the faint hope of seeing once again, if
+only in sleep, the radiant Being whose haunting words had sent him
+on this quest of "Ardath,"--but herein his expectations were not
+realized. No more flower-crowned angels floated before him--no
+sweet whisper of love, encouragement, or promise came mysteriously
+on his ears in the midnight silences,--his slumbers were always
+profound and placid as those of a child and utterly dreamless.
+
+One consolation he had however, ... he could write. Not a day
+passed without his finding some new inspiration ... some fresh,
+quaint, and lovely thought, that flowed of itself into most
+perfect and rhythmical utterance,--glorious lines of verse glowing
+with fervor and beauty seemed to fall from his pencil without any
+effort on his part,--and if he had had reason in former times to
+doubt the strength of his poetical faculty, it was now very
+certain he could do so longer. His mind was as a fine harp newly
+strung, attuned, and quivering with the consciousness of the music
+pent-up within it,--and as he remembered the masterpiece of poesy
+he had written in his seeming trance, the manuscript of which
+would soon be in the hands of the London publishers, his heart
+swelled with a growing and irrepressible sense of pride. For he
+knew and felt--with an undefinable yet positive certainty--that
+however much the public or the critics might gainsay him, his fame
+as a poet of the very highest order would ere long be asserted and
+assured. A deep tranquillity was in his soul ... a tranquillity
+that seemed to increase the further he went onward,--the restless
+weariness that had once possessed him was past, and a vaguely
+sweet content pervade his being like the odor of early roses
+pervading warm air ... he felt, he hoped, he loved! ... and yet
+his feelings, hopes, and longings turned to something altogether
+undeclared and indefinite, as softly dim and distant as the first
+faint white cloud-signal wafted from the moon in heaven, when, on
+the point of rising, she makes her queenly purpose known to her
+waiting star-attendants.
+
+Practically considered, his journey was tedious and for the most
+part dull and uninteresting. In these Satan-like days of "going to
+and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it" travelling has
+lost much of its old romantic charm, . . the idea of traversing long
+distances no more fills the expectant adventurer with a
+pleasurable sense of uncertainty and mystery--he knows exactly
+what to anticipate.. it is all laid out for him plainly on the
+level lines of the commonplace, and nothing is left to his
+imagination. The Continent of Europe has been ransacked from end
+to end by tourists who have turned it into a sort of exhausted
+pleasure-garden, whereof the various entertainments are too
+familiarly known to arouse any fresh curiosity,--the East is
+nearly in the same condition,--hordes of British and American
+sight-seers scamper over the empire-strewn soil of Persia and
+Syria with the unconcerned indifference of beings to whom not only
+a portion of the world's territory, but the whole world itself,
+belongs,--and soon there will not be an inch of ground left on the
+narrow extent of our poor planet that has not been trodden by the
+hasty, scrambling, irreverent footsteps of some one or other of
+the ever-prolific, all-spreading English-speaking race.
+
+On his way Alwyn met many of his countrymen,--travellers who, like
+himself, had visited the Caucasus and Armenia and were now en
+route, some for Damascus, some for Jerusalem and the Holy Land--
+others again for Cairo and Alexandria, to depart from thence
+homeward by the usual Mediterranean line, . . but among these birds-
+of-passage acquaintance he chanced upon none who were going to the
+Ruins of Babylon. He was glad of this--for the peculiar nature of
+his enterprise rendered a companion altogether undesirable,--and
+though on one occasion he encountered a gentleman-novelist with a
+note-book, who was exceedingly anxious to fraternize with him and
+discover whither he vas bound, he succeeded in shaking off this
+would-be incubus at Mosul, by taking him to a wonderful old
+library in that city where there were a number of French
+translations of Turkish and Syriac romances. Here the gentleman-
+novelist straightway ascended to the seventh heaven of plagiarism,
+and began to copy energetically whole scenes and descriptive
+passages from dead-and-gone authors, unknown to English critics,
+for the purpose of inserting them hereafter into his own
+"original" work of fiction--and in this congenial occupation he
+forgot all about the "dark handsome man, with the wide brows of a
+Marc Antony and the lips of a Catullus," as he had already
+described Alwyn in the note-book before-mentioned. While in Mosul,
+Alwyn himself picked up a curiosity in the way of literature,--a
+small quaint volume entitled "The Final Philosophy Of Algazzali
+The Arabian." It was printed in two languages--the original Arabic
+on one page, and, facing it, the translation in very old French.
+The author, born A.D. 1058, described himself as "a poor student
+striving to discern the truth of things"--and his work was a
+serious, incisive, patiently exhaustive inquiry into the workings
+of nature, the capabilities of human intelligence, and the
+deceptive results of human reason. Reading it, Alwyn was
+astonished to find that nearly all the ethical propositions
+offered for the world's consideration to-day by the most learned
+and cultured minds, had been already advanced and thoroughly
+discussed by this same Algazzali. One passage in particular
+arrested his attention as being singularly applicable to his own
+immediate condition, . . it ran as follows,--
+
+"I began to examine the objects of sensation and speculation to
+see if they could possibly admit of doubt. Then, doubts crowded
+upon me in such numbers that my incertitude became complete.
+Whence results the confidence I have in sensible things? The
+strongest of all our senses is sight,--yet if we look at the stars
+they seem to be as small as money-pieces--but mathematical proofs
+convince us that they are larger than the earth. These and other
+things are judged by the SENSES, but rejected by REASON as false.
+I abandoned the senses therefore, having seen my confidence in
+their ABSOLUTE TRUTH shaken. Perhaps, said I, there is no
+assurance but in the notions of reason? ... that is to say, first
+principles, as that ten is more than three? Upon this the SENSES
+replied: What assurance have you that your confidence in REASON is
+not of the same nature as your confidence in US? When you relied
+on us, reason stepped in and gave us the lie,--had not reason been
+there you would have continued to rely on us. Well, nay there not
+exist some other judge SUPERIOR to reason who, if he appeared,
+would refute the judgments of reason in the same way that reason
+refuted us? The non-appearance of such a judge is no proof of his
+non-existence. ... I strove to answer this objection, and my
+difficulties increased when I came to reflect on sleep. I said to
+myself: During sleep you give to visions a reality and
+consistence, and on awakening you are made aware that they were
+nothing but visions. What assurance have you that all you feel and
+know does actually exist? It is all true as respects your
+condition at the moment,--but it is nevertheless possible that
+another condition should present itself which should be to your
+awakened state, that which your awakened state is now to your
+sleep,--SO THAT, AS RESPECTS THIS HIGHER CONDITION YOUR WAKING IS
+BUT SLEEP."
+
+Over and over again Alwyn read these words and pondered on the
+deep and difficult problems they suggested, and he was touched to
+an odd sense of shamed compunction, when at the close of the book
+he came upon Algazzali's confession of utter vanquishment and
+humility thus simply recorded:
+
+"I examined my actions and found the best were those relating to
+instruction and education, and even there I saw myself given up to
+unimportant sciences all useless in another world. Reflecting on
+the aim of my teaching, I found it was not pure in the sight of
+the Lord. And that all my efforts were directed toward the
+acquisition of glory to myself. Having therefore distributed my
+wealth I left Bagdad and retired into Syria, where I remained in
+solitary struggle with my soul, combating my passions and
+exercising myself in the purification of my heart and in
+preparation for the other world."
+
+This ancient philosophical treatise, together with the mystical
+passage from the original text of Esdras and the selected verses
+from the Apocrypha, formed all Alwyn's stock of reading for the
+rest of his journey,--the rhapsodical lines of the Prophet he knew
+by heart, as one knows a favorite poem, and he often caught
+himself unconsciously repeating the strange words: "Behold the
+field thou thoughtest barren: how great a glory hath the moon
+unveiled!
+
+"And I beheld, and was sore amazed, for I was no longer myself but
+another.
+
+"And the sword of death was in that other's soul: and yet that
+other was but myself, in pain.
+
+"And I knew not the things that were once familiar and my heart
+failed within me for very fear..."
+
+What did they mean, he wondered? or had they any meaning at all
+beyond the faint, far-off suggestions of thought that may
+occasionally and with difficulty be discerned through obscure and
+reckless ecstasies of language which, "full of sound and fury,
+signify nothing"? Was there, could there, be anything mysterious
+or sacred in this "wiste field" anciently known as "Ardath"? These
+questions flitted hazily from time to time through his brain, but
+he made no attempt to answer them either by refutation or reason,
+... indeed sober, matter-of-fact reason, he was well aware, played
+no part in his present undertaking.
+
+It was late in the afternoon of a sultry parching day when he at
+last arrived at Hillah. This dull little town, built at the
+beginning of the twelfth century out of the then plentifully
+scattered fragments of Babylon, has nothing to offer to the modern
+traveller save various annoyances in the shape of excessive heat,
+dust, or rather fine blown sand,--dirt, flies, bad food, and
+general discomfort; and finding the aspect of the place not only
+untempting, but positively depressing, Alwyn left his surplus
+luggage at a small and unpretentious hostelry kept by a Frenchman,
+who catered specially for archaeological tourists and explorers,
+and after an hour's rest, set out alone and on foot for the
+"eastern quarter" of the ruins,--namely those which are considered
+by investigators to begin about two miles above Hillah. A little
+beyond them and close to the river-bank, according to the
+deductions he had received, dwelt the religious recluse for whom
+he brought the letter of introduction from Heliobas,--a letter
+bearing on its cover a superscription in Latin which translated
+ran thus:--"To the venerable and much esteemed Elzear of Melyana,
+at the Hermitage, near Hillah. In faith, peace, and good-will.
+Greeting." Anxious to reach Elzear's abode before nightfall, he
+walked on as briskly as the heat and heaviness of the sandy soil
+would allow, keeping to the indistinctly traced path that crossed
+and re-crossed at intervals the various ridges of earth strewn
+with pulverized fragments of brick, bitumen, and pottery, which
+are now the sole remains of stately buildings once famous in
+Babylon.
+
+A low red sun was sinking slowly on the edge of the horizon, when,
+pausing to look about him, he perceived in the near distance, the
+dark outline of the great mound known as Birs-Nimroud, and
+realized with a sort of shock that he was actually surrounded on
+all sides by the crumbled and almost indistinguishable ruins of
+the formerly superb all-dominant Assyrian city that had been "as a
+golden cup in the Lord's hand," and was now no more in very truth
+than a "broken and an empty vessel." For the words, "And Babylon
+shall become heaps," have certainly been verified with startling
+exactitude--"heaps" indeed it has become,--nothing BUT heaps,--
+heaps of dull earth with here and there a few faded green tufts of
+wild tamarisk, which while faintly relieveing the blankness of the
+ground, at the same time intensify its monotonous dreaminess.
+Alwyn, beholding the mournful desolation of the scene, felt a
+strong sense of disappointment,--he had expected something
+different,--his imagination had pictured these historical ruins as
+being of larger extent and more imposing character. His eyes
+rested rather wearily on the slow, dull gleam of the Euphrates, as
+it wound past the deserted spaces where "the mighty city the
+astonishment of nations" had once stood, ... and poet though he
+was to the very core of his nature, he could see nothing poetical
+in these spectral mounds and stone heaps, save in the significant
+remembrance they offered of the old Scriptual prophecy--"Babylon
+is fallen--is fallen! Her princes, her wise men, her captains, her
+rulers, and her mighty men shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not
+wake, saith the King who is the Lord of Hosts." And truly it
+seemed as if the curse which had blighted the city's bygone
+splendor had doomed even its ruins to appear contemptible.
+
+Just then the glow of the disappearing sun touched the upper edge
+of Birs-Nimroud, giving it for one instant a weird effect, as
+though the ghost of some Babylonian watchman were waving a lit
+torch from its summit,--but the lurid glare soon faded and a dead
+gray twilight settled solemnly down over the melancholy landscape.
+With a sudden feeling of dejection and lassitude upon him, Alwyn,
+heaving a deep sigh, went onward, and soon perceived, lying a
+little to the north of the river, a small, roughly erected
+tenement with a wooden cross on its roof. Rightly concluding that
+this must be Elzear of Melyana's hermitage, he quickly made his
+way thither and knocked at the door.
+
+It was opened to him at once by a white-haired, picturesque old
+man, who received him with a mute sign of welcome, and who at the
+same time laid one hand lightly but expressively on his own lips
+to signify that he was dumb. This was Elzear himself. He was
+attired in the same sort of flowing garb as that worn by the monks
+of Dariel, and with his tall, spare figure, long, silvery beard
+and deep-sunken yet still brilliant dark eyes, he might have
+served as a perfect model for one of the inspired prophets of
+bygone ancient days. Though Nature had deprived him of speech, his
+serene countenance spoke eloquently in his favor, its mild
+benevolent expression betokening that inward peace of the heart
+which so often renders old age more beautiful than youth. He
+perused with careful slowness the letter Alwyn presented to him,--
+and then, inclining his head gravely, he made a courteous and
+comprehensive gesture, to intimate that himself and all that his
+house contained were at the service of the newcomer. He proceeded
+to testify the sincerity of this assurance at once by setting a
+plentiful supply of food and wine before his guest, waiting upon
+him, moreover, while he ate and drank, with a respectful humility
+which somewhat embarrassed Alwyn, who wished to spare him the
+trouble of such attendance and told him so many times with much
+earnestness. But all to no purpose--Elzear only smiled gently and
+continued to perform the duties of hospitality in his own way ...
+it was evidently no use interfering with him. Later on he showed
+his visitor a small cell-like apartment containing a neat bed,
+together with a table, a chair, and a large Crucifix, which latter
+object was suspended against the wall, . . and indicating by
+eloquent signs that here the weariest traveller might find good
+repose, he made a low salutation and departed altogether for the
+night.
+
+What a still place the "Hermitage" was, thought Alwyn, as soon as
+Elzear's retreating steps had died away into silence. There was
+not a sound to be heard anywhere, ... not even the faint rustle of
+leaves stirred by the wind. And what a haunting, grave, wistfully
+tender expression filled the face of that sculptured Image on the
+Cross, which in intimate companionship with himself seemed to
+possess the little room! He could not bear the down-drooping
+appealing, penetrating look in those heavenly-kind yet piteous
+Eyes, ... turning abruptly away he opened the narrow window, and
+folding his arms on the sill surveyed the scene before him. The
+full moon was rising slowly, ... round and large, she hung like a
+yellow shield on the dark, dense wall of the sky. The Rums of
+Babylon were plainly visible.. the river shone like a golden
+ribbon,--the outline of Birs-Nimoud was faintly rimmed with
+light, and had little streaks of amber radiance wandering softly
+up and down its shadowy slopes.
+
+"'AND I WENT INTO THE FIELD CALLED ARDATH AND THERE I SAT AMONG
+THE FLOWERS!'" mused Alwyn half aloud, his dreamy gaze fixed on
+the gradually brightening heavens ... "Why not go there at once
+... NOW!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE FIELD OF FLOWERS.
+
+
+This idea had no sooner entered his mind than he prepared to act
+upon it,--though only a short while previously, feeling thoroughly
+overcome by fatigue, he had resolved to wait till next day before
+setting out for the chief goal of his long pilgrimage. But now,
+strangely enough, all sense of weariness had suddenly left him,--a
+keen impatience burned in his veins,--and a compelling influence
+stronger than himself seemed to urge him on to the instant
+fulfillment of his purpose. The more he thought about it the more
+restless he became, and the more eagerly desirous to prove, with
+the least possible delay, the truth or the falsity of his mystic
+vision at Danel. By the light of the small lamp left on the table
+he consulted his map,--the map Heliobas had traced,--and also the
+written directions that accompanied it--though these he had read
+so often over and over again that he knew them by heart. They were
+simply and concisely worded thus: "On the east bank of the
+Euphrates, nearly opposite the 'Hermitage,' there is the sunken
+fragment of a bronze Gate, formerly belonging to the Palace of the
+Babylonian Kings. Three miles and a half to the southwest of this
+fragment and in a direct line with it, straight across country,
+will be found a fallen pillar of red granite half buried in the
+earth. The square tract of land extending beyond this broken
+column is the field known to the Prophet Esdras as the 'FIELD OF
+ARDATH'"
+
+He was on the east bank of the Euphrates already,--and a walk of
+three miles and a half could surely be accomplished in an hour or
+very little over that time. Hesitating no longer he made his way
+out of the house, deciding that if he met Elzear he would say he
+was going for a moonlight stroll before retiring to rest. That
+venerable recluse, however, was nowhere to be seen,--and as the
+door of the "Hermitage" was only fastened with a light latch he
+had no difficulty in effecting a noiseless exit. Once in the open
+air he stopped, . . startled by the sound of full, fresh, youthful
+voices singing in clear and harmonious unison ... "KYRIE ELEISON!
+CHRISTE ELEISON! KYRIE ELEISON!" He listened, . . looking everywhere
+about him in utter amazement. There was no habitation in sight
+save Elzear's,--and the chorus certainly did not proceed from
+thence, but rather seemed to rise upward through the earth,
+floating in released sweet echoes to and fro upon the hushed air.
+"KYRIE ELEISON! ... CHRISTE ELEISON!" How it swayed about him like
+a close chime of bells!
+
+He stood motionless, perplexed and. wondering, ... was there a
+subterranean grotto near at hand where devotional chants were
+sung?--or, . . and a slight tremor ran through him at the thought, . .
+was there something supernatural in the music, notwithstanding its
+human-seeming speech and sound? Just then it ceased, ... all was
+again silent as before, . . and angry with himself for his own
+foolish fancies, he set about the task of discovering the "sunken
+fragment" Heliobas had mentioned. Very soon he found it, driven
+deep into the soil and so blackened and defaced by time that it
+was impossible to trace any of the elaborate carvings that must
+have once adorned it. In fact it would not have been recognizable
+as a portion of a gate at all, had it not still possessed an
+enormous hinge which partly clung to it by means of one huge
+thickly rusted nail, dose beside it, grew a tree of weird and
+melancholy appearance--its trunk was split asunder and one half of
+it was withered. The other half leaning mournfully on one side
+bent down its branches to the ground, trailing a wealth of long,
+glossy green leaves in the dust of the ruined city. This was the
+famous tree called by the natives Athel, of which old legends say
+that it used to be a favorite evergreen much cultivated and prized
+by the Babylonian nobility, who loving its pleasant shade, spared
+no pains to make it grow in their hanging gardens and spacious
+courts, though its nature was altogether foreign to the soil. And
+now, with none to tend it or care whether it flourishes or decays,
+it faithfully clings to the deserted spot where it was once so
+tenderly fostered, showing its sympathy with the surrounding
+desolation, by growing always in split halves, one withered and
+one green--a broken-hearted creature, yet loyal to the memory of
+past love and joy. Alwyn stood under its dark boughs, knowing
+nothing of its name or history,--every now and then a wailing
+whisper seemed to shudder through it, though there was no wind,--
+and he heard the eerie lamenting sigh with an involuntary sense of
+awe. The whole scene was far more impressive by night than by
+day,--the great earth mounds of Babylon looked like giant graves
+inclosing a glittering ring of winding waters. Again he examined
+the imbedded fragment of the ancient gate,--and then feeling quite
+certain of his starting-point he set his face steadily toward the
+southwest,--there the landscape before him lay flat and bare in
+the beamy lustre of the moon. The soil was sandy and heavy to the
+tread,--moreover it was an excessively hot night,--too hot to walk
+fast. He glanced at his watch,--it was a few minutes past ten
+o'clock. Keeping up the moderate pace the heat enforced, it was
+possible he might reach the mysterious field about half-past
+eleven, . . perhaps earlier. And now his nerves began to quiver with
+strong excitement, . . had he yielded to the promptings of his own
+feverish impatience, he would most probably have run all the way
+in spite of the sultriness of the air,--but he restrained this
+impulse, and walked leisurely on purpose, reproaching himself as
+he went along for the utter absurdity of his expectations.
+
+"Was ever madman more mad than I!" he murmured with some self-
+contempt--"What logical human being in his right mind would be
+guilty of such egregious folly! But am I logical? Certainly not!
+Am I in my right mind? I think I am,--yet I may be wrong. The
+question remains, ... what IS logic? ... and what IS being in
+one's right mind? No one can absolutely decide! Let me see if I
+can review calmly my ridiculous position. It comes to this,--I
+insist on being mesmerized ... I have a dream, ... and I see a
+woman in the dream"--here he suddenly corrected himself ... "a
+woman did I say? No! ... she was something far more than that! A
+lovely phantom--a dazzling creature of my own imagination ... an
+exquisite ideal whom I will one day immortalize ... yes!--
+IMMORTALIZE in song!"
+
+He raised his eyes as he spoke to the dusky firmament thickly
+studded with stars, and just then caught sight of a fleecy silver-
+rimmed cloud passing swiftly beneath the moon and floating
+downwards toward the earth,--it was shaped like a white-winged
+bird, and was here and there tenderly streaked with pink, as
+though it had just travelled from some distant land where the sun
+was rising. It was the only cloud in the sky,--and it had a
+peculiar, almost phenomenal effect by reason of its rapid motion,
+there being not the faintest breeze stirring. Alwyn watched it
+gliding down the heavens till it had entirely disappeared, and
+then began his meditations anew.
+
+"Any one,--even without magnetic influence being brought to bear
+upon him, might have visions such as mine! Take an opium-eater,
+for instance, whose life is one long confused vista of visions,--
+suppose he were to accept all the wild suggestions offered to his
+drugged brain, and persist in following them out to some sort of
+definite conclusion,--the only place for that man would be a
+lunatic asylum. Even the most ordinary persons, whose minds are
+never excited in any abnormal way, are subject to very curious and
+inexplicable dreams,--but for all that, they are not such fools as
+to believe in them. True, there is my poem,--I don't know how I
+wrote it, yet written it is, and complete from beginning to end--
+an actual tangible result of my vision, and strange enough in its
+way, to say the least of it. But what is stranger still is that I
+LOVE the radiant phantom that I saw ... yes, actually love her
+with a love no mere woman, were she fair as Troy's Helen, could
+ever arouse in me! Of course,--in spite of the contrary assertions
+made by that remarkably interesting Chaldean monk Heliobas,--I
+feel I am the victim of a brain-delusion,--therefore it is just as
+well I should see this 'field of Ardath' and satisfy myself that
+nothing comes of it--in which case I shall be cured of my craze."
+
+He walked on for some time, and presently stopped a moment to
+examine his map by the light of the moon. As he did so, he became
+aware of the extraordinary, almost terrible, stillness surrounding
+him. He had thought the "Hermitage" silent as a closed tomb--but
+it was nothing to the silence here. He felt it inclosing him like
+a thick wall on all sides,--he heard the regular pulsations of his
+own heart--even the rushing of his own blood--but no other sound
+was audible. Earth and the air seemed breathless, as though with
+some pent-up mysterious excitement,--the stars were like so many
+large living eyes eagerly gazing down on the solitary human being
+who thus wandered at night in the land of the prophets of old--the
+moon itself appeared to stare at him in open wonderment. He grew
+uncomfortably conscious of this speechless watchfulness of
+nature,--he strained his ears to listen, as it were to the
+deepening dumbness of all existing things,--and to conquer the
+strange sensations that were overcoming him, he proceeded at a
+more rapid pace,--but in two or three minutes came again to an
+abrupt halt. For there in front of him, right across his path, lay
+the fallen pillar which, according to Heliobas, marked the
+boundary to the field he sought! Another glance at his map decided
+the position ... he had reached his journey's end at last! What
+was the time? He looked--it was just twenty minutes past eleven.
+
+A curious, unnatural calmness suddenly possessed him, ... he
+surveyed with a quiet, almost cold, unconcern the prospect before
+him,--a wide level square of land covered with tufts of coarse
+grass and clumps of wild tamarisk, ... nothing more. This was the
+Field of Ardath ... this bare, unlovely wilderness without so much
+as a tree to grace its outline! From where he stood he could view
+its whole extent,--and as he beheld its complete desolation he
+smiled,--a faint, half-bitter smile. He thought of the words in
+the ancient book of "Esdras:" "And the Angel bade me enter a waste
+field, and the field was barren and dry save of herbs, and the
+name of the field was Ardath. And I wandered therein through the
+hours of the long night, and the silver eyes of the field did open
+before me and therein I saw signs and wonders."
+
+"Yes,--the field is 'barren and dry' enough in all conscience!" he
+murmured listlessly--"But as for the 'silver eyes' and the 'signs
+and wonders,' they must have existed only in the venerable
+Prophet's imagination, just as my flower-crowned Angel-maiden
+exists in mine. Well! ... now, Theos Alwyn" ... he continued,
+apostrophizing himself aloud,--"Are you contented? Are you quite
+convinced of your folly? ... and do you acknowledge that a fair
+Dream is as much of a lie and a cheat as all the other fair-
+seeming things that puzzle and torture poor human nature? Return
+to your former condition of reasoning and reasonable skepticism,--
+aye, even atheism if you will, for the materialists are right, ...
+you cannot prove a God or the possibility of any purely spiritual
+life. Why thus hanker after a phantom loveliness? Fame--fame! Win
+fame! ... that is enough for you in this world, ... and as for a
+next world, who believes in it?--and who, believing, cares?"
+
+Soliloquizing in this fashion, he set his foot on Ardath itself,
+determining to walk across and around it from end to end. The
+grass was long and dry, yet it made no rustle beneath his tread
+... he seemed to be shod with the magic shoes of silence. He
+walked on till he reached about the middle of the field, where
+perceiving a broad flat stone near him, he sat down to rest. There
+was a light mist rising,--a thin moonlit-colored vapor that crept
+slowly upward from the ground and remained hovering like a wide,
+suddenly-spun gossamer web, some two or three inches above it,
+thus giving a cool, luminous, watery effect to the hot and arid
+soil.
+
+"According to the Apocrypha, Esdras 'sat among the flowers,'" he
+idly mused--"Well! ... perhaps there were flowers in those days,--
+but it is very evident there are none now. A more dreary, utterly
+desolate place than this famous 'Ardath' I have never seen!"
+
+At that moment a subtle fragrance scented the still air, ... a
+fragrance deliciously sweet, as of violets mingled with myrtle. He
+inhaled the delicate odor, surprised and confounded.
+
+"Flowers after all!" he exclaimed. ... "Or maybe some aromatic
+herb..." and he bent down to examine the turf at his feet. To his
+amazement he perceived a thick cluster of white blossoms, star-
+shaped and glossy-leaved, with deep golden centres, wherein bright
+drops of dew sparkled like brilliants, and from whence puffs of
+perfume rose like incense swung at unseen altars! He looked at
+them in doubt that was almost dread, ... were they real? ... were
+these the "silver eyes" in which Esdras had seen "signs and
+wonders"? ... or was he hopelessly brain-sick with delusions, and
+dreaming again?
+
+He touched them hesitatingly ... they were actual living things,
+with creamy petals soft as velvet,--he was about to gather one of
+them,--when all at once his attention was caught and riveted by
+something like a faint shadow gliding across the plain. A
+smothered cry escaped his lips, ... he sprang erect and gazed
+eagerly forward, half in hope,--half in fear. What slight Figure
+was that, pacing slowly, serenely, and all alone in the moonlight?
+... Without another instant's pause he rushed impetuously toward
+it,--heedless that as he went, he trod on thousands of those
+strange starry blossoms, which now, with sudden growth, covered
+and whitened every inch of the ground, thus marvellously
+fulfilling the words spoken of old: . . "Behold the field thou
+thoughest barren; how great a glory hath the moon unveiled!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+GOD'S MAIDEN EDRIS.
+
+
+He ran on swiftly for a few paces,--then coming more closely in
+view of the misty Shape he pursued, he checked himself abruptly
+and stood still, his heart sinking with a bitter and irrepressible
+sense of disappointment. Here surely was no Angel wanderer from
+unseen spheres! ... only a girl, clad in floating gray draperies
+that clung softly to her slim figure, and trailed behind her as
+she moved sedately along through the snow-white blossoms that bent
+beneath her noiseless tread. He had no eyes for the strange
+flower-transfiguration of the lately barren land,--all his
+interest was centered on the slender, graceful form of the
+mysterious Maiden. She, meanwhile, went on her way, till she
+reached the western boundary of the field,--there she turned, ...
+hesitated a moment, ... and then came back straight toward him. He
+watched her approach as though she were some invisible fate,--and
+a tremor shook his limbs as she drew nearer ... still nearer! He
+could see her distinctly now, all but her face,--that was in
+shadow, for her head was bent and her eyes were downcast. Her
+long, fair hair flowed in a loose rippling mass over her shoulders
+... she wore a wreath of the Ardath flowers, and carried a cluster
+of them clasped between her small, daintily shaped hands. A few
+steps more, and she was close beside him--she stopped as if in
+expectation of some word or sign ... but he stood mute and
+motionless, not daring to speak or stir. Then--without raising her
+eyes--she passed, ... passed like a flitting vapor,--and he
+remained as though rooted to the spot, in a sort of vague, dumb
+bewilderment! His stupefaction was brief however--rousing himself
+to swift resolution, he hastened, after her.
+
+"Stay! stay!" he cried aloud.
+
+Obedient to his call she paused, but did not turn. He came up with
+her. ... he caught at her robe, soft to the touch as silken gauze,
+and overwhelmed by a sudden emotion of awe and reverence, he sank
+on his knees.
+
+"Who, and what are you?" he murmured in trembling tones--"Tell me!
+If you are mortal maid I will not harm you, I swear! ... See! ...
+I am only a poor crazed fool that loves a Dream, ... that stakes
+his life upon a chance of Heaven, ... pity me as you are gentle!
+... but do not fear me ... only speak!"
+
+No answer came. He looked up--and now in the rich radiance of the
+moon beheld her face ... how like, and yet how altogether unlike
+it was to the face of the Angel in his vision! For that ethereal
+Being had seemed dazzlingly, supremely beautiful beyond all mortal
+power of description,--whereas this girl was simply fair, small,
+and delicate, with something wistful and pathetic in the lines of
+her sweet mouth, and shadows as of remembered sorrows slumbering
+in the depths of her serene, dove-like eyes. Her fragile figure
+drooped wearily as though she were exhausted by some long fatigue,
+... yet, ... gazing down upon him, she smiled, ... and in that
+smile, the faint resemblance she bore to his Spirit-ideal flashed
+out like a beam of sunlight, though it vanished again as quickly
+as it had shone. He waited eagerly to hear her voice, ... waited
+in a sort of breathless suspense,--but as she still kept silence,
+he sprang up from his kneeling attitude and seized her hands ...
+how soft they were and warm!--he folded them in his own and drew
+her closer to himself ... the flowers she held fell from her
+grasp, and lay in a tumbled fragrant heap between them. His brain
+was in a whirl--the Past and the Future--the Real and the Unreal--
+the Finite and the Infinite--seemed all merging into one another
+without any shade of difference or division!
+
+"We have met very strangely, you and I!"--he said, scarcely
+conscious of the words he uttered--"Will you not tell me your
+name?"
+
+A faint sigh escaped her.
+
+"My name is Edris," she answered, in low musical accents, that
+carried to his sense of hearing a suggestion, of something sweet
+and familiar.
+
+"Edris!" he repeated--"Edris!" and gazing at her dreamily he
+raised her hands to his lips and kissed them gently--"My fairest
+Edris! From whence do you come?"
+
+She met his eyes with a mild look of reproach and wonderment.
+
+"From a far, far country, Theos!" and he started as she thus
+addressed him--"A land where no love is wasted and no promise
+forgotten!"
+
+Again that mystic light passed over her pale face--the blossom-
+coronal she wore seemed for a moment to glitter like a circlet of
+stars. His heart beat quickly--could he believe her? ... was she
+in very truth that shining Peri whose aerial loveliness had so
+long haunted his imagination? Nay!--it was impossible! ... for if
+she were, why should she veil her native glory in such simple
+maiden guise?
+
+Searchingly he studied every feature of her countenance, and as he
+did so his doubts concerning her spirit-origin became more and
+more confirmed. She was a living, breathing woman--an actual
+creature of flesh and blood,--yet how account for her appearance
+on the field of Ardath? This puzzled him ... till all at once a
+logical explanation of the whole mystery dawned upon his mind.
+Heliobas had sent her hither on purpose to meet him! Of course!
+how dense he had been not to see through so transparent a scheme
+before! The clever Chaldean had resolved that he, Theos Alwyn,
+should somehow be brought to accept his trance as a real
+experience, so that henceforth his faith in "things unseen and
+eternal" might be assured. Many psychological theorists would
+uphold such a deceit as not only permissible, but even praise-
+worthy, if practiced for the furtherance of a good cause. Even the
+venerable hermit Elzear might have shared in the conspiracy, and
+this "Edris," as she called herself, was no doubt perfectly
+trained in the part she had to play! A plot for his conversion!
+... well! ... he would enter into it himself, he resolved! ... why
+not? The girl was exquisitely fair,--a veritable Psyche of soft
+charms!--and a little lovemaking by moonlight would do no harm, . .
+... here he suddenly became aware that while these thoughts were
+passing through his brain he had unconsciously allowed her hands
+to slip from his hold, and she now stood apart at some little
+distance, her eyes fixed full upon him with an expression of most
+plaintive piteousness. He made a hasty step or two toward her,--
+and as he did so, his pulses began to throb with an extraordinary
+sensation of pleasure,--pleasure so keen as to be almost pain.
+
+"Edris!".. he whispered,--"Edris..." and stopped irresolutely.
+
+She looked up at him with the appealing wistfulness of a lost and
+suffering child, and a slight shudder ran through all her delicate
+frame.
+
+"I am cold, Theos!" she murmured half beseechingly, stretching out
+her hands to him once more,--hands as fine and fair as lily-
+leaves,--little white hands which he gazed at wonderingly, yet did
+not take.. "Cold and very weary! The way has been long, and the
+earth is dark!"
+
+"Dark?" repeated Alwyn mechanically, still absorbed in the dubious
+contemplation of her lovely yielding form, her sweet upturned face
+and gold-glistening hair--"Dark? ... here? ... beneath the
+brightness of the moon? Nay,--I have seen many a full day look
+less radiant than this night of stars!"
+
+Her eyes dwelt upon him with a certain pathetic bewilderment,--she
+let her extended arms drop wearily at her sides, and a shadow of
+pained recollection crossed the fairness of her features.
+
+"Ah, I forgot! ..." and she sighed deeply--"This is that strange,
+sad world where Darkness is called Light."
+
+At these words uttered with so much sorrowful meaning, a quick
+thrill stirred Alwyn's blood, an inexplicable sharp thrill, that
+was like the touch of scorching flame. He gazed at her perplexedly
+... his pride resented what he imagined to be the deception
+practiced upon him, but at the same time he was not insensible to
+the weird romance of the situation.
+
+He began to consider that as this fair girl, trained so admirably
+in mystical speech and manner, had evidently been sent on purpose
+to meet him, he could scarcely be blamed for taking her as she
+presented herself, and enjoying to the full a thoroughly novel and
+picturesque adventure.
+
+His eyes flashed as he surveyed her standing there before him,
+utterly unprotected and at his mercy--his old, languid, skeptical
+smile played on his proud lips,--that smile of the marble Antinous
+which says "Bring me face to face with Truth itself and I shall
+still doubt!".. An expression of reluctant admiration and
+awakening passion dawned on his countenance, ... he was about to
+speak,--when she whose looks were fastened on him with intense,
+powerful, watchful, anxious entreaty, suddenly wrung her hands
+together as though in despair, and gave vent to a desolate sobbing
+cry that smote him to the very heart.
+
+"Theos! Theos!" and her voice pealed out on the breathless air in
+sweet, melodious, broken echoes.. "Oh, my unfaithful Beloved, what
+can I do for thee! A love unseen thou wilt not understand,--a love
+made manifest thou wilt not recognize! Alas!--my journey is in
+vain ... my errand hopeless! For while thine unbelief resists my
+pleading, how can I lead thee from danger into safety? ... how
+bridge the depths between our parted souls? ... how win for thee
+pardon and blessing from Christ the King!"
+
+Bright tears filled her eyes and fell fast and thick through her
+long, drooping lashes, and Alwyn, smitten with remorse at the
+sight of such grief, sprang to her side overcome by shame, love,
+and penitence.
+
+"Weeping? ... and for me?"--he exclaimed--"Sweet Edris! ...
+Gentlest of maidens! ... Weep not for one unworthy, . . but rather
+smile and speak again of love! ..." and now his words pouring
+forth impetuously, seemed to utter themselves independently of any
+previous thought,--"Yes! speak only of love,--and the discourse of
+those tuneful lips shall be my gospel, . . the glance of those, soft
+eyes my creed, . . and as for pardon and blessing I crave none but
+thine! I sought a Dream.. I have found a fair Reality ... a living
+proof of Love's divine omnipotence! Love is the only god--who
+would doubt his sovereignty, or grudge him his full measure of
+worship? ... Not I, believe me!"--and carried away by the force of
+a resistless inward fervor, he threw himself once more at her
+feet--"See!--here do I pay my vows at Love's high altar!--heart's
+desire shall be the prayer--heart's ecstasy the praise! ...
+together we will celebrate our glad service of love, and heaven
+itself shall sanctify this Eve of St. Edris and All Angels!"
+
+She listened,--looking down upon him with grave, half timid
+tenderness,--her tears dried, and a sudden hope irradiated her
+fair face with a soft, bright flush, as lovely as the light of
+morning falling on newly opened flowers. When he ceased, she
+spoke--her accents breaking through the silence like clear notes
+of music sweetly sung.
+
+"So be it!" she said ... "May Heaven truly sanctify all pure
+thoughts, and free the soul of my Beloved from sin!"
+
+And slowly bending forward, as a delicate iris-blossom bends to
+the sway of the wind, she laid her hands about his neck, and
+touched his lips with her own...
+
+Ah! ... what divine ecstasy,--what wild and fiery transport filled
+him then! ... Her kiss, like a penetrating lighting-flash, pierced
+to the very centre of his being,--the moonbeams swam round him in
+eddying circles of gold--the white field heaved to and fro, ... he
+caught her waist and clung to her, and in the burning marvel of
+that moment he forget everything, save that, whether spirit or
+mortal, she was in woman's witching shape, and that all the
+glamour of her beauty was his for this one night at least, . . this
+night which now in the speechless, glorious delirium of love that
+overwhelmed him, seemed like the Mahometan's night of Al-Kadr,
+"better than a thousand months!"
+
+Drawn to her by some subtle mysterious attraction which he could
+neither explain nor control, and absorbed in a rapture beyond all
+that his highest and most daring flights of poetical fancy had
+ever conceived, he felt as though his very life were ebbing out of
+him to become part of hers, and this thought was strangely sweet,
+--a perfect consummation of all his best desires! ...
+
+All at once a cold shudder ran freezingly through his veins,--a
+something chill and impalpable appeared to pass between him and
+her caressing arms--his limbs grew numb and heavy--his sight began
+to fail him ... he was sinking ... sinking, he knew not
+where, when suddenly she withdrew herself from his embrace.
+Instantly his strength came back to him with a rush--he sprang to
+his feet and stood erect, breathless, dizzy, and confused--his
+pulses beating like hammer-strokes and every fiber in his frame
+quivering with excitement.
+
+Entranced, impassioned, elated,--filled with unutterable
+incomprehensible joy, he would have clasped her again to his
+heart,--but she retreated swiftly from him, and standing several
+paces off, motioned him not to approach her more nearly. He
+scarcely heeded her warning gesture, ... plunging recklessly
+through the flowers he had almost reached her side, when to his
+amazement and fear, his eager progress was stopped!
+
+Stopped by some invisible, intangible barrier, which despite all
+his efforts, forcibly prevented him from advancing one step
+further,--she was close within an arm's length of him--and yet he
+could not touch her! ... Nothing apparently divided them, save a
+small breadth of the Ardath blossoms gleaming ivory-soft in the
+moonlight ... nevertheless that invincible influence thrust him
+back and held him fast, as though he were chained to the ground
+with weights of iron!
+
+"Edris!". he cried loudly, his former transport of delight changed
+into agony.. "Edris! ... Come to me! I cannot come to you! What is
+this that parts us?"
+
+"Death!" she answered.. and the solemn word seemed to toll slowly
+through the still air like a knell.
+
+He stood bewildered and dismayed. Death! What could she mean? What
+in the name of all her beautiful, delicate, glowing youth, had she
+to do with death? Gazing at her in mute wonder, he saw her stoop
+and gather one flower from the clusters growing thickly around
+her--she held it shieldwise against her breast, where it shone
+like a large white jewel, and regarded him with sweet, wistful
+eyes full of a mournful longing.
+
+"Death lies between us, my Beloved!" she continued--"One line of
+shadow ... only one little line! But thou mayest not pass it, save
+when God commands,--and I--I cannot! For I know naught of death, . .
+save that it is a heavy dreamless sleep allotted to over-wearied
+mortals, wherein they gain brief rest 'twixt many lives,--lives
+that, like recurring dawns, rouse them anew to labor. How often
+hast thou slept thus, my Theos, and forgotten me!"
+
+She paused, ... and Alwyn met her clear, steadfast looks with a
+swift glance of something like defiance. For as she spoke, his
+previous idea concerning her came back upon him with redoubled
+force. He was keenly conscious of the vehement fever of love into
+which her presence had thrown him,--but all the same he was unable
+to dispossess himself of the notion that she was a pupil and an
+accomplice of Heliobas, thoroughly trained and practiced in his
+mysterious doctrine, and that therefore she most probably had some
+magnetic power in herself that at her pleasure not only attracted
+him TO her, but also held him thus motionless at a distance, FROM
+her.
+
+She talked, of course, in an indefinite mystic way either to
+intimidate or convince him ... but, . . and he smiled a little.. in
+any case it only rested with himself to unmask this graceful
+pretender to angelic honors! And while he thought thus, her soft
+tones trembled on the silence again, ... he listened as a dreaming
+mariner might listen to the fancied singing of the sea-fairies.
+
+"Through long bright aeons of endless glory," she said--"I have
+waited and prayed for thee! I have pleaded thy cause before the
+blinding splendors of God's Throne, I have sung the songs of thy
+native paradise, but thou, grown dull of hearing, hast caught but
+the echo of the music! Life after life hast thou lived, and given
+no thought to me--yet I remember and am faithful! Heaven is not
+all Heaven to me without thee, my Beloved, . . and now in this time
+of thy last probation, . . now, if thou lovest me indeed ..."
+
+"Love thee?" suddenly exclaimed Theos, half beside himself with
+the strange passion of yearning her words awakened in him--"Love
+thee, Edris?--Aye! ... as the gods loved when earth was young! ...
+with the fullness of the heart and the vigor of glad life even so
+I love thee! What sayest thou of Heaven? ... Heaven is here--here on
+this bridal field of Ardath, o'er-canopied with stars! Come, sweet
+one, . . cease to play this mystic midnight fantasy--I have done with
+dreams! ... Edris, be thyself! ... for them art Woman, not Angel--
+thy kiss was warm as wine! Nay, why shrink from me? ." this, as
+she retreated still further away, her eyes flashing with unearthly
+brilliancy, . . "I will make thee a queen, fair Edris, as poets ever
+make queens of the women they love,--my fame shall be a crown for
+thee to wear,--a crown that the whole world, gazing on, shall
+envy!"
+
+And in the heat and ardor of the moment, forgetful of the unseen
+barrier that divided her from him, he made a violent effort to
+spring forward--when lo! a wave of rippling light appeared to
+break from beneath her feet, . . it rolled toward him, and
+completely flooded the space between them like a glittering pool,
+--and in it the flowers of Ardath swayed to and fro as water-lilies
+on a woodland lake sway to the measured dash of passing oars!
+Starting back with a cry of terror, he gazed wildly on this
+miracle,--a voice richer than all music rang silvery clear across
+the liquid radiance.
+
+"Fame!" said the voice ... "Wouldst thou crown Me, Theos, with so
+perishable a diadem?"
+
+Paralyzed and speechless, he lifted his straining, dazzled eyes--
+was THAT Edris?--that lustrous figure, delicate as a sea-mist with
+the sun shining through? He stared upon her as a dying man might
+stare for the last time on the face of his nearest and dearest,
+... he saw her soft gray garments change to glistening white,
+... the wreath she wore sparkled as with a million dewdrops.. a
+roseate halo streamed above her and around her,--long streaks of
+crimson flared down the sky like threads of fire swung from the
+stars,--and in the deepening glory, her countenance, divinely
+beautiful, yet intensely sad, expressed the touching hope and fear
+of one who makes a final farewell appeal. Ah God! ... he knew her
+now! ... too late, too late he knew her! ... the Angel of his
+vision stood before him! ... and humbled to the very dust and
+ashes of despair he loathed himself for his unworthiness and lack
+of faith!
+
+"O doubting and unhappy one!" she went on, in accents sweeter than
+a chime of golden bells--"Thou art lost in the gloom of the
+Sorrowful Star where naught is known of life save its shadow!
+Lost.. and as yet I cannot rescue thee--ah! forlorn Edris that I
+am, left lonely up in Heaven! But prayers are heard, and God's
+great patience never tires,--learn therefore 'FROM THE PERILS OF
+THE PAST, THE PERILS OF THE FUTURE'--and weigh against an immortal
+destiny of love the worth of fame!"
+
+Wider and more dazzling grew the brilliancy surrounding her--
+raising her eyes, she clasped her hands in an attitude of
+impassioned supplication ... .
+
+"O fair King Christ!" she cried, and her voice seemed to strike a
+melodious passage through the air.. "THOU canst prevail!" A burst
+of music answered her, . . music that rushed wind-like downwards and
+swept in strong vibrating chords over the land,--again the "KYRIE
+ELEISON! CHRISTE ELEISON! KYRIE ELEISON!" pealed forth in the same
+full youthful-toned chorus that had before sounded so mysteriously
+outside Elzear's hermitage--and the separate crimson rays
+glittering aurora-wise about her radiant figure, suddenly melted
+all together in the form of a great cross, which, absorbing moon
+and stars in its fiery redness, blazed from end to end of the
+eastern horizon!
+
+Then, like a fair white dove or delicate butterfly she rose ...
+she poised herself above the bowing Ardath bloom ... anon,
+soaring aloft, she floated higher. ... higher! ... and ever
+higher, serenely and with aerial slow ease,--till drawn into the
+glory of that wondrous flaming cross whose outstretched beams
+seemed waiting to receive her,--she drifted straight up wards
+through its very centre. ... and so vanished! ...
+
+Theos stared aghast at the glowing sky ... whither had she gone?
+Her words still rang in his ears,--the warmth of her kiss still
+lingered on his lips,--he loved her! ... he worshipped her! ...
+why, why had she left him "lost" as she herself had said, in a
+world that was mere emptiness without her? He struggled for
+utterance...
+
+"Edris ... !" he whispered hoarsely--"Edris! ... My Angel-love! ...
+come back! Come back ... pity me! ... forgive! ... Edris!"
+
+His voice died in a hard sob of imploring agony,--smitten to the
+very soul by a remorse greater than he could bear, his strength
+failed him, and he fell senseless, face forward among the flowers
+of the Prophet's field; . . flowers that, circling snowily around
+his dark and prostrate form, looked like fairy garlands bordering
+a Poet's Grave!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PART II.--IN AL-KYRIS.
+
+
+     "That which hath been, is now: and that which is to be, hath
+     already been: . . and God requireth that which is past."
+                            ECCLESIASTES.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE MARVELLOUS CITY.
+
+
+Profound silence,--profound unconsciousness,--oblivious rest! Such
+are the soothing ministrations of kindly Nature to the
+overburdened spirit; Nature, who in her tender wisdom and maternal
+solicitude will not permit us to suffer beyond a certain limit.
+Excessive pain, whether it be physical or mental, cannot last
+long,--and human anguish wound up to its utmost quivering-pitch
+finds at the very height of desolation, a strange hushing, Lethean
+calm. Even so it was with Theos Alwyn,--drowned in the deep
+stillness of a merciful swoon, he had sunk, as it were, out of
+life,--far out of the furthest reach or sense of time, in some
+vast unsounded gulf of shadows where earth and heaven were alike
+forgotten! ...
+
+How long he lay thus he never knew,--but he was roused at last..
+roused by the pressure of something cold and sharp against his
+throat, . . and on languidly opening his eyes he found himself
+surrounded by a small body of men in armor, who, leaning on tall
+pikes which glistened brilliantly in the full sunlight, surveyed
+him with looks of derisive amusement. One of these, closer to him
+than the rest, and who seemed from his dress and bearing to be
+some officer in authority, held instead of a pike a short sword,
+the touch of whose pointed steel blade had been the effectual
+means of awakening him from his lethargy.
+
+"How now!" said this personage in a rough voice as he withdrew his
+weapon--"What idle fellow art thou? ... Traitor or spy? Fool thou
+must be, and breaker of the King's law, else thou hadst never
+dared to bask in such swine-like ease outside the gates of Al-
+Kyris the Magnificent!"
+
+Al-Kyris the Magnificent! What was the man talking about? Uttering
+a hasty exclamation, Alwyn staggered to his feet with an effort,
+and shading his eyes from the hot glare of the sun, stared
+bewilderedly at his interlocutor.
+
+"What..what is this?" he stammered dreamily--"I do not understand
+you! ... I.. I have slept on the field of Ardath!"
+
+The soldiers burst into a loud laugh, in which their leader
+joined.
+
+"Thou hast drunk deep, my friend!" he observed, putting up his
+sword with a sharp clatter into its shining sheath,--"What name
+sayst thou? ... ARDATH? We know it not, nor dost thou, I warrant,
+when sober! Go to--make for thy home speedily! Aye, aye! the
+flavor of good wine clings to thy mouth still,--'tis a pleasant
+sweetness that I myself am partial to, and I can pardon those who,
+like thee, love it somewhat too well! Away!--and thank the gods
+thou hast fallen into the hands of the King's guard, rather then
+Lysia's priestly patrol! See! the gates are open,--in with thee!
+and cool thy head at the first fountain?"
+
+"The gates?" ... What gates? Removing his hand from his eyes Alwyn
+gazed around confusedly. He was standing on an open stretch of
+level road, dustily-white, and dry, with long-continued heat,--and
+right in front of him was an enormously high wall, topped with
+rows of bristling iron spikes, and guarded by the gates alluded
+to,--huge massive portals seemingly made of finely molded brass,
+and embellished on either side by thick, round, stone watch
+towers, from whose summits scarlet pennons drooped idly in the
+windless air. Amazed, and full of a vague, trembling terror, he
+fixed his wondering looks once more upon his strange companions,
+who in their turn regarded him with cool military indifference."
+
+"I must be mad or dreaming," he thought,--then growing suddenly
+desperate he stretched out his hands with a wild appealing
+gesture:
+
+"I swear to you I know nothing of this place!" he cried--"I never
+saw it before! Some trick has been played on me ... who brought me
+here? Where is Elzear the hermit? ... the Ruins of Babylon? ...
+where is, ... Good God! ... what fearful freak of fate is this!"
+
+The soldiers laughed again,--their commander looked at him a
+little curiously.
+
+"Nay, art THOU one of the escaped of Lysia's lovers?" he asked,
+suspiciously--"And has the Silver Nectar failed of its usual
+action, and driven thy senses to the winds, that thou ravest thus?
+For if thou art a stranger and knowest naught of us, how speakest
+thou our language? ... Why wearest thou the garb of our citizens?"
+
+Alwyn shrank and shivered as though he had received a deadening
+blow,--an awful, inexplicable chill horror froze his blood. It was
+true! ... he understood the language spoken! ... it was perfectly
+familiar to him,--more so than his own native tongue,--stop! what
+WAS his native tongue?
+
+He tried to think--and, the sick fear at his heart grew stronger,
+--he could not remember a word of it! And his dress! ... he glanced
+at it dismayed and appalled,--he had not noticed it till now. It
+bore some resemblance to the costume of ancient Greece, and
+consisted of a white linen tunic and loose upper vest, both
+garments being kept in place by a belt of silver. From this belt
+depended a sheathed dagger, a square writing tablet, and a pencil-
+shaped implement which he immediately recognized as the antique
+form of stylus. His feet were shod with sandals--his arms were
+bare to the shoulder, and clasped at the upper part by two broad
+silver armlets richly chased.
+
+Noting all these details, the fantastic awfulness of his position
+smote him with redoubled force,--and he felt as a madman may feel
+when his impending doom has not entirely asserted itself,--when
+only grotesque and leering suggestions of madness cloud his
+brain,--when hideous faces, dimly discerned, loom out of the chaos
+of his nightly visions,--and when all the air seems solid
+darkness, with one white line of fire cracking it asunder in the
+midst, and that the fire of his own approaching frenzy. Such a
+delirium of agony possessed Alwyn at that moment,--he could have
+shrieked, laughed, groaned, wept, and fallen down in the dust
+before these bearded armed men, praying them to slay him with
+their weapons there where he stood, and put him mercifully and at
+once out of his mysterious misery. But an invisible influence
+stronger than himself, prevented him from becoming altogether the
+victim of his own torturing emotions, and he remained erect and
+still as a marble figure, with a wondering, white piteous face of
+such unutterable affliction that the officer who watched him
+seemed touched, and, advancing, clapped his shoulder in a friendly
+manner.
+
+"Come, come!" he said--"Thou need'st fear nothing,--we are not the
+men to blab of thy trespass against the city's edict,--for, of a
+truth, there is too much whispering away of young and goodly lives
+nowadays. What!--thou art not the first gay gallant, nor wilt thou
+be the last, that has seen the world turn upside down in a haze of
+love and late feasting! If thou hast not slept long enough, why
+sleep again an thou wilt,--but not here..."
+
+He broke off abruptly,--a distant clatter of horses' hoofs was
+heard, as of one galloping at full speed. The soldiers started,
+and assumed an attitude of attention,--their leader muttered
+something like an oath, and seizing Alwyn by the arm, hurried him
+to the brass gates which, as he had said, stood open, and
+literally thrust him through.
+
+"In, in, my lad!" he urged with rough kindliness,--"Thou hast a
+face fairer than that of the King's own minstrel, and why wouldst
+thou die for sake of an extra cup of wine? If Lysia is to blame
+for this scattering of thy wits, take heed thou do not venture
+near her more--it is ill jesting with the Serpent's sting! Get
+thee hence quickly, and be glad of thy life,--thou hast many years
+before thee yet in which to play the lover and fool!"
+
+With this enigmatical speech he signed to his men to follow him,--
+they all filed through the gates, which closed after them with a
+jarring clang, ... a dark bearded face peered out of a narrow
+loophole in one of the watch-towers, and a deep voice called:
+
+"What of the hour?"
+
+The officer raised his gauntleted hand, and answered promptly:
+
+"Peace and safety!"
+
+"Salutation!" cried the voice again.
+
+"Salutation!" responded the officer, and with a reassuring nod and
+smile to the bewildered Alwyn, he gathered his little band around
+him, and they all marched off, the measured clink-clank of their
+footsteps making metallic music, as they wheeled round a corner
+and disappeared from sight.
+
+Left to himself Alwyn's first idea was to sit down in some quiet
+corner, and endeavor calmly to realize what strange and cruel
+thing had chanced to him. But happening to look up, he saw the
+bearded face in the watchtower observing him suspiciously,--he
+therefore roused himself sufficiently to walk away, on and on,
+scarce heeding whither he went, till he had completely lost sight
+of those great gold-glittering portals which had shut him, against
+his will, within the walls of a large, splendid, and populous
+City. Yes! ... hopelessly perplexing and maddening as it was,
+there could be no doubt of this fact,--and though he again and
+again tried to convince himself that he was laboring under some
+wild and exceptional hallucination, his senses all gave evidence
+of the actual reality of his situation,--he felt, he moved, he
+heard, he saw, ... he was even beginning to be conscious of
+hunger, thirst, and fatigue.
+
+The further he went, the more gorgeous grew the surroundings, . .
+his unguided steps wandered as it seemed, of their own accord,
+into wide streets, paved entirely with mosaics, and lined on both
+sides with lofty, picturesque, and palace-like buildings,--he
+crossed and recrossed broad avenues, shaded by tall feathery
+palms, and masses of graceful flowering foliage,--he passed rows
+upon rows of brilliant shops, whose frontages glittered with the
+most costly and beautiful wares of every description,--and as he
+strolled about aimlessly, uncertain whither to go, he was
+constantly jostled by the pressing throngs of people that crowded
+the thoroughfares, all more or less apparently bent on pleasure,
+to judge from their animated countenances and frequent bursts of
+gay laughter.
+
+The men were for the most part arrayed like himself,--though here
+and there he met some few whose garments were of soft silk instead
+of linen, who wore gold belts in place of silver, and who carried
+their daggers in sheaths that were literally encrusted all over
+with flashing jewels.
+
+As he advanced more into the city's centre, the crowds increased,
+--so much so that the noise of traffic and clatter of tongues
+became quite deafening to his ears. Richly ornamented chariots
+drawn by spirited horses, and driven by personages whose attire
+seemed to be a positive blaze of gold and gems, rolled past in a
+continuous procession,--fruit-sellers, carrying their lovely
+luscious merchandise in huge gilded moss-wreathed baskets, stood
+at almost every corner,--flower-girls, fair as flowers, bore aloft
+in their gracefully upraised arms wide wicker trays, overflowing
+with odorous blossoms tied into clusters and wreaths,--and there
+were countless numbers of curious little open square carts to
+which mules, wearing collars of bells, were harnessed, the tinkle-
+tinkle of their constant passage through the throng making
+incessant merry music. These vehicles bore the names of traders,--
+purveyors in wine and dealers in all sorts of provisions,--but
+with the exception of such necessary business caterers, the
+streets were full of elegant loungers of both sexes, who seemed to
+have nothing whatever to do but amuse themselves.
+
+The women were especially noticeable for their lazy grace of
+manner,--they glided to and fro with an indolent floating ease
+that was indescribably bewitching,--the more so as many of them
+were endowed with exquisite beauty of form and feature,--beauty
+greatly enhanced by the artistic simplicity of their costume.
+
+This was composed of a straight clinging gown, slightly gathered
+at the throat, and bound about the waist with a twisted girdle of
+silver, gold, and, in some cases, jewels,--their arms, like those
+of the men, were bare, and their small, delicate feet were
+protected by sandals fastened with crossed bands of ribbon
+coquettishly knotted. The arrangement of their hair was evidently
+a matter of personal taste, and not the slavish copying of any set
+fashion,--some allowed it to hang in loosely flowing abundance
+over their shoulders,--others had it closely braided, or coiled
+carelessly in a thick soft mass at the top of the head,--but all
+without exception wore white veils,--veils, long, transparent, and
+filmy as gossamer, which they flung back or draped about them at
+their pleasure ... and presently, after watching several of these
+fairy creatures pass by and listening to their low laughter and
+dulcet speech, a sudden memory leaped into Alwyn's confused
+brain,--an old, old memory that seemed to have lain hidden among
+his thoughts for centuries,--the memory of a story called "LAMIA"
+told in verse as delicious as music aptly played. Who wrote the
+story? ... He could not tell,--but he recollected that it was
+about a snake in the guise of a beautiful woman. And these women
+in this strange city looked as if they also had a snake-like
+origin,--there was something so soft and lithe and undulating
+about their movements and gestures. Weary of walking, distracted
+by the ever-increasing clamor, and feeling lost among the crowd,
+he at last perceived a wide and splendid square, surrounded wild
+stately houses, and having in its centre a huge, white granite
+obelisk which towered like a pillar of snow against the dense blue
+of the sky. Below it a massively sculptured lion, also of white
+granite, lay couchant, holding a shield between its paws,--and on
+either side two fine fountains were in full play, the delicate
+spiral columns of water being dashed up beyond the extreme point
+of the obelisk, so that its stone face was wet and glistening with
+the tossing rainbow shower.
+
+Here he turned aside out of the main thoroughfare,--there were
+tall, shady trees all about, and fantastically carved benches
+underneath them, ... he determined to sit down and rest, and
+steadily THINK OUT his involved and peculiar condition of mind.
+
+As he passed the sculptured lion, he saw certain words engraved on
+the shield it held,--they were ... "THROUGH THE LION AND THE
+SERPENT SHALL AL-KYRIS FLOURISH."
+
+There was no disorder in his intelligence concerning this
+sentence,--he was able to read it clearly and comprehensively, ...
+and yet ... WHAT was the language in which it was written, and how
+did he come to know it so thoroughly? ... With a sigh that was
+almost a groan, he sank listlessly on a seat, and burying his head
+in his hands to shut out all the strange sights which so direfully
+perplexed his reason, he began to subject himself to a patient,
+serious cross-examination.
+
+In the first place ... WHO WAS HE? Part of the required answer
+came readily,--THEOS. Theos what? His brain refused to clear up
+this point,--it repeated THEOS--THEOS,--over and over again, but
+no more!
+
+Shuddering with a vague dread, he asked himself the next question,
+... FROM WHENCE HAD HE COME? The reply was direct and decisive--
+FROM ARDATH.
+
+But what was ARDATH? It was neither a country nor a city--it was a
+"waste field," where he had seen. ... ah! WHOM had he seen? He
+struggled furiously with himself for some response to this, ...
+none came! Total dumb blankness was the sole result of the inward
+rack to which he subjected his thoughts!
+
+And where had he been before he ever saw Ardath? ... had he NO
+recollection of any other place, any other surroundings?--
+ABSOLUTELY NONE!--torture his wits as he would,--ABSOLUTELY NONE!
+... This was frightful ... incredible! ... Surely, surely, he
+mused piteously, there must have been something in his life before
+the name of "Ardath" had swamped his intelligence! ...
+
+He lifted his head, ... his face had grown ashen gray and rigid in
+the deep extremity of his speechless trouble and terror,--there
+was a sick faintness at his heart, and rising, he moved unsteadily
+to one of the great fountains, and there dipping his hands in the
+spray, he dashed some drops on his brow and eyes. Then, making a
+cup of the hollowed palms, he drank thirstily several draughts of
+the cool, sweet water,--it seemed to allay the fever in his blood.
+...
+
+He looked around him with a wild, vague smile,--Al-Kyris! ... of
+course! ... he was in Al-Kyris!--why was he so distressed about
+it? It was a pleasant city,--there was much to see,--and also much
+to learn! ... At that instant a loud blast of silver-toned
+trumpets split the air, followed by a storm-roar of distant
+acclamation surging up from thousands of throats,--crowds of men
+and women suddenly flocked into the Square, across it, and out of
+it again, all pressing impetuously in one direction,--and urged
+forward by the general rush as well as by a corresponding impulse
+within himself, he flung all meditation to the winds, and plunged
+recklessly into the shouting, onsweeping throng. He was borne
+swiftly with it down a broad avenue lined with grand old trees and
+decked with flying flags and streamers, to the margin of a noble
+river, as still as liquid amber in the wide sheen and heat of the
+noonday sun. A splendid marble embankment, adorned with colossal
+statues, girdled it on both sides,--and here, under silken awnings
+of every color, pattern and design, an enormous multitude was
+assembled,--its white attired, closely packed ranks stretching far
+away into the blue distance on either hand.
+
+All the attention of this vast concourse appeared to be centered
+on the slow approach of a strange, gilded vessel, that with great
+curved prow and scarlet sails flapping idly in the faint breeze,
+was gliding leisurely yet majestically over the azure blaze of the
+smooth water. Huge oars like golden fins projected from her sides
+and dipped lazily every now and then, apparently wielded by the
+hands of invisible rowers, whose united voices supplied the lack
+of the needful wind,--and as he caught sight of this cumbrously
+quaint galley, Theos, moved by sudden interest, elbowed his way
+resolutely though the dense crowd till he gained the edge of the
+embankment, where leaning against the marble balustrade, he
+watched with a curious fascination its gradual advance.
+
+Nearer and nearer it came, ... brighter and brighter glowed the
+vivid scarlet of its sails, ... a solemn sound of stringed music
+rippled enchantingly over the glassy river, mingling itself with
+the wild shouting of the populace,--shouting that seemed to rend
+the hollow vault of heaven! ... Nearer ... nearer ... and now the
+vessel slid round and curtsied forward, ... its propelling fins
+moved more rapidly ... another graceful sweep,--and lo! it fronted
+the surging throng like a glittering, fantastic Apparition drawn
+out of dreamland! ...
+
+Theos stared at it, dazzled and stricken with a half-blind
+breathless wonder,--was ever a ship like this he thought?--a ship
+that sparkled all over as though it were carven out of one great
+burning jewel? ... Golden hangings, falling in rich, loose folds,
+draped it gorgeously from stem to stern,--gold cordage looped the
+sails,--on the deck a band of young gals clad in white, and
+crowned with flowers, knelt, playing softly on quaintly shaped
+instruments,--and a cluster of tiny, semi-nude boys, fair as young
+cupids, were grouped in pretty reposeful attitudes along the edge
+of the gilded prow holding garlands of red and yellow blossoms
+which trailed down to the surface of the water beneath.
+
+As a half-slumbering man may note a sudden brilliant glare of
+sunshine flashing on the wall of his sleeping-chamber, so Theos at
+first viewed this floating pageant in confused, uncomprehending
+bewilderment, ... when all at once his stupefied senses were
+roused to hot life and pulsing action,--with a smothered cry of
+ecstasy he fixed his straining, eager gaze on one supreme, fair
+Figure,--the central Glory of the marvellous picture! ...
+
+A Woman or a Goddess?--a rainbow Flame in mortal shape?--a spirit
+of earth, air, fire, water? ... or a Thought of Beauty embodied
+into human sweetness and made perfect? ... Clothed in gold attire,
+and girdled with gems, she stood, leaning indolently against the
+middle mast of the vessel, her great, sombre, dusky eyes resting
+drowsily on the swarming masses of people, whose frenzied roar of
+rapture and admiration sounded like the breaking of billows.
+
+Presently, with a slow, solemn smile on her haughtily curved lips,
+she extended one hand and arm, snow-white and glittering with
+jewels, and made an imperious gesture to command silence.
+Instantly a profound hush ensued. Lifting a long, slender, white
+wand, at the end of which could be plainly seen the gleaming
+silver head of a Serpent, she described three circles in the air
+with a perfectly even, majestic motion, and as she did this, her
+marvellous eyes turned toward Theos, and dwelt steadily upon him.
+
+He met her gaze fully, absorbing into his inmost soul the mesmeric
+spell of her matchless loveliness,--he saw, without actually
+realizing the circumstance, that the whole vast multitude around
+him had fallen prostrate in an attitude of worship,--and still he
+stood erect, drinking in the warmth of those dark, witching,
+sleepy orbs that flashed at him half-resentfully, half-
+mockingly, . . and then, . . the beauty-burdened ship began to sway
+gently, and move onwards,--she, that wondrous Siren-Queen was
+vanishing,--vanishing!--she and her kneeling maidens, and music,
+and flowers,--vanishing ... Where?
+
+With a start he sprang from his post of observation,--he felt he
+must go after her at all risks,--he must find out her place of
+abode,--her rank,--her title,--her name! ... All at once he was
+roughly seized by a dozen or more of hands,--loud, angry voices
+shouted on all sides.. "A traitor! ... a traitor!" ... "An
+infidel!"
+
+"A spy!" "A malcontent!"
+
+"Into the river with him!"
+
+"He refuses worship!" "He denies the gods!"
+
+"Bear him to the Tribunal!".. And in a trice of time, he was
+completely surrounded and hemmed in by an exasperated,
+gesticulating crowd, whose ominous looks and indignant mutterings
+were plainly significant of prompt hostility. With a few agile
+movements he succeeded in wrenching himself free from the grasp of
+his assailants, and standing among them like a stag at bay he
+cried:
+
+"What have I done? How have I offended? Speak! Or is it the
+fashion of Al-Kyris to condemn a man unheard?"
+
+No one answered this appeal,--the very directness of it seemed to
+increase the irritation of the mob, that pressing closer and
+closer, began to jostle and hustle him in a threatening manner
+that boded ill for his safety,--he was again taken prisoner, and
+struggling in the grasp of his captors, he was preparing to fight
+for his life as best he could, against the general fury, when the
+sound of musical strings, swept carelessly upwards in the
+ascending scale, struck sweetly through the clamor. A youth,
+arrayed in crimson, and carrying a small golden harp, marched
+sedately between the serried ranks that parted right and left at
+his approach,--thus clearing the way for another personage who
+followed him,--a graceful, Adonis-like personage in glistening
+white attire, who wore a myrtle-wreath on his dark, abundant
+locks, and whom the populace--forgetting for a moment the cause of
+their recent disturbance--greeted with a ringing and ecstatic
+shout of "HAIL! SAH-LUMA!"
+
+Again and again this cry was uplifted, till far away on the
+extreme outskirts of the throng the joyous echo of it was repeated
+faintly yet distinctly ... "HAIL! HAIL, SAH-LUMA!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+SAH-LUMA.
+
+
+The new-comer thus enthusiastically welcomed bowed right and left,
+with a condescending air, in response to the general acclamation,
+and advancing to the spot where Theos stood, an enforced prisoner
+in the close grip of three or four able-bodied citizens, he said:
+
+"What turbulence is here? By my faith! ... when I heard the noise
+of quarrelsome contention jarring the sweetness of this nectarous
+noon, methought I was no longer in Al-Kyris, but rather in some
+western city of barbarians where music is but an unvalued name!"
+
+And he smiled--a dazzling, child-like smile, half petulant, half-
+pleased--a smile of supreme self-consciousness as of one who knew
+his own resistless power to charm away all discord.
+
+Several voices answered him in clamorous unison:
+
+"A traitor, Sah-luma!" "A profane rebel!" ... "An unbeliever!" ... "A
+most insolent knave!"--"He refused homage to the High Priestess!"
+... "A renegade from the faith!"
+
+"Now, by the Sacred Veil!" cried Sah-luma impatiently--"Think ye I
+can distinguish your jargon, when like ignorant boors ye talk all
+at once, tearing my ears to shreds with such unmelodious tongue-
+clatter! Whom have ye seized thus roughly? ... Let him stand
+forth!"
+
+At this command, the men who held Theos relaxed their grasp, and
+he, breathless and burning with indignation at the treatment he
+had received, shook himself quickly free of all restraint, and
+sprang forward, confronting his rescuer. There was a brief pause,
+during which the two surveyed each other with looks of mutual
+amazement. What mysterious indication of affinity did they read in
+one another's faces? ... Why did they stand motionless, spell-
+bound and dumb for a while, eying half-admiringly, half-enviously,
+each other's personal appearance and bearing? ...
+
+Undoubtedly a curious, far-off resemblance existed between them,--
+yet it was a resemblance that had nothing whatever to do with the
+actual figure, mien, or countenance. It was that peculiar and
+often undefinable similarity of expression, which when noticed
+between two brothers who are otherwise totally unlike, instantly
+proclaims their relationship.
+
+Theos realized his own superior height and superior muscular
+development,--but what were these physical advantages compared to
+the classic perfection of Sah-luma's beauty?--beauty combining the
+delicate with the vigorous, such as is shadowed forth in the
+artist-conceptions of the god Apollo. His features, faultlessly
+regular, were redeemed from all effeminacy by the ennobling
+impress of high thought and inward inspiration,--his eyes were
+dark, with a brilliant under-reflection of steel-gray in them,
+that at times flashed out like the soft glitter of summer-
+lightning in the dense purple of an August heaven,--his olive-
+tinted complexion was flushed warmly with the glow of health,--and
+he had broad, bold, intellectual brows over which the rich hair
+clustered in luxuriant waves,--hair that was almost black, with
+here and there a curious fleck of reddish gold brightening its
+curling masses, as though a stray sunbeam or two had been caught
+and entangled therein. He was arrayed in a costume of the finest
+silk,--his armlets, belt, and daggersheath were all of jewels,--
+and the general brilliancy of his attire was furthermore increased
+by a finely worked flexible collar of gold, set with diamonds. The
+first exchange of wondering glances over, he viewed Theos with a
+critical, half supercilious air.
+
+"What art thou?" he demanded ... "What is thy calling?"
+
+"Theos hesitated,--then spoke out boldly and unthinkingly--
+
+"I am a Poet!" he said.
+
+A murmur of irrepressible laughter and derision ran through the
+listening crowd. Sah-luma's lip curled haughtily--
+
+"A Poet!" and his fingers played idly with the dagger at his belt
+--"Nay, not so! There is but one Poet in Al-Kyris, and I am he!"
+
+Theos looked at him steadily,--a subtle sympathy attracted him
+toward this charming boaster,--involuntarily he smiled, and bent
+his head courteously.
+
+"I do not seek to figure as your rival ..." he began.
+
+"Rival!" echoed Sah-luma--"I have no rivals!"
+
+A burst of applause from those nearest to them in the throng
+declared the popular approval of this assertion, and the boy
+bearing the harp, who had loitered to listen to the conversation,
+swept the strings of his instrument with a triumphant force and
+fervor that showed how thoroughly his feelings were in harmony
+with the expression of his master's sentiments. Sah-luma
+conquered, with an effort, his momentary irritation, and resumed
+coldly:
+
+"From whence do you come, fair sir? We should know your name,--
+POETS are not so common!" This with an accent of irony.
+
+Taken aback by the question, Theos stood irresolute, and uncertain
+what to say. For he was afflicted with a strange and terrible
+malady such as he dimly remembered having heard of, but never
+expected to suffer from,--a malady in which his memory had become
+almost a blank as regarded the past events of his life--though
+every now and then shadowy images of by-gone things flitted across
+his brain, like the transient reflections of wind-swept clouds on
+still, translucent water. Presently in the midst of his painful
+indecision, an answer suggested itself like a whispered hint from
+some invisible prompter:
+
+"Poets like Sah-luma are no doubt as rare as nightingales in
+snow!" he said with a soft deference, and an increasing sense of
+tenderness for his haughty, handsome interlocutor--"As for me, I
+am a singer of sad songs that are not worth the hearing! My name
+is Theos,--I come from far beyond the seas, and am a stranger in
+Al-Kyris,--therefore if I have erred in aught, I must be blamed
+for ignorance, not malice!"
+
+As he spoke Sah-luma regarded him intently,--Theos met his gaze
+frankly and unflinchingly. Surely there was some singular power of
+attraction between the two! ... for as their flashing eyes again
+dwelt earnestly on one another, they both smiled, and Sah-luma,
+advancing, proffered his hand. Theos at once accepted it, a
+curious sensation of pleasure tingling through his frame, as he
+pressed those slender blown fingers in his own cordial clasp.
+
+"A stranger in Al-Kyris?--and from beyond the seas? Then by my
+life and honor, I insure thy safety and bid thee welcome! A singer
+of sad songs? ... Sad or merry, that thou are a singer at all makes
+thee the guest of the King's Laureate!" A look of conscious vanity
+illumined his face as he thus announced with proud emphasis his
+own title and claim to distinction. "The brotherhood of poets," he
+continued laughingly--"is a mystic and doubtful tie that hath oft
+been questioned,--but provided they do not, like ill-conditioned
+wolves, fight each other out of the arena, there should be joy in
+the relationship". Here, turning full upon the crowd, he lifted
+his rich, melodious voice to higher and more ringing tones:
+
+"It is like you, O hasty and misjudging Kyrisians, that finding a
+harmless wanderer from far off lands, present at the pageant of
+the Midsummer Benediction, ye should pounce upon him, even as
+kites on a straying sea-bird, and maul him with your ruthless
+talons! Has he broken the law of worship! Ye have broken the law
+of hospitality! Has he failed to kneel to the passing Ship of the
+Sun? So have ye failed to handle him with due courtesy! What
+report shall he bear hence of your gentleness and culture to those
+dim and unjoyous shores beyond the gray green wall of ocean-
+billows, where the very name of Al-Kyris serves as a symbol for
+all that is great and wise and wondrous in the whole round circle
+of the world? Moreover ye know full well that foreigners and
+sojourners in the city are exempt from worship,--and the King's
+command is that all such should be well and nobly entertained, to
+the end that when they depart they may carry with them a full
+store of pleasant memories. Hence, scatterbrains, to your homes!--
+No festival can ye enjoy without a gust of contention!--ye are
+ill-made instruments all, whose jarring strings even I, crowned
+Minstrel of the King, can scarce keep one day in happy tune! Look
+you now! ... this stranger is my guest!--. Is there a man in Al-
+Kyris who will treat as an enemy one whom Sah-luma calls friend?"
+
+A storm of applause followed this little extempore speech,--
+applause accompanied by an odorous rain of flowers. There were
+many women in the crowd, and these had pressed eagerly forward to
+catch every word that dropped from the Poet-Laureate's mellifluous
+lips,--now, moved by one common impulse, they hastily snatched off
+their posies and garlands, and flung them in lavish abundance at
+his feet. Some of the blossoms chancing to fall on Theos and cling
+to his garments, he quickly shook them off, and gathering them
+together, presented them to the personage for whom they were
+intended. He, however, gayly rejected them, moving his small
+sandalled foot playfully among the thick wealth of red and white
+roses that lay waiting to be crushed beneath his tread.
+
+"Keep thy share!" he said, with an amused flash of his glorious
+eyes. "Such offerings are my daily lot! ... I can spare thee one
+handful from the overflowing harvest of my song!"
+
+It was impossible to be offended with such charming self-
+complacency,--the naive conceit of the man was as harmless as the
+delight of a fair girl who has made her first conquest, and Theos
+smiling, kept the flowers. By this time the surrounding throng had
+broken up into little knots and groups,--all ill-humor on the part
+of the populace had completely vanished,--and large numbers were
+now leaving the embankment and dispersing in different directions
+to their several homes. All those who had been within hearing
+distance of Sah-luma's voice appeared highly elated, as though
+they had enjoyed some special privilege and pleasure, ... to be
+reproved by the Laureate was evidently considered better than
+being praised by any one else. Many persons pressed up to Theos,
+and shaking hands with him, offered their eager excuses and
+apologies for the misunderstanding that had lately taken place,
+explaining with much animation both of look and gesture, that the
+fact of his wearing the same style of dress as themselves had
+induced them to take it for granted that he must be one of their
+fellow-citizens, and therefore subject to the laws of the realm.
+Theos was just beginning to feel somewhat embarrassed by the
+excessive politeness and cordiality, of his recent antagonists,
+when Sah-luma, again interposing, cut all explanations short.
+
+"Come, come! cease this useless prating!" he said imperatively yet
+good-naturedly--"In everything ye showed your dullard ignorance
+and lack of discernment. For, concerning the matter of attire, are
+not the fashions of Al-Kyris copied more or less badly in every
+quarter of the habitable globe?--even as our language and
+literature form the chief study and delight of all scholars and
+educated gentlemen? A truce to your discussions!--Let us get hence
+and home;" here he turned to Theos with a graceful salutation--
+"You, my good friend, will doubtless be glad to rest and recover
+from my countrymen's ungentle treatment of your person."
+
+Thus saying, he made a slight commanding sign,--the clustering
+people drew back on either side,--and he, taking Theos by the arm,
+passed through their ranks, talking, laughing, and nodding
+graciously here and there as he went, with the half-kindly, half-
+indifferent ease of an affable monarch who occasionally bows to
+some of his poorest subjects. As he trod over the flowers that lay
+heaped about his path, several girls rushed impetuously forward,
+struggling with each other for possession of those particularly
+favored blossoms that had received the pressure of his foot, and
+kissing them, they tied them in little knots, and pinned them
+proudly on the bosoms of their white gowns.
+
+One or two, more daring, stretched out their hands to touch the
+golden frame of the harp as it was carried past them by the youth
+in crimson,--a pretty fellow enough, who looked extremely haughty,
+and almost indignant at this effrontery on the part of the fair
+poet-worshippers, but he made no remonstrance, and merely held his
+head a little higher and walked with a more consequential air, as
+he followed his master at a respectful distance. Another long
+ecstatic shout of "Hail Sah-luma!" arose on all sides, rippling
+away,--away,--down, as it seemed, to the very furthest edge of
+echoing resonance,--and then the remainder of the crowd quickly
+scattered right and left, leaving the spacious embankment almost
+deserted, save for the presence of several copper-colored, blue-
+shirted individuals who were commencing the work of taking down
+and rolling up the silken awnings, accompanying their labors by a
+sort of monotonous chant that, mingling with the slow, gliding
+plash of the river, sounded as weird and mournful as the sough of
+the wind through leafless trees.
+
+Meanwhile Theos, in the company of his new friend, began to
+express his thanks for the timely rescue he had received,--but
+Sah-luma waived all such acknowledgments aside.
+
+"Nay, I have only served thee as a crowned Laureate should ever
+serve a lesser minstrel,"--he said, with that indescribably
+delicious air of self-flattery which was so whimsical, and yet so
+winning,--"And I tell thee in all good faith that, for a newly
+arrived visitor in Al-Kyris, thy first venture was a reckless one!
+To omit to kneel in the presence of the High Priestess during her
+Benediction, was a violation of our customs and ceremonies
+dangerous to life and limb! A religiously excited mob is
+merciless,--and if I had not chanced upon the scene of action, . ."
+
+"I should have been no longer the man I am!" smiled Theos, looking
+down on his companion's light, lithe, elegant form as it moved
+gracefully by his side--"But that I failed in homage to the High
+Priestess was a most unintentional lack of wit on my part,--for if
+THAT was the High Priestess,--that dazzling wonder of beauty who
+lately passed in a glittering ship, on her triumphant way down the
+river, like a priceless pearl in a cup of gold..."
+
+"Aye, aye!" and Sah-luma's dark brows contracted in a slight
+frown--"Not so many fine words, I pray thee! Thou couldst not well
+mistake her,--there is only one Lysia!"
+
+"Lysia!" murmured Theos dreamily, and the musical name slid off
+his lips with a soft, sibilant sound,--"Lysia! And I forgot to
+kneel to that enchanting, that adorable being! Oh unwise,
+benighted fool!--where were my thoughts? Next time I see her I
+will atone! .--no matter what creed she represents,--I will kiss
+the dust at her feet, and so make reparation for my sin!"
+
+Sah-luma glanced at him with a somewhat dubious expression.
+
+"What!--art thou already persuaded?" he queried lightly, "and wilt
+thou also be one of us? Well, thou wilt need to kiss the dust in
+very truth, if thou servest Lysia, . . no half-measures will suit
+where she, the Untouched and Immaculate, is concerned,"--and here
+there was a faint inflection of mingled mockery and sadness in his
+tone--"To love her is, for many men, an absolute necessity,--but
+the Virgin Priestess of the Sun and the Serpent receives love, as
+statues may receive it,--moving all others to frenzy, she is
+herself unmoved!"
+
+Theos listened, scarcely hearing. He was studying every line in
+Sah-luma's face and figure with fixed and wistful attention.
+Almost unconsciously he pressed the arm he held, and Sah-luma
+looked up at him with a half-smile.
+
+"I fancy we shall like each other!" he said--"Thou art a western
+singing bird-of-passage, and I a nested nightingale amid the roses
+of the East,--our ways of making melody are different,--we shall
+not quarrel!"
+
+"Quarrel!" echoed Theos amazedly--"Nay! ... I might quarrel with
+my nearest and dearest, but never with thee, Sah-luma! For I know
+thee for a very prince of poets! ... and would as soon profane the
+sanctity of the Muse herself, as violate thy proffered
+friendship!"
+
+"Why, so!" returned Sah-luma, his brilliant eyes flashing with
+undisguised pleasure,--"An' thou thinkest thus of me we shall be
+firm and fast companions! Thou hast spoken well and not without
+good instruction--I perceive my fame hath reached thee in thine
+own ocean-girdled lands, where music is as rare as sunshine. Right
+glad am I that chance has thrown us together, for now thou wilt be
+better able to judge of my unrivalled master-skill in sweet word-
+weaving! Thou must abide with me for all the days of thy sojourn
+here. ... Art willing?"
+
+"Willing? ... Aye! more than willing!" exclaimed Theos
+enthusiastically--"But,--if I burden hospitality.."
+
+"Burden!" and Sah-luma laughed--"Talk not of burdens to me!--I,
+who have feasted kings, and made light of their entertaining!
+Here," he added as he led the way through a broad alley, lined
+with magnificent palms--"here is the entrance to my poor
+dwelling!" and a sparkling, mischievous smile brightened his
+features.--"There is room enough in it, methinks to hold thee,
+even if thou hadst brought a retinue of slaves!"
+
+He pointed before him as he spoke, and Theos stood for a moment
+stock-still and overcome with astonishment, at the size and
+splendor of the palace whose gates they were just approaching. It
+was a dome-shaped building of the purest white marble, surrounded
+on all sides by long, fluted colonnades, and fronted by spacious
+court paved with mosaics, where eight flower-bordered fountains
+dashed up to the hot, blue sky, incessant showers of refreshing
+spray.
+
+Into this court and across it, Sah-luma led his wondering guest, . .
+ascending a wide flight of steps, they entered a vast open hall,
+where the light poured in through rose-colored and pale blue
+glass, that gave a strange yet lovely effect of mingled sunset and
+moonlight to the scene. Here--reclining about on cushions of silk
+and velvet--were several beautiful girls in various attitudes of
+indolence and ease,--one laughing, black-haired houri was amusing
+herself with a tame bird which flew to and from her uplifted
+finger,--another in a half-sitting posture, played cup-and-ball
+with much active and graceful dexterity,--some were working at
+gold and silver embroidery,--others, clustered in a semicircle
+round a large osier basket filled with myrtle, were busy weaving
+garlands of the fragrant leaves,--and one maiden, seemingly
+younger than the rest, and of lighter and more delicate
+complexion, leaned somewhat pensively against an ebony-framed
+harp, as though she were considering what sad or suggestive chords
+she should next awaken from its responsive strings. As Sah-luma
+and Theos appeared, these nymphs all rose from their different
+occupations and amusements, and stood with bent heads and folded
+hands in statuesque silence and humility.
+
+"These are my human rosebuds!" said Sah-luma softly and gayly, as
+holding the dazzled Theos by the arm he escorted him past these
+radiant and exquisite forms--"They bloom, and fade, and die, like
+the flowers thrown by the populace,--proud and happy to feel that
+their perishable loveliness has, even, for a brief while, been
+made more lasting by contact with my deathless poet-fame! Ah,
+Niphrata!" and he paused at the side of the girl standing by the
+harp--"Hast thou sung many of my songs to-day? ... or is thy voice
+too weak for such impassioned cadence? Thou art pale, . . I miss thy
+soft blush and dimpling smile,--what ails thee, my honey-throated
+oriole?"
+
+"Nothing, my lord"--answered Niphrata in a low tone, raising a
+pair of lovely, dusky, violet eyes, fringed with long black
+lashes,--"Nothing,--save that my heart is always sad in thine
+absence!"
+
+Sah-luma smiled, well pleased.
+
+"Let it be sad no longer then!" he said, caressing her cheek with
+his hand,--and Theos saw a wave of rich color mounting swiftly to
+her fair brows at his touch, as though she were a white poppy
+warming to crimson in the ardent heat of the sun--"I love to see
+thee merry,--mirth suits a young and beauteous face like thine!
+Look you, Sweet!--I bring with me here a stranger from far-off
+lands,--one to whom Sah-luma's name is as a star in the desert!--I
+must needs have thy voice in all its full lusciousness of tune to
+warble for his pleasure those heart-entangling ditties of mine
+which thou hast learned to render with such matchless tenderness!
+... Thanks, Gisenya," ... this as another maiden advanced, and,
+gently removing the myrtle-wreath he wore, placed one just freshly
+woven on his clustering curls, . . then, turning to Theos, he
+inquired--"Wilt thou also wear a minstrel-garland, my friend?
+Niphrata or Gisenya will crown thee!"
+
+"I am not worthy"--answered Theos, bending his head in low
+salutation to the two lovely girls, who stood eying him with a
+certain wistful wonder--"One spray from Sah-luma's discarded
+wreath will best suffice me!"
+
+Sah-luma broke into a laugh of absolute delight.
+
+"I swear thou speakest well and like a true man!" he said
+joyously. "Unfamous as thou art, thou deservest honor for the
+frank confession of thy lack of merit! Believe me, there are some
+boastful rhymers in Al-Kyris who would benefit much by a share of
+thy becoming modesty! Give him his wish, Gisenya--" and Gisenya,
+obediently detaching a sprig of myrtle from the wreath Sah-luma
+had worn all day, handed it to Theos with a graceful obeisance--
+"For who knows but the leaves may contain a certain witchery we
+wot not of, that shall endow him with a touch of the divine
+inspiration!"
+
+At that moment, a curious figure came shuffling across the
+splendid hall,--that of a little old man somewhat shabbily
+attired, upon whose wrinkled countenance there seemed to be a
+fixed, malign smile, like the smile of a mocking Greek mask. He
+had small, bright, beady black eyes placed very near the bridge of
+his large hooked nose,--his thin, wispy gray locks streamed
+scantily over his bent shoulders, and he carried a tall staff to
+support his awkward steps,--a staff with which he made a most
+disagreeable tapping noise on the marble pavement as he came
+along.
+
+"Ah, Sir Gad-about!" he exclaimed in a harsh, squeaky voice as he
+perceived Sah-luma--"Back again from your self-advertising in the
+city! Is there any poor soul left in Al-Kyris whose ears have not
+been deafened by the parrot-cry of the name of Sah-luma?--If there
+is,--at him, at him, my dainty warbler of tiresome trills!--at
+him, and storm his senses with a rhodomontade of rhymes without
+reason!--at him, Immortal of the Immortals!--Bard of Bards!--stuff
+him with quatrains and sextains!--beat him with blank verse, blank
+of all meaning!--lash him with ballad and sonnet-scourges, till
+the tortured wretch, howling for mercy, shall swear that no poet
+save Sah-luma, ever lived before, or will ever live again, on the
+face of the shuddering and astonished earth!"
+
+And breathless with this extraordinary outburst, he struck his
+staff loudly on the floor, and straightway fell into such a
+violent fit of coughing that his whole lean body shook with the
+paroxysm.
+
+Sah-luma laughed heartily,--laughter in which he was joined by all
+the assembled maidens, including the gentle, pensive-eyed
+Niphrata. Standing erect in his glistening princely attire, with
+one hand resting familiarly on Theos's arm, and the sparkle of
+mirth lighting up his handsome features, he formed the greatest
+contrast imaginable to the little shrunken old personage, who,
+clinging convulsively to his staff, was entirely absorbed in his
+efforts to control and overcome his sudden and unpleasant attack
+of threatened suffocation.
+
+"Theos, my friend,"--he said, still laughing--"Thou must know the
+admirable Zabastes,--a man of vast importance in his own opinion!
+Have done with thy wheezing,"--he continued, vehemently thumping
+the struggling old gentleman on the back--"Here is another one of
+the minstrel craft thou hatest,--hast aught of bitterness in thy
+barbed tongue wherewith to welcome him as guest to mine abode?"
+
+Thus adjured, the old man peered up at Theos inquisitively, wiping
+away the tears that coughing had brought into his eyes, and after
+a minute or two began also to laugh in a smothered, chuckling
+way,--a laugh that resembled the croaking of frogs in a marshy
+pool.
+
+"Another one of the minstrel-craft," he echoed derisively--"Aye,
+aye! ... Like meets like, and fools consorts with fool. The guest
+of Sah-luma, . . Hearken, young man,--" and he drew closer, the
+malign grin widening on his furrowed face,--"Thou shalt learn
+enough trash here to stock thee with idiot-songs for a century.
+Thou shalt gather up such fragments of stupidity, as shall provide
+thee with food for all the puling love-sick girls of a nation!
+Dost thou write follies also? ... thou shalt not write them here,
+thou shalt not even think them!--for here Sah-luma,--the great,
+the unrivalled Sah-luma,--is sole Lord of the land of Poesy.
+Poesy,--by all the gods!--I would the accursed art had never been
+invented ... so might the world have been spared many long-drawn
+nothings, enwoofed in obscure and distracting phraseology! ...
+THOU a would-be Poet?--go to!--make brick, mend sandals, dig
+entrenchments, fight for thy country,--and leave the idle
+stringing of words, and the tinkling of rhyme, to children like
+Sah-luma, who play with life instead of living it."
+
+And with this, he hobbled off uneasily, grunting and grumbling as
+he went, and waving his staff magisterially right and left to warn
+the smiling maidens out of his way,--and once more Sah-luma's
+laughter, clear and joyous, pealed through the vaulted vestibule.
+
+"Poor Zabastes!" he said in a tone of good-humored tolerance--"He
+has the most caustic wit of any man in Al-Kyris! He is a positive
+marvel of perverseness and ill-humor, well worth the four hundred
+golden pieces I pay him yearly for his task of being my scribe and
+critic. Like all of us he must live, eat and wear decent
+clothing,--and that his only literary skill lies in the abuse of
+better men than himself is his misfortune, rather than his fault.
+Yes! ... he is my paid Critic, paid to rail against me on all
+occasions public or private, for the merriment of those who care
+to listen to the mutterings of his discontent,--and, by the Sacred
+Veil! ... I cannot choose but laugh myself whenever I think of
+him. He deems his words carry weight with the people,--alas, poor
+soul! his scorn but adds to my glory,--his derision to my fame!
+Nay, of a truth I need him,--even as the King needs the court
+fool,--to make mirth for me in vacant moments,--for there is
+something grotesque in the contemplation of his cankered
+clownishness, that sees nought in life but the eating, the
+sleeping, the building, and the bargaining. Such men as he can
+never bear to know that there are others, gifted by heaven, for
+whom all common things take radiant shape and meaning,--for whom
+the flowers reveal their fragrant secrets,--for whom birds not
+only sing, but speak in most melodious utterance--for whose
+dreaming eyes, the very sunbeams spin bright fantasies in mid-air
+more lasting than the kingdoms of the world! Blind and unhappy
+Zabastes! ... he is ignorant as a stone, and for him the mysteries
+of Nature are forever veiled. The triumphal hero-march of the
+stars,--the brief, bright rhyme of the flashing comet,--the
+canticle of the rose as she bears her crimson heart to the smile
+of the sun,--the chorus of green leaves chanting orisons to the
+wind--the never completed epic of heaven's lofty solitudes where
+the white moon paces, wandering like a maiden in search of love,--
+all these and other unnumbered joys he has lost--joys that Sah-
+luma, child of the high gods and favorite of Destiny drinks in
+with the light and the air."
+
+His eyes softened with a dreamy, intense lustre that gave them a
+new and almost pathetic beauty, while Theos, listening to each
+word he uttered, wondered whether there were ever any sounds
+sweeter than the rise and fall of his exquisite voice,--a voice as
+deliciously clear and mellow as a golden flute tenderly played.
+
+"Yes!--though we must laugh at Zabastes we should also pity him,"
+--he resumed in gayer accents--"His fate is not enviable. He is
+nothing but a Critic--he could not well be a lesser man,--one who,
+unable himself to do any great work, takes refuge in finding fault
+with the works of others. And those who abhor true Poesy are in
+time themselves abhorred,--the balance of Justice never errs in
+these things. The Poet wins the whole world's love, and immortal
+fame,--his adverse Critic, brief contempt, and measureless
+oblivion. Come,"--he added, addressing Theos--"we will leave these
+maidens to their duties and pastimes,--Niphrata!" here his
+dazzling smile flashed like a beam of sunlight over his face--
+"thou wilt bring us fruit and wine yonder,--we shall pass the
+afternoon together within doors. Bid my steward prepare the Rose
+Chamber for my guest, and let Athazel and Zimra attend there to
+wait upon him."
+
+All the maidens saluted, touching their heads with their hands in
+token of obedience, and Sah-luma leading the way, courteously
+beckoned Theos to follow. He did so, conscious as he went of two
+distinct impressions,--first, that the mysterious mental agitation
+he had suffered from when he had found himself so unexpectedly in
+a strange city, was not completely dispelled,--and secondly, that
+he felt as though he must have known Sah-luma all his life! His
+memory still remained a blank as regarded his past career,--but
+this fact had ceased to trouble him, and he was perfectly
+tranquil, and altogether satisfied with his present surroundings.
+In short, to be in Al-Kyris, seemed to him quite in keeping with
+the necessary course of events,--while to be the friend and
+companion of Sah-luma was more natural and familiar to his mind,
+than all once natural and familiar things.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+A POET'S PALACE.
+
+
+Gliding along with that graceful, almost phantom-like swiftness of
+movement that was so much a part of his manner, Sah-luma escorted
+his visitor to the further end of the great hall. There,--throwing
+aside a curtain of rich azure silk which partially draped two
+large folding-doors,--he ushered him into a magnificent apartment
+opening out upon the terrace and garden beyond,--a garden filled
+with such a marvellous profusion of foliage and flowers, that
+looking at it from between the glistening marble columns
+surrounding the palace, it seemed as though the very sky above
+rested edge-wise on towering pyramids of red and white bloom.
+Awnings of pale blue stretched from the windows across the entire
+width of the spacious outer colonnade, and here two small boys,
+half nude, and black as polished ebony, were huddled together on
+the mosaic pavement, watching the arrogant deportment of a superb
+peacock that strutted majestically to and fro with boastfully
+spreading tail and glittering crest as brilliant as the gleam of
+the hot sun on the silver fringe of the azure canopies.
+
+"Up, lazy rascals!" cried Sah-luma imperiously, as with the
+extreme point of his sandaled foot he touched the dimpled, shiny
+back of the nearest boy--"Up, and away! ... Fetch rose-water and
+sweet perfumes hither! By the gods! ye have let the incense in
+yonder burner smoulder!"--and he pointed to a massive brazen
+vessel, gorgeously ornamented, from whence rose but the very
+faintest blue whiff of fragrant smoke--"Off with ye both, ye
+basking blackamoors! bring fresh frankincense,--and palm-leaves
+wherewith to stir this heated air--hence and back again like a
+lightning-flash! ... or out of my sight forever!"
+
+While he spoke, the little fellows stood trembling and ducking
+their woolly heads, as though they half expected to be seized by
+their irate master and flung, like black balls, out into the
+wilderness of flowers, but glancing timidly up and perceiving that
+even in the midst of his petulance he smiled, they took courage,
+and as soon as he had ceased they darted off with the swiftness of
+flying arrows, each striving to outstrip the other in a race
+across the terrace and garden. Sah-luma laughed as he watched them
+disappear,--and then stepping back into the interior of the
+apartment he turned to Theos and bade him be seated. Theos sank
+unresistingly into a low, velvet-cushioned chair richly carved and
+inlaid with ivory, and stretching his limbs indolently therein,
+surveyed with new and ever-growing admiration the supple, elegant
+figure of his host, who, throwing himself full length on a couch
+covered with leopard-skins, folded his arms behind his head, and
+eyed his guest with a complacent smile of vanity and self-
+approval.
+
+"'Tis not an altogether unfitting retreat for a poet's musings"--
+he said, assuming an air of indifference, as he glanced round his
+luxurious, almost royally appointed room--"I have heard of worse!
+--But truly it needs the highest art of all known nations to
+worthily deck a habitation wherein the divine Muse may daily
+dwell, ... nevertheless, air, light, and flowers are not lacking,
+and on these methinks I could subsist, were I deprived of all
+other things!"
+
+Theos sat silent, looking about him wistfully. Was ever poet,
+king, or even emperor, housed more sumptuously than this, he
+thought? ... as his eyes wandered to the domed ceiling, wreathed
+with carved clusters of grapes and pomegranates,--the walls,
+frescoed with glowing scenes of love and song-tournament,--the
+groups of superb statuary that gleamed whitely out of dusky,
+velvet-draped corners,--the quaintly shaped book-cases,
+overflowing with books, and made so as to revolve round and round
+at a touch, or move to and fro on noiseless wheels,--the grand
+busts, both in bronze and marble, that stood on tall pedestals or
+projecting bracket; and,--while he dimly noted all these splendid
+evidences of unlimited wealth and luxury,--the perfume and lustre
+of the place, the glitter of gold and azure, silver and scarlet,
+the oriental languor pervading the very air, and above all the
+rich amber and azure-tinted light that bathed every object in a
+dream-like and fairy radiance, plunged his senses into a delicious
+confusion,--a throbbing fever of delight to which he could give no
+name, but which permeated every fibre of his being.
+
+He felt half blinded with the brilliancy of the scene,--the
+dazzling glow of color,--the sheen of deep and delicate hues
+cunningly intermixed and contrasted,--the gorgeous lavishness of
+waving blossoms that seemed to surge up like a sea to the very
+windows,--and though many thoughts flitted hazily through his
+brain, he could not shape them into utterance. He stared vaguely
+at the floor,--it was paved with variegated mosaic and strewn with
+the soft, dark, furry skins of wild animals,--at a little distance
+from where he sat there was a huge bronze lectern supported by a
+sculptured griffin with horns,--horns which curving over at the
+top, turned upward again in the form of candelabra,--the harp-
+bearer had brought in the harp, and it now stood in a conspicuous
+position decked with myrtle, some of the garlands woven by the
+maidens being no doubt used for this purpose.
+
+Yet there was something mirage-like and fantastic in the splendor
+that everywhere surrounded him,--he felt as though he were one of
+the spectators in a vast auditorium where the curtain had just
+risen on the first scene of the play He was dubiously considering
+in his own perplexed mind, whether such princely living were the
+privilege, or right, or custom of poets in general, when Sah-luma
+spoke again, waving his hand toward one of the busts near him--a
+massive, frowning head, magnificently sculptured.
+
+"There is the glorious Orazel!" he said--"The father, as we all
+must own, of the Art of Poesy, and indeed of all true literature!
+Yet there be some who swear he never lived at all--aye! though his
+poems have come down to us,--and many are the arguments I have had
+with so-called wise men like Zabastes, concerning his style and
+method of versification. Everything he has written bears the
+impress of the same master-touch,--nevertheless garrulous
+controversialists hold that his famous work the 'Ruva-Kalama'
+descended by oral tradition from mouth to mouth till it came to us
+in its 'improved' present condition. 'Improved!'" and Sah-luma
+laughed disdainfully,--"As if the mumbling of an epic poem from
+grandsire to grandson could possibly improve it! ... it would
+rather be deteriorated, if not altogether changed into the merest
+doggerel! Nay, nay!--the 'Ruva-Kalama,' is the achievement of one
+great mind,--not twenty Oruzels were born in succession to write
+it,--there was, there could be only one, and he, by right supreme,
+is chief of the Bards Immortal! As well might fools hereafter
+wrangle together and say there were many Sah-lumas! ... only I
+have taken good heed posterity shall know there was only ONE,--
+unmatched for love-impassioned singing throughout the length and
+breadth of the world!"
+
+He sprang up from his recumbent posture and attracted Theos's
+attention to another bust even finer than the last,--it was placed
+on a pedestal wreathed at the summit and at the base with laurel.
+
+"The divine Hyspiros!" he exclaimed pointing to it in a sort of
+ecstasy--"The Master from whom it may be I have caught the perfect
+entrancement of my own verse-melody! His fame, as thou knowest, is
+unrivalled and universal--yet--canst thou believe it! ... there
+has been of late an ass found in Al-Kyris who hath chosen him as a
+subject for his braying--and other asses join in the uneuphonius
+chorus. The marvellous Plays of Hyspiros! ... the grandest
+tragedies, the airiest comedies, the tenderest fantasies, ever
+created by human brain, have been called in question by these
+thistle-eating animals!--and one most untractable mule-head hath
+made pretence to discover therein a passage of secret writing
+which shall, so the fool thinks, prove that Hyspiros was not the
+author of his own works, but only a literary cheat, and forger of
+another and lesser man's inspiration! By the gods!--one's sides
+would split with laughter at the silly brute, were he not
+altogether too contemptible to provoke even derision! Hyspiros a
+traitor to the art he served and glorified? ... Hyspiros a
+literary juggler and trickster? ... By the Serpent's Head! they
+may as well seek to prove the fiery Sun in Heaven a common oil-
+lamp, as strive to lessen by one iota the transcendent glory of
+the noblest poet the centuries have ever seen!"
+
+Warmed by enthusiasm, with his eyes flashing and the impetuous
+words coursing from his lips, his head thrown back, his hand
+uplifted, Sah-luma looked magnificent,--and Theos, to whose misty
+brain the names of Oruzel and Hyspiros carried no positively
+distinct meaning, was nevertheless struck by a certain
+suggestiveness in his remarks that seemed to bear on some
+discussion in the literary world that had taken place quite
+recently. He was puzzled and tried to fix the precise point round
+which his thoughts strayed so hesitatingly, but he could arrive at
+no definite conclusion. The brilliant, meteor-like Sah-luma
+meantime flashed hither and thither about the room, selecting
+certain volumes from his loaded book-stands, and bringing them in
+a pile, he set them on a small table by his visitor's side.
+
+"These are some of the earliest editions of the plays of
+Hyspiros"--he went on, talking in that rapid, fluent way of his
+that was as musical as a bird's song--"They are rare and curious.
+See you!--the names of the scribes and the dates of issue are all
+distinct. Ah!--the treasures of poetry enshrined within these
+pages! ... was ever papyrus so gemmed with pearls of thought and
+wisdom?--If there were a next world, my friend,"--and here he
+placed his hand familiarly on his guest's shoulder, while the
+bright, steel-gray under-gleam sparkled in his splendid eyes--
+"'twould be worth dwelling in for the sake of Hyspiros,--as grand
+a god as any of the Thunderers in the empyrean!"
+
+"Surely there is a next world"--murmured Theos, scarcely knowing
+what he said--"A world where thou and I, Sah-luma, and all the
+masters and servants of song shall meet and hold high festival!"
+
+Sah-luma laughed again, a little sadly this time, and shrugged his
+shoulders.
+
+"Believe it not!" he said, and there was a touch of melancholy in
+his rich voice--"We are midges in a sunbeam,--emmets on a sand-
+hill...no more! Is there a next world, thinkest thou, for the bees
+who die of surfeit in the nilica-cups?--for the whirling drift of
+brilliant butterflies that sleepily float with the wind unknowing
+whither, till met by the icy blast of the north, they fall like
+broken and colorless leaves in the dust of the high-road? Is there
+a next world for this?"--and he took from a tall vase near at hand
+a delicate flower, lily-shaped and deliciously odorous, . . "The
+expression of its soul or mind is in its fragrance,--even as the
+expression of ours finds vent in thought and aspiration,--have we
+more right to live again than this most innocently fair blossom,
+unsmirched by deeds of evil? Nay!--I would more easily believe in
+a heaven for birds and flowers, than for women and men!"
+
+A shadow of pain darkened his handsome face as he spoke, . . and
+Theos, gazing full at him, became suddenly filled with pity and
+anxiety,--he passionately longed to assure him that there was in
+very truth a future higher and happier existence,--he, Theos,
+would vouch for the fact! But how? ... and why? ... What could he
+say? ... what could he prove? ...
+
+His throat ached,--his eyeballs burned, he was, as it were,
+forbidden to speak, notwithstanding the yearning desire he felt to
+impart to the soul of his new-found friend something of that
+indescribable sense of EVERLASTINGNESS which he himself was now
+conscious of, even as one set free of prison is conscious of
+liberty. Mute, and with a feeling as of hot, unshed tears welling
+up from his very heart, he turned over the volumes of Hyspiros
+almost mechanically,--they were formed of sheets of papyrus
+artistically bound in loose leather coverings and tied together
+with gold-colored ribbon.
+
+The Kyrisian language was, as has been before stated, perfectly
+familiar to him, though he could not tell how he had acquired the
+knowledge of it,--and he was able to see at a glance that Sah-luma
+had good cause to be enthusiastic in his praise of the author
+whose genius he so fervently admired. There was a ringing richness
+in the rush of the verse,--a wealth of simile combined with a
+simplicity and directness of utterance that charmed the ear while
+influencing the mind, and he was beginning to read in sotto-voce
+the opening lines of a spirited battle-challenge running thus:
+
+    "I tell thee, O thou pride enthroned King
+     That from these peaceful fields, these harvest lands,
+     Strange crops shall spring, not sown by thee or thine!
+     Arm'd millions, bristling weapons, helmed men
+     Dreadfully plum'd and eager for the fray,
+     Steel crested myrmidons, toss'd spears, wild steeds,
+     Uplifted flags and pennons, horrid swords,
+     Death gleaming eyes, stern hands to grasp and tear
+     Life from beseeching life, till all the heavens
+     Strike havoc to the terror-trembling stars"...
+
+when the two small, black pages lately dispatched in such haste by
+Sah-luma returned, each one bearing a huge gilded bowl filled with
+rose water, together with fine cloths, lace-fringed, and soft as
+satin.
+
+Kneeling humbly down, one before Theos, the other before Sah-luma,
+they lifted these great, shining bowls on their heads, and
+remained motionless. Sah-luma dipped his face and hands in the
+cool, fragrant fluid,--Theos followed his example,--and when these
+light ablutions were completed, the pages disappeared, coming back
+almost immediately with baskets of loose rose-leaves, white and
+red, which they scattered profusely about the room. A delightful
+odor subtly sweet, and yet not faint, began to freshen the already
+perfumed air,--and Sah-luma, flinging himself again on his couch,
+motioned Theos to take a similar resting-place opposite.
+
+He at once obeyed, yielding anew to the sense of indolent luxury
+and voluptuous ease his surroundings engendered,--and presently
+the aroma of rising incense mingled itself with the scent of the
+strewn rose-petals,--the pages had replenished the incense-burner,
+and now, these duties done so far, they brought each a broad, long
+stalked palm-leaf, and placing themselves in proper position,
+began to fan the two young men slowly and with measured
+gentleness, standing as mute as little black statues, the only
+movement about them being the occasional rolling of their white
+eyeballs and the swaying to and fro of their shiny arms as they
+wielded the graceful, bending leaves.
+
+"This is the way a poet should ever live!" murmured Theos,
+glancing up from the soft cushions among which he reclined, to
+Sah-luma, who lay with his eyes half-closed and a musing smile on
+his beautiful mouth--"Self centered in a circle of beauty,--with
+naught but fair suggestions and sweet thoughts to break the charm
+of solitude. A kingdom of happy fancies should be his, with gates
+shut last against unwelcome intruders,--gates that should never
+open save to the conquering touch of woman's kiss! ... for the
+master-key of love must unlock all doors, even the doors of a
+minstrel's dreaming!"
+
+"Thinkest thou so?" said Sah-luma lazily, turning his dark,
+delicate head slightly round on his glistening, pale-rose satin
+pillow--"Nay, of a truth there are times when I could bar out
+women from my thoughts as mere disturbers of the translucent
+element of poesy in which my spirit bathes. There is fatigue in
+love, . . whose pretty human butterflies too oft weary the flower
+whose honey they seek to drain. Nevertheless the passion of love
+hath a certain tingling pleasure in it, . . I yield to it when it
+touches me, even as I yield to all other pleasant things,--but
+there are some who unwisely carry desire too far, and make of love
+a misery instead of a pastime. Many will die for love,--fools are
+they all! To die for fame, . . for glory, . . that I can understand, . .
+but for love! ..." he laughed, and taking up a crushed rose-petal
+he flipped it into the air with his finger and thumb--"I would as
+soon die for sake of that perished leaf as for sake of a woman's
+transient beauty!"
+
+As he uttered these words Niphrata entered, carrying a golden
+salver on which were placed a tall flagon, two goblets, and a
+basket of fruit. She approached Theos first, and he, raising
+himself on his elbow, surveyed her with fresh admiration and
+interest while he poured out the wine from the flagon into one of
+those glistening cups, which he noticed were rough with the
+quantity of small gems used in their outer ornamentation.
+
+He was struck by her fair and melancholy style of loveliness, and
+as she stood before him with lowered eyes, the color alternately
+flushing and paling on her cheeks, and her bosom heaving
+restlessly beneath the loosely drawn folds of her prim rose-hued
+gown, an inexplicable emotion of pity smote him, as if he had
+suddenly been made aware of some inward sorrow of hers which he
+was utterly powerless to console. He would have spoken, but just
+then could find nothing appropriate to say, . . and when he had
+selected a fine peach from the heaped-up dainties offered for his
+choice, he still watched her as she turned to Sah-luma, who
+smiled, and bade her set down her salver on a low, bronze stand at
+his side. She did so, and then with the warm blood burning in her
+cheeks, stood waiting and silent. Sah-luma, with a lithe movement
+of his supple form, lifted himself into a half-sitting posture,
+and throwing one arm round her waist, drew her close to his breast
+and kissed her.
+
+"My fairest moonbeam!" he said gayly--"Thou art as noiseless and
+placid as thy yet unembodied sisters that stream through heaven
+and dance on the river when the world is sleeping! Myrtle! ..."
+and he detached a spray from the bosom of her dress--"What hast
+thou to do with the poet's garland? By my faith, thou art like
+Theos yonder, and hast chosen to wear a sprig of my faded crown
+for thine adornment--is't not so?" A hot and painful blush
+crimsoned Niphrata's face,--a softness as of suppressed tears
+glistened in her eyes,--she made no answer, but looked
+beseechingly at the little twig Sah-luma held. "Silly child!" he
+went on laughingly, replacing it himself against her bosom, where
+the breath seemed to struggle with such panting haste and fear--
+"Thou art welcome to the dead leaves sanctified by song, if thou
+thinkest them of value, but I would rather see the rosebud of love
+nestled in that pretty white breast of thine, than the cast-off
+ornaments of fame!"
+
+And filling himself a cup of wine he raised it aloft, looking at
+Theos smilingly as he did so.
+
+"To your health, my noble friend!" he cried, "and to the joys of
+the passing hour!"
+
+"A wise toast!" answered Theos, placing his lips to his own
+goblet's rim,--"For the past is past,--'twill never return,--the
+future we know not,--and only the present can be called our own!
+To the health of the divine Sah-luma, whose fame is my glory!--
+whose friendship is dear to me as life!"
+
+And with this, he drained off the wine to the last drop. Scarcely
+had he done so, when the most curious sensation overcame him--a
+sensation of bewildering ecstasy as though he had drunk of some
+ambrosian nectar or magic drug which had suddenly wound up his
+nerves to an acute tension of indescribable delight. The blood
+coursed more swiftly through his veins,--he felt his face flush
+with the impulsive heat and ardor of the moment,--he laughed as he
+set the cup down empty, and throwing himself back on his luxurious
+couch, his eyes flashed on Sah-luma's with a bright, comprehensive
+glance of complete confidence and affection. It was strange to
+note how quickly Sah-luma returned that glance,--how thoroughly,
+in so short a space of time, their friendship had cemented itself
+into a more than fraternal bond of union! Niphrata, meanwhile,
+stood a little aside, her wistful looks wandering from one to the
+other as though in something of doubt or wonder. Presently she
+spoke, inclining her fair head toward Sah-luma.
+
+"My lord goes to the Palace to-night to make his valued voice
+heard in the presence of the King?" she inquired timidly.
+
+"Even so, Niphrata!" responded the Laureate, passing his hand
+carelessly through his clustering curls--"I have been summoned
+thither by the Royal command. But what of that, little one? Thou
+knowest 'tis a common occurrence,--and that the Court is bereft of
+all pleasure and sweetness when Sah-luma is silent."
+
+"My lord's guest goes with him?" pursued Niphrata gently.
+
+"Aye, most assuredly?" and Sah-luma smiled at Theos as he spoke--
+"Thou wilt accompany me to the King, my friend?" he went on--"He
+will give thee a welcome for my sake, and though of a truth His
+Majesty is most potently ignorant of all things save the arts of
+love and warfare, nevertheless he is man as well as monarch, and
+thou wilt find him noble in his greeting and generous of
+hospitality."
+
+"I will go with thee, Sah-luma, anywhere!" replied Theos quickly--
+"For in following such a guide, I follow my own most perfect
+pleasure."
+
+Niphrata looked at him meditatively, with a melancholy expression
+in her lovely eyes.
+
+"My lord Sah-luma's presence indeed brings joy!" she said softly
+and tremulously--"But the joy is too sweet and brief--for when he
+departs, none can fill the place he leaves vacant!"
+
+She paused,--Sah-luma's gaze rested on her intently, a half-
+amused, half-tender light leaping from under the drooping shade of
+his long, silky black lashes,--she caught the look, and a little
+shiver ran through her delicate frame,--she pressed one hand on
+her heart, and resumed in steadier and more even tones,--"My lord
+has perhaps not heard of the disturbances of the early morning in
+the city?"--she asked--"The riotous crowd in the marketplace--the
+ravings of the Prophet Khosrul? ... the sudden arrest and
+imprisonment of many,--and the consequent wrath of the King?"
+
+"No, by my faith!" returned Sah-luma, yawning slightly and
+settling his head more comfortably on his pillows--"Nor do I care
+to heed the turbulence of a mob that cannot guide itself and yet
+resists all guidance. Arrests? ... imprisonments? ... they are
+common,--but why in the name of the Sacred Veil do they not arrest
+and imprison the actual disturbers of the peace,--the Mystics and
+Philosophers whose street orations filter through the mind of the
+disaffected, rousing them to foolish frenzy and disordered
+action?--Why, above all men, do they not seize Khosrul?--a
+veritable madman, for all his many years and seeming wisdom! Hath
+he not denounced the faith of Nagaya and foretold the destruction
+of the city times out of number? ... and are we not all weary to
+death of his bombastic mouthing? If the King deemed a poet's
+counsel worth the taking, he would long ago have shut this bearded
+ranter within the four walls of a dungeon, where only rats and
+spiders would attend his lectures on approaching Doom!"
+
+"Nay, but my lord--" Niphrata ventured to say timidly--"The King
+dare not lay hands on Khosrul ..."
+
+"Dare not!" laughed Sah-luma lazily stretching out his hand and
+helping himself to a luscious nectarine from the basket at his
+side--"Sweet Niphrata! ... settest thou a limit to the power of
+the King? As well draw a boundary-line for the imagination of the
+poet! Khosrul may be loved and feared by a certain number of
+superstitious malcontents who look upon a madman as a sort of
+sacred wild animal,--but the actual population of Al-Kyris,--the
+people who are the blood, bone, and sinew of the city,--these are
+not in favor of change either in religion, laws, manners, or
+customs. But Khosrul is old,--and that the King humors his
+vagaries is simply out of pity for his age and infirmity,
+Niphrata,--not because of fear! Our Monarch knows no fear."
+
+"Khosrul prophesies terrible things!" ... murmured the girl
+hesitatingly--"I have often thought ... if they should come true.
+..."
+
+"Thou timid dove!" and Sah-luma, rising from his couch, kissed her
+neck lightly, thus causing a delicate flush of crimson to ripple
+through the whiteness of her skin--"Think no more of such folly--
+thou wilt anger me. That a doting graybeard like Khosrul should
+trouble the peace of Al-Kyris the Magnificent, ... by the gods--
+the whole thing is absurd! Let me hear no more of mobs or riots,
+or road-rhetoric,--my soul abhors even the suggestion of discord.
+Tranquillity! ... Divinest calm, disturbed only by the flutterings
+of winged thoughts hovering over the cloudless heaven of fancy!
+... this, this alone is the sum and centre of my desires.--and to-
+day I find that even thou, Niphrata--" here his voice took upon
+itself an injured tone,--"thou, who art usually so gentle, hast
+somewhat troubled the placidity of my mind by thy foolish talk
+concerning common and unpleasant circumstances, ... "He stopped
+short and a line of vexation and annoyance made its appearance
+between his broad, beautiful brows, while Niphrata seeing this
+expression of almost baby-petulance in the face she adored threw
+herself suddenly at his feet, and raising her lovely eyes swimming
+in tears, she exclaimed:
+
+"My lord! Sah-luma! Singing-angel of Niphrata's soul!--Forgive me!
+It is true, ... thou shouldst never hear of strife or contention
+among the coarser tribe of men,--and I, ... I, poor Niphrata,
+would give my life to shield thee from the faintest shadow of
+annoy! I would have thy path all woven sunbeams,--thou shouldst
+live like a fairy monarch embowered 'mid roses, sheltered from
+rough winds, and folded in loving arms, fairer maybe, hut not more
+fond than mine!" ... Her voice broke,--stooping, she kissed the
+silver fastening of his sandal, and springing up, rushed from the
+room before a word could be uttered to bid her stay.
+
+Sah-luma looked after her with a pretty, half-pleased perplexity.
+
+"She is often thus!" he said in a tone of playful resignation,--
+"As I told thee, Theos,--women are butterflies, hovering hither
+and thither on uneasy pinions, uncertain of their own desires.
+Niphrata is a woman-riddle,--sometimes she angers me,--sometimes
+she soothes, ... now she prattles of things that concern me not,--
+and anon converses with such high and lofty earnestness of speech,
+that I listen amazed, and wonder where she hath gathered up her
+store of seeming wisdom."
+
+"Love teaches her all she knows!" interrupted Theos quickly and
+with a meaning glance.
+
+Sah-luma laughed languidly, a faint color warming the clear olive
+pallor of his complexion.
+
+"Aye,--poor tender little soul, she loves me,".. he said
+carelessly--"That is no secret! But then all women love me,--I am
+more like to die of a surfeit of love than of anything else" He
+moved towards the open window "Come!--" he added--"It is the hour
+of sunset,--there is a green hillock in my garden yonder from
+whence we can behold the pomp and panoply of the golden god's
+departure. 'Tis a sight I never miss,--I would have thee share its
+glory with me."
+
+"But art thou then indifferent to woman's tenderness?" asked Theos
+half banteringly, as he took his arm--"Dost thou love no one?"
+
+"My friend"--replied Sah-luma seriously--"I love Myself! I see
+naught that contents me more than my own Personality,--and with
+all my heart I admire the miracle and beauty of my own existence!
+There is nothing even in the completest fairness of womanhood that
+satisfies me so much as the contemplation of my own genius,--
+realizing as I do its wondrous power and perfect charm! The life
+of a poet such as I am is a perpetual marvel!--the whole Universe
+ministers to my needs,--Humanity becomes the merest bound slave to
+the caprice of my imperial imagination,--with a thought I scale
+the stars,--with a wish I float in highest ether among spheres
+undiscovered yet familiar to my fancy--I converse with the spirits
+of flowers and fountains,--and the love of women is a mere drop in
+the deep ocean of my unfathomed delight! Yes,--I adore my own
+Identity! ... and of a truth Self-worship is the only Creed the
+world has ever followed faithfully to the end!"
+
+He glanced up with a bright, assured smile,--Theos met his gaze
+wonderingly, doubtfully,--but made no reply,--and together they
+paced slowly across the marble terrace, and out into the glorious
+garden, rich with the riotous roses that clambered and clustered
+everywhere, their hues deepening to flame-like vividness in the
+burning radiance of the sinking sun.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE SUMMONS OF THE SIGNET.
+
+
+They walked side by side for some little time without speaking,
+through winding paths of alternate light and shade, sheltered by
+the latticework of crossed and twisted green boughs where only the
+amorous chant of charming birds now and then broke the silence
+with fitful and tender sweetness. All the air about them was
+fragrant and delicate,--tiny rainbow-winged midges whirled round
+and danced in the warm sunset-glow like flecks of gold in amber
+wine,--while here and there the distant glimmer of tossing
+fountains, or the soft emerald sheen of a prattling brook that
+wound in and out the grounds, amongst banks of moss and drooping
+fern, gave a pleasant touch of coolness and refreshment to the
+brilliant verdure of the luxuriant landscape.
+
+"Speaking of creeds, Sah-luma"--said Theos at last, looking down
+with a curious sense of compassion and protection at his
+companion's slight, graceful form--"What religion is it that
+dominates this city and people? To-day, through want of knowledge,
+it seems I committed a nearly unpardonable offence by gazing at
+the beauty of the Virgin Priestess when I should have knelt face-
+hidden to her benediction,--thou must tell me something of the
+common laws of worship, that I err not thus blindly again."
+
+Sah-luma smiled.
+
+"The common laws of worship are the common laws of custom,"--he
+replied--"No more,--no less. And in this we are much like other
+nations. We believe in no actual Creed,--who does? We accept a
+certain given definition of a supposititious Divinity, together
+with the suitable maxims and code of morals accompanying that
+definition, ... we call this Religion, . . and we wear it as we wear
+our clothing for the sake of necessity and decency, though truly
+we are not half so concerned about it as about the far more
+interesting details of taste in attire. Still, we have grown used
+to our doctrine, and some of us will fight with each other for the
+difference of a word respecting it,--and as it contains within
+itself many seeds of discord and contradiction, such dissensions
+are frequent, especially among the priests, who, were they but
+true to their professed vocation, should be able to find ways of
+smoothing over all apparent inconsistencies and maintaining peace
+and order. Of course we, in union with all civilized communities,
+worship the Sun, even as thou must do,--in this one leading
+principle at least, our faith is universal!"
+
+Theos bent his head in assent. He was scarcely conscious of the
+action, but at that moment he felt, with Sah-luma, that there was
+no other form of Divinity acknowledged in the world than the
+refulgent Orb that gladdens and illumines earth, and visibly
+controls the seasons.
+
+"And yet--" went on Sah-luma thoughtfully,--"the well-instructed
+know through our scientists and astronomers (many of whom are now
+languishing in prison for the boldness of their researches and
+discoveries) that the Sun is no divinity at all, hut simply a huge
+planet,--a dense body surrounded by a luminous, flame-darting
+atmosphere,--neither self-acting nor omnipotent, but only one of
+many similar orbs moving in strict obedience to fixed mathematical
+laws. Nevertheless this knowledge is wisely kept back as much as
+possible from the multitude,--for, were science to unveil her
+marvels too openly to semi-educated and vulgarly constituted
+minds, the result would be, first Atheism, next Republicanism, and
+finally Anarchy and Ruin. If these evils,--which like birds of
+prey continually hover about all great kingdoms,--are to be
+averted, we must, for the welfare of the country and people, hold
+fast to some stated form and outward observance of religious
+belief."
+
+He paused. Theos gave him a quick, searching glance.
+
+"Even if such a belief should have no shadow of a true
+foundation?" he inquired--"Can it be well for men to cling
+superstitiously to a false doctrine?"
+
+Sah-luma appeared to consider this question in his own mind for
+some minutes before replying.
+
+"My friend, it is difficult to decide what is false and what is
+true--"he said at last with a little shrug of his shoulders--"But
+I think that even a false religion is better for the masses than
+none at all. Men are closely allied to brutes, . . if the moral
+sense ceases to restrain them they at once leap the boundary line
+and give as much rein to their desires and appetites as the hyenas
+and tigers. And in some natures the moral sense is only kept alive
+by fear,--fear of offending some despotic, invisible Force that
+pervades the Universe, and whose chief and most terrible attribute
+is not so much creative as destructive power. To propitiate and
+pacify an unseen Supreme Destroyer is the aim of all religions,--
+and it is for this reason we add to our worship of the Sun that of
+the White Serpent, Nagaya the Mediator. Nagaya is the favorite
+object of the people's adoration,--they may forget to pay their
+vows to the Sun, but never to Nagaya, who is looked upon as the
+emblem of Eternal Wisdom, the only pleader whose persuasions avail
+to soften the tyrannic humor of the Invincible Devourer of all
+things. We know how men hate Wisdom and cannot endure to be
+instructed, and yet they prostrate themselves in abject crowds
+before Wisdom's symbol every day in the Sacred Temple yonder,--
+though I much doubt whether such constant devotional attendance is
+not more for the sake of Lysia than the Deified Worm!"
+
+He laughed with a little undercurrent of scorn in his laughter,--
+and Theos saw as it were, the lightning of an angry or disdainful
+thought flashing through the sombre splendor of his eyes.
+
+"And Lysia is..--?" began Theos suggestively.
+
+"The High Priestess of Nagaya," responded Sah-luma slowly--
+"Charmer of the god, as well as of the hearts of men! The hot
+passion of love is to her a toy, clasped and unclasped so! in the
+pink hollow of her hand..." and as he spoke he closed his fingers
+softly on the air and unclosed them again with an expressive
+gesture--"And so long as she retains the magic of her beauty, so
+long will Nagaya worship hold Al-Kyris in check. Otherwise ... who
+knows!--there have been many disturbances of late,--the teachings
+of the Philosophers have aroused a certain discontent,--and there
+are those who are weary of perpetual sacrifices and the shedding
+of innocent blood. Moreover this mad Khosrul of whom Niphrata
+spoke lately, thunders angry denunciations of Lysia and Nagaya in
+the open streets, with so much fervid eloquence that they who pass
+by cannot choose but hear, . . he hath a strange craze,--a doctrine
+of the future which he most furiously proclaims in the language
+prophets use. He holds that far away in the centre of a Circle of
+pure Light, the true God exists,--a vast all glorious Being who
+with exceeding marvellous love controls and guides Creation toward
+some majestic end--even as a musician doth melodize his thought
+from small sweet notes to perfect chord-woven harmonies.
+Furthermore, that thousands of years hence, this God will embody a
+portion of his own Existence in human form and will send hither a
+wondrous creature, half-God, half-Man, to live our life, die our
+death, and teach us by precept and example, the surest way to
+eternal happiness. 'Tis a theory both strange and wild!--hast ever
+heard of it before?"
+
+He put the question indifferently, but Theos was mute. That
+horrible sense of a straining desire to speak when speech was
+forbidden again oppressed him,--he felt as though he were being
+strangled with his own unfalling tears. What a crushing weight of
+unutterable thoughts burdened his brain!--he gazed up at the
+serenely glowing sky in aching, dumb despair,--till slowly ...
+very slowly, words came at last like dull throbs of pain beating
+between his lips ...
+
+"I think ... I fancy ... I have heard a rumor of such doctrine ...
+but I know as little of it as ... as THOU, Sah-luma! ... I can
+tell thee no more ... than THOU hast said! ..." He paused and
+gaining more firmness of tone went on--"It seems to me a not
+altogether impossible conception of Divine Benevolence,--for if
+God lives at all, He must be capable of manifesting Himself in
+many ways both small and great, common and miraculous, though of a
+truth there are no miracles beyond what APPEAR as such to our
+limited sight and restricted intelligence. But tell me"--and here
+his voice had a ring of suppressed anxiety within it--"tell me,
+Sah-luma, thine own thought concerning it!"
+
+"I?--I think naught of it!" replied Sah-luma with airy contempt--
+"Such a creed may find followers in time to come,--but now, of
+what avail to warn us of things that do not concern our present
+modes of life? Moreover in the face of all religion, my own
+opinion should not alter,--I have studied science sufficiently
+well to know that there is NO God!--and I am too honest to worship
+an unproved and merely supposititious identity!"
+
+A shudder, as of extreme cold, ran through Theos's veins, and as
+if impelled on by some invisible monitor he said almost
+mournfully:
+
+"Art thou sure, Sah-luma, thou dost not instinctively feel that
+there is a Higher Power hidden behind the veil of visible Nature?
+--and that in the Far Beyond there may be an Eternity of Joy where
+thou shalt find all thy grandest aspirations at last fulfilled?"
+
+Sah-luma laughed,--a clear, vibrating laugh as mellow as the note
+of a thrush in spring-time.
+
+"Thou solemn soul!" he exclaimed mirthfully--"My aspirations ARE
+fulfilled!--I aspire to no more than fame,--and that I hold,--that
+I shall keep so long as this world is lighted by the sun!"
+
+"And what use is Fame to thee in Death!" demanded Theos with
+sudden and emphatic earnestness.
+
+Sah-luma stood still,--over his beautiful face came a shadow of
+intense melancholy,--he raised his brilliant eyes full of wistful
+pathos and pleading.
+
+"I pray thee do not make me sad, my friend!" he murmured
+tremulously--"These thoughts are like muttering thunder in my
+heaven! Death!".. and a quick sigh escaped him--"'Twill be the
+breaking of my harp and heart! ... the last note of my failing
+voice and eversilenced song!"
+
+A moisture as of tears glistened on the silky fringe of his
+eyelids,--his lips quivered,--he had the look of a Narcissus
+regretfully bewailing his own perishable loveliness. On a swift
+impulse of affection Theos threw one arm round, his neck in the
+fashion of a confiding school-boy walking with his favorite
+companion.
+
+"Nay, thou shalt never die, Sah-luma!" he said with a sort of
+passionate eagerness,--"Thy bright soul shall live forever in a
+sunshine sweeter than that of earth's fairest midsummer noon! Thy
+song can never be silenced while heaven pulsates with the
+unwritten music of the spheres,--and even were the crown of
+immortality denied to lesser men, it is, it must be the heritage
+of the poet! For to him all crowns belong, all kingdoms are thrown
+open, all barriers broken down,--even those that divide us from
+the Unseen,--and God Himself has surely a smile to spare for His
+Singers who have made the sad world joyful if only for an hour!"
+
+Sah-luma looked up with a pleased yet wondering glance.
+
+"Thou hast a silvery and persuasive tongue!" he said gently--"And
+thou speakest of God as if thou knewest one akin to Him. Would I
+could believe all thou sayest! ... but alas!--I cannot. We have
+progressed too far in knowledge, my friend, for faith. ... yet..."
+He hesitated a moment, then with a touch of caressing entreaty in
+his tone went on. ... "Thinkest thou in very truth that I shall
+live again? For I confess to thee, it seems beyond all things
+strange and terrible to feel that this genius of mine,--this
+spirit of melody which inhabits my frame, should perish utterly
+without further scope for its abilities. There have been moments
+when my soul, ravished by inspiration, has, as it were, seized
+Earth like a full goblet of wine, and quaffed its beauties, its
+pleasures, its loves, its glories all in one burning draught of
+song! ... when I have stood in thought on the shadowy peaks of
+time, waiting for other worlds to string like beads on my thread
+of poesy,--when wondrous creatures habited in light and wreathed
+with stars have floated round and round me in rosy circles of
+fire,--and once, methought ... 'twas long ago now--I heard a Voice
+distinct and sweet that called me upward, onward and away, I know
+not where,--save that a hidden Love awaited me!" He broke off with
+a rapt almost angelic expression in his eyes, then sighing a
+little he resumed: "All dreams of course! ... vague phantoms,--
+creations of my own imaginative brain,--yet fair enough to fill my
+heart with speechless longings for ethereal raptures unseen,
+unknown! Thou hast, methinks, a certain faith in the unsolved
+mysteries,--but I have none,--for sweet as the promise of a future
+life may seem, there is no proof that it shall ever be. If one
+died and rose again from the dead, then might we all believe and
+hope.. but otherwise ..."
+
+Oh, miserable Theos!--What would he not have given to utter aloud
+the burning knowledge that ate into his mind like slow-devouring
+fire! Again mute! ... again oppressed by that strange swelling at
+the heart that threatened to break forth in stormy sobs of
+penitence and prayer! Instinctively he drew Sah-luma closer to his
+side--his breath came thick and fast.. he struggled with all his
+might to speak the words ... "One HAS died and risen from the
+dead!"--but not a syllable could he form of the desired sentence!
+
+"Thou shalt live again, Sah-luma!" was all he could say in low,
+half-smothered accents--"Thou hast within thee a flame that cannot
+perish!"
+
+Again Sah-luma's eyes dwelt upon him with a curious, appealing
+tenderness.
+
+"Thy words savor of sweet consolation! ..." he said half gayly,
+half sadly. "May they be fulfilled! And if indeed there is a
+brighter world than this beyond the skies, I fancy thou and I will
+know each other, there as here, and be somewhat close companions!
+See!"--and he pointed to a small green hillock that rose up like a
+shining emerald from the darker foliage of the surrounding trees--
+"Yonder is my point of vantage whence we shall behold the sun go
+down like a warrior sinking on the red field of battle, the chimes
+are ringing even now for his departure,--listen!"
+
+They stood still for a space, while the measured, swinging cadence
+of bells came pealing through the stillness,--bells of every tone,
+that smote the air with soft or loud resonance as the faint wind
+wafted the sounds toward them,--and then they began to climb the
+little hill, Sah-luma walking somewhat in advance, with a tread as
+light and elastic as that of a young fawn.
+
+Theos, following, watched his movements with a strange affection,
+--every turn of his head, every gesture of his hand seemed fraught
+with meanings as yet inexplicable. The grass beneath their feet
+was soft as velvet and dotted with a myriad wild flowers,--the
+ascent was gradual and easy, and in a few minutes they had reached
+the summit, where Sah-luma, throwing himself indolently on the
+smooth turf, pulled Theos gently down by his side. There they
+rested in silence, gazing at the magnificent panorama laid out
+before them,--a panorama as lovely as a delicately pictured scene
+of fairy-land. Above, the sky was of a dense yet misty rose-
+color,--the sun, low on the western horizon appeared to rest in a
+vast, deep, purple hollow, rifted here and there with broad gashes
+of gold,--long shafts of light streamed upwards in order like the
+waving pennons of an angel-army marching,--and beyond, far away
+from this blaze of splendid color, the wide ethereal expanse paled
+into tender blue, whereon light clouds of pink and white drifted
+like the fluttering blossoms that fall from apple-trees in spring.
+
+Below, and seen through a haze of rose and amber, lay the city of
+Al-Kyris,--its white domes, towers and pinnacled palaces rising
+out of the mist like a glorious mirage afloat on the borders of a
+burning desert. Al-Kyris the Magnificent!--it deserves its name,
+Theos thought, as shading his eyes from the red glare he took a
+wondering and gradually comprehensive view of the enormous extent
+of the place. He soon perceived that it was defended by six
+strongly fortified walls, each placed within the other at long
+equal distances apart, so that it might have been justly described
+as six cities all merged together in one,--and from where he sat
+he could plainly discern the great square where he had rested in
+the morning, by reason of the white granite obelisk that lifted
+itself sheer up against the sky, undwarfed by any of the
+surrounding buildings.
+
+This gigantic monument was the most prominent object in sight,
+with the exception of the sacred temple, which Sah-luma presently
+pointed out,--a round, fortress-like piece of architecture
+ornamented with twelve gilded towers from which bells were now
+clashing and jangling in a storm of melodious persistency. The hum
+of the city's traffic and pleasure surged on the air like the
+noise made by swarming bees, while every now and then the sweet,
+shrill tones of some more than usually clear girl's voice, crying
+out the sale of fruit or flowers, soared up song-wise through the
+luminous, semi-transparent vapor that half-veiled the clustering
+house-tops, tapering spires and cupolas in a delicate, nebulous
+film.
+
+Completely fascinated by the wizard-like beauty of the scene,
+Theos felt as though he could never look upon it long enough to
+master all its charms, but his eyes ached with the radiance in
+which everything seemed drenched as with flame, and turning his
+gaze once more toward the sun, he saw that it had nearly
+disappeared. Only a blood-red rim peered spectrally above the gold
+and green horizon-and immediately overhead, a silver rift in the
+sky had widened slowly in the centre and narrowed at its end, thus
+taking the shape of a great outstretched sword that pointed
+directly downward at the busy, murmuring, glittering city beneath.
+It was a strange effect, and made on the mind of Theos a strange
+impression,--he was about to call Sah-luma's attention to it, when
+an uncomfortable consciousness that they were no longer alone came
+over him,--instinctively he turned round, uttered a hasty
+exclamation, and springing erect, found himself face to face with
+a huge black,--a man of some six feet in height and muscular in
+proportion, who, clad, in a vest and tunic of the most vivid
+scarlet hue, leered confidentially upon him as their eyes met.
+Sah-luma rising also, but with less precipitation, surveyed the
+intruder languidly and with a certain haughtiness.
+
+"What now, Gazra? Always art thou like a worm in the grass,
+crawling on thine errand with less noise than the wind makes in
+summer, . . I would thy mistress kept a fairer messenger!"
+
+The black smiled,--if so hideous a contortion of his repulsive
+countenance might be called a smile, and slowly raising his jetty
+arms hung all over with strings of coral and amber, made a curious
+gesture, half of salutation, half of command. As he did this, the
+clear, olive cheek of Sah-luma flushed darkly red,--his chest
+heaved, and linking his arm through that of Theos, he bent his
+head slightly and stood like one in an enforced attitude of
+attention. Then Gazra spoke, his harsh, strong voice seeming to
+come from some devil in the ground rather than from a human
+throat.
+
+"The Virgin Priestess of the Sun and the Divine Nagaya hath need
+of thee to-night, Sah-luma!" he said, with a sort of suppressed
+derision underlying his words,--and taking from his breast a ring
+that glittered like a star, he held it out in the palm of one
+hand--"And also"--he added--"of thy friend the stranger, to whom
+she desires to accord a welcome. Behold her signet!"
+
+Theos, impelled by curiosity, would have taken the ring up to
+examine it, had not Sah-luma restrained him by a warning pressure
+of his arm,--he was only just able to see that it was in the shape
+of a coiled-up serpent with ruby eyes, and a darting tongue tipped
+with small diamonds. What chiefly concerned him however was the
+peculiar change in Sah-luma's demeanor,--something in the aspect
+or speech of Gazra had surely exercised a remarkable influence
+upon him. His frame trembled through and through with scarcely
+controlled excitement, . . his eyes shot forth an almost evil fire, . .
+and a cold, calm, somewhat cruel smile played on the perfect
+outline of his delicate month. Taking the signet from Gazra's
+palm, he kissed it with a kind of angry tenderness, . . then
+replied..
+
+"Tell thy mistress we shall obey her behest! Doubtless she knows,
+as she knows all things, that to-night. I am summoned by express
+command, to the Palace of our sovereign lord the King.. I am bound
+thither first as is my duty, but afterwards ..." He broke off as
+if he found it impossible to say more, and waved his hand in a
+light sign of dismissal. But Gazra did not at once depart. He
+again smiled that lowering smile of his which resembled nothing so
+much as a hung criminal's death-grin, and returned the jewelled
+signet to his breast.
+
+"Afterwards! ... yes.. afterwards!" he said in emphatic yet mock
+solemn tones.. "Even so!" Advancing a little he laid his heavy,
+muscular hand on Theos's chest, and appeared mentally to measure
+his height and breadth--"Strong nerves! ... iron sinews! ...
+goodly flesh and blood! ..'twill serve!"--and his great,
+protruding eyes gleamed maliciously as he spoke,--then bowing
+profoundly he added, addressing both Sah-luma and Theos.. "Noble
+sirs, to-night out of all men in Al-Kyris shall you be the most
+envied! Farewell!"--and once more making that curious salutation
+which had in it so much imperiousness and so little obeisance, he
+walked backward a few paces in the full lustre of the set sun's
+after-glow, which intensified the vivid red of his costume and lit
+up all the ornaments of clear-cut amber that glittered against his
+swarthy skin,--then turning, he descended the hillock so swiftly
+that he seemed to have melted out of sight as utterly as a dark
+mist dissolving in air.
+
+"By my word, a most sooty and repellent bearer of a lady's
+greeting!" laughed Theos lightly, as he sauntered arm in arm with
+his host on the downward path leading to the garden and palace--
+"And I have yet to learn the true meaning of his message!"
+
+"'Tis plain enough!" replied Sah-luma somewhat sulkily, with the
+deep flush still coming and going on his face--"It means that we
+are summoned, . . thou as well as I, . . to one of Lysia's midnight
+banquets,--an honor that falls to few,--a mandate none dare
+disobey! She must have spied thee out this morning--the only
+unkneeling soul in all the abject multitude-hence, perhaps, her
+present desire for thy company."
+
+There was a touch of vexation in his voice, but Theos heeded it
+not. His heart gave a great bound against his ribs as though
+pricked by a fire-tipped arrow,--something swift and ardent
+stirred in his blood like the flowing of quicksilver, . . the picture
+of the dusky-eyed, witchingly beautiful woman he had seen that
+morning in her gold-adorned ship, seemed to float between him and
+the light,--her face shone out like a growing glory-flower in the
+tangled wilderness of his thoughts, and his lips trembled a little
+as he replied:
+
+"She must be gracious and forgiving then, even as she is fair! For
+in my neglect of reverence due, I merited her scorn, . . not her
+courtesy. But tell me, Sah-luma, how could she know I was a guest
+of thine?"
+
+Sah-luma glanced at him half-pityingly, half disdainfully.
+
+"How could she know? Easily!--inasmuch as she knows all things.
+'Twould have been strange indeed had she NOT known!" and he caught
+at a down-drooping rose and crushed its fragrant head in his hand
+with a sort of wanton petulance--"The King himself is less
+acquainted with his people's doings than the wearer of the All-
+Reflecting Eye! Thou hast not yet seen that weird mirror and
+potent dazzler of human sight, . . no,--but thou WILT see it ere
+long,--the glittering Fiend-guarding of the whitest breast that
+ever shut in passion!" His voice shook, and he paused,--then with
+some effort continued--"Yes,--Lysia has her secret commissioners
+everywhere throughout the length and breadth of the city, who
+report to her each circumstance that happens, no matter how
+trifling,--and doubtless we were followed home,--tracked step by
+step as we walked together, by one of her stealthy-footed
+servitors,--in this there would be naught unusual."
+
+"Then there is no freedom in Al-Kyris,--" said Theos wonderingly--
+"if the whole city thus lies under the circumspection of a woman?"
+
+Sah-luma laughed rather harshly.
+
+"Freedom! By the gods, 'tis a delusive word embodying a vain idea!
+Where is there any freedom in life? All of us are bound in chains
+and restricted in one way or the other,--the man who deems himself
+politically free is a slave to the multitude and his own ambition
+--while he who shakes himself loose from the trammels of custom and
+creed, becomes the tortured bondsman of desire, tied fast with
+bruising cords to the rack of his own unbridled sense and
+appetite. There is no such thing as freedom, my friend, unless
+haply it may be found in death! Come,--let us in to supper,--the
+hour grows late, and my heart aches with an unsought heaviness,--I
+must cheer me with a cup of wine, or my songs to-night will sadden
+rather than rouse the King. Come,--and thou shalt speak to me
+again of the life that is to be lived hereafter,"--and he smiled
+with certain pathos in his smile,--"for there are times, believe
+me, when in spite of all my fame and the sweetness of existence, I
+weary of earth's days and nights, and find them far too brief and
+mean to satisfy my longings. Not the world,--but worlds--should be
+the Poet's heritage."
+
+Theos looked at him, with a feeling of unutterable yearning
+affection, and regret, but said nothing, . . and together they
+ascended the steps of the stately marble terrace and paced slowly
+across it, keeping as near to each other as shadow to substance,
+and thus reentered the palace, where the sound of a distant harp
+alone penetrated the perfumed stillness. It must be Niphrata who
+was playing, thought Theos, ... and what strange and plaintive
+chords she swept from the vibrating strings! ... They seemed laden
+with the tears of broken-hearted women dead and buried ages upon
+ages ago!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+SAH-LUMA SINGS.
+
+
+As they left the garden the night fell, or appeared to fall, with
+almost startling suddenness, and at the same time, in swift
+defiance of the darkness, Sah-luma's palace was illuminated from
+end to end by thousands of colored lamps, all apparently lit at
+once by a single flash of electricity. A magnificent repast was
+spread for the Laureate and his guest, in a lofty, richly frescoed
+banqueting-hall,--a repast voluptuous enough to satisfy the most
+ardent votary that ever followed the doctrines of Epicurus.
+Wonderful dainties and still more wonderful wines were served in
+princely profusion--and while the strangely met and
+sympathetically united friends ate and drank, delicious music was
+played on stringed instruments by unseen performers. When, at
+intervals, these pleasing sounds ceased, Sah-luma's conversation,
+brilliant, witty, refined, and sparkling with light anecdote and
+lighter jest, replaced with admirable sufficiency, the left-off
+harmonies,--and Theos, keenly alive to the sensuous enemy of his
+own emotions, felt that he had never before enjoyed such an
+astonishing, delightful, and altogether fairy-like feast. Its only
+fault was that it came to an end too soon, he thought, when, the
+last course of fruit and sweet comfits being removed, he rose
+reluctantly from the glittering board, and prepared to accompany
+his host, as agreed, to the presence of the King.
+
+In a very short time, so bewilderingly short as to seem a mere
+breathing-space,--he found himself passing through the broad
+avenues and crowded thoroughfares of Al-Kyris on his way to the
+Royal abode. He occupied a place in Sah-luma's chariot,--a gilded
+car, shaped somewhat like the curved half of a shell, deeply
+hollowed, and set on two high wheels that as they rolled made
+scarcely any sound; there was no seat, and both he and Sah-luma
+stood erect, the latter using all the force of his slender brown
+hands to control the spirited prancing of the pair of jet-black
+steeds which, harnessed tandem-wise to the light-vehicle, seemed
+more than once disposed to break loose into furious gallop
+regardless of their master's curbing rein.
+
+The full moon was rising gradually in a sky as densely violet as
+purple pansy-leaves--but her mellow lustre was almost put to shame
+by the brilliancy of the streets, which were lit up on both sides
+by vari-colored lamps that diffused a peculiar, intense yet soft
+radiance, produced, as Sah-luma explained, from stored-up
+electricity. On the twelve tall Towers of the Sacred Temple shone
+twelve large, revolving stars, that as they turned emitted vivid
+flashes of blue, green, and amber flame like light-house signals
+seen from ships veering shorewards,--and the reflections thus cast
+on the mosaic pavement, mingling with the paler beams of the moon,
+gave a weird and most fantastic effect to the scene. Straight
+ahead, a blazing arch raised like a bent bow against heaven, and
+having in its centre the word
+
+ZEPHORANIM,
+
+written in scintillating letters of fire, indicated to all
+beholders the name and abode of the powerful Monarch under whose
+dominion, according to Sah-luma, Al-Kyris had reached its present
+height of wealth and prosperity.
+
+Theos looked everywhere about him, seeing yet scarcely realizing
+the wonders on which he gazed,--leaning one arm on the burnished
+edge of the car, he glanced now and then up at the dusky skies
+growing thick with swarming worlds, and meditated dreamily whether
+it might not be within the range of possibility to be lifted with
+Sah-luma, chariot, steeds and all into that beautiful, fathomless
+empyrean, and drive among planets as though they were flowers,
+reining in at last before some great golden gate, which unbarred
+should open into a lustrous Glory-Land fairer than all fair
+regions ever pictured!
+
+How like a god Sah-luma looked, he mused! ... his eyes resting
+tenderly on the light, glittering form he was never weary of
+contemplating. Could there be a more perfect head than that dark
+one crowned with myrtle? ... could there be a more dazzling
+existence than that enjoyed by this child of happy fortune, this
+royal Laureate of a mighty King? How many poets starving in
+garrets and waiting for a hearing, would not curse their unlucky
+destinies when comparing themselves with such a Prince of Poesy,
+each word of whose utterance was treasured and enshrined in the
+hearts of a grateful and admiring people!
+
+This was Fame indeed, . . Fame at its utmost best,--and Theos sighed
+once or twice restlessly as he inwardly reflected how poor and
+unsatisfying were his own poetical powers, and how totally
+unfitted he was to cope with a rival so vastly his superior. Not
+that he by any means desired to cross swords with Sah-luma in a
+duel of song,-that was an idea that never entered his mind; he was
+simply conscious of a certain humiliated feeling,--an impression
+that it' he would be a poet at all, he must go back to the very
+first beginning of the art and re-learn all he had ever known, or
+thought he knew.
+
+Many strange and complex emotions were at work within him, . .
+emotions which he could neither control nor analyze,--and though
+he felt himself fully alive,--alive to his very finger-tips, he
+was ever and anon aware of a curious sensation like that
+experienced by a suddenly startled somnambulist, who, just on the
+point of awaking, hesitates reluctantly on the threshold of
+dreamland, unwilling to leave one realm of shadows for another
+more seeming true, yet equally transient. Entangled in perplexed
+reveries he scarcely noticed the brilliant crowds of people that
+were flocking hither and thither through the streets, many of whom
+recognizing Sah-luma waved their hands or shouted some gay word of
+greeting,--he saw, as it were without seeing. The whirling pageant
+around him was both real and unreal,--there was always a deep
+sense of mystery that hung like a cloud over his mind,--a cloud
+that no resolution of his could lift,--and often he caught himself
+dimly speculating as to what lay BEHIND that cloud. Something, he
+felt sure,--something that like the clew to an. intricate problem,
+would explain much that was now altogether incomprehensible,--
+moreover he remorsefully realized that he had formerly known that
+clew and had foolishly lost it, but how he could not tell.
+
+His gaze wandered from the figure of Sah-luma to that of the
+attendant harp-bearer who, perched on a narrow foothold on the
+back of the chariot, held his master's golden instrument aloft as
+though it were a flag of song,--the signal of a poet's triumph,
+destined to float above the world forever!
+
+Just then the equipage--arrived at the Kings palace. Turning the
+horses' heads with a sharp jerk so that the mettlesome creatures
+almost sprang erect on their haunches, Sah-luma drove them swiftly
+into a spacious courtyard, lined with soldiers in full armor, and
+brilliantly illuminated, where two gigantic stone Sphinxes, with
+lit stars ablaze between their enormous brows, guarded a flight of
+steps that led up to what seemed to be an endless avenue of white
+marble columns. Here slaves in gorgeous attire rushed forward, and
+seizing the prancing coursers by the bridle rein, held them fast
+while the Laureate and his companion alighted. As they did so, a
+mighty and resounding clash of weapons struck the tesselated
+pavement,--every soldier flung his drawn sword on the ground and
+doffed his helmet, and the cry of
+
+    "HAIL, SAH-LUMA!"
+
+rose in one brief, mellow, manly shout that echoed vibratingly
+through the heated air. Sah-luma meanwhile ascended half-way up
+the steps, and there turning round, smiled and bowed with an
+exquisite grace and infinite condescension,--and again Theos gazed
+at him yearningly, lovingly, and somewhat enviously too. What a
+picture he made standing between the great frowning sculptured
+Sphinxes! ... contrasted with those cold and solemn visages of stone
+he looked like a dazzling butterfly or stray bird of paradise. His
+white garb glistened at every point with gems, and from his
+shoulders, where it was fastened with large sapphire elasps,
+depended a long mantle of cloth of gold, bordered thickly with
+swansdown,--this he held up negligently in one hand as ho remained
+for a moment in full view of the assembled soldiery, graciously
+acknowledging their enthusiastic greetings, . . then with easy and
+unhasting tread he mounted the rest of the stairway, followed by
+Theos and his harp-bearer, and passed into the immense outer
+entrance hall of the Royal Palace, known, as he explained to his
+guest, as the Hall of the Two Thousand Columns.
+
+Here among the massively carved pillars which looked like
+straight, tall, frosted trunks of trees, were assembled hundreds
+of men young and old,--evident aristocrats and nobles of high
+degree, to judge from the magnificence of their costumes, while in
+and out their brilliant ranks glided little pages in crimson and
+blue,--black slaves, semi-nude or clothed in vivid colors,--court
+officials with jewelled badges and insignias of authority,--
+military guards clad in steel armor and carrying short, drawn
+scimetars,--all talking, laughing, gesticulating and elbowing one
+another as they moved to and fro,--and so thickly were they
+pressed together that at first sight it seemed impossible to
+penetrate through so dense a crowd: but no sooner did Sah-luma
+appear, than they all fell back in orderly rows, thus making an
+open avenue-like space for his admittance.
+
+He walked slowly, with proudly-assured mien and a confident
+smile,--bowing right and left in response to the respectful
+salutations he received from all assembled,--many persons glanced
+inquisitively at Theos, but as he was the Laureate's companion he
+was saluted with nearly equal courtesy. The old critic Zabastes,
+squeezing his lean, bent body from out the throng, hobbled after
+Sah-luma at some little distance behind the harp-bearer, muttering
+to himself as he went, and bestowing many a side-leer and
+malicious grin on those among his acquaintance whom he here and
+there recognized. Theos noted his behavior with a vague sense of
+amusement,--the man took such evident delight in his own ill-
+humor, and seemed to be so thoroughly convinced that his opinion
+on all affairs was the only one worth having.
+
+"Thou must check thy tongue today, Zabastes!" said a handsome
+youth in dazzling blue and silver, who, just then detaching
+himself from the crowd, laid a hand on the Critic's arm and
+laughed as he spoke--"I doubt me much whether the King is in humor
+for thy grim fooling! His Majesty hath been seriously discomposed
+since his return from the royal tiger-hunt this morning,
+notwithstanding that his unerring spear slew two goodly and most
+furious animals. He is wondrous sullen,-and only the divine Sah-
+luma is skilled in the art of soothing his troubled spirit.
+Therefore,--if thou hast aught of crabbed or cantankerous to urge
+against thy master's genius, thou hadst best reserve it for
+another time, lest thy withered head roll on the market-place with
+as little reverence as a dried gourd flung from a fruiterer's
+stall!"
+
+"I thank thee for thy warning, young jackanapes!" retorted
+Zabastes, pausing in his walk and leaning on his staff while he
+peered with his small, black, bad-tempered eyes at the speaker-
+"Thou art methinks somewhat over well-informed for a little
+lacquey! What knowest thou of His Majesty's humors? Hast been his
+fly-i'-the-ear or cast-off sandal-string? I pray thee extend not
+thy range of learning beyond the proper temperature of the bath,
+and the choice of rare unguents for thy skin-greater knowledge
+than this would injure the tender texture of thy fragile brain!
+Pah!"--and Zabastes sniffed the air in disgust--"Thou hast a most
+vile odor of jessamine about thee! ... I would thou wert clean of
+perfumes and less tawdry in attire!"
+
+Chuckling hoarsely he ambled onward, and chancing to, catch the
+wondering backward glance of Pheos, he made expressive signs with
+his fingers in derision of Sah-luma's sweeping mantle, which now,
+allowed to fall to its full length, trailed along the marble floor
+with a rich, rustling sound, the varied light sparkling on it at
+every point and making it look like a veritable shower of gold.
+
+On through the seemingly endless colonnades they passed, till they
+came to a huge double door formed of two glittering, colossed
+winged figures holding enormous uplifted shields. Here stood a
+personage clad in a silver coat-of-mail, so motionless that at
+first he appeared to be part of the door, .. but at the approach
+of Sah-luma he stirred into life and action, and touching a spring
+beside him, the arms of the twin colossi moved, the great double
+shields were slowly lowered, and the portals slid asunder
+noiselessly, thus displaying the sumptuous splendor of the Royal
+Presence-Chamber.
+
+It was a spacious and lofty saloon, completely lined with gilded
+columns, between which hung numerous golden lamps having long,
+pointed, amber pendants, that flashed down a million sparkles as
+of sunlight on the magnificent mosaic floor beneath. On the walls
+were rich tapestries storied with voluptuous scenes of love as
+well as ghastly glimpses of warfare, ... and languishing beauties
+reposing in the arms of their lovers, or listening to the songs of
+passion, were depicted side by side with warriors dead on the
+field of battle, or struggling hand to hand in grim and bleeding
+conflict. The corners of this wonderful apartment were decked with
+all sorts of flags and weapons, and in the middle of the painted
+ceiling was suspended a huge bird with the spread wings of an
+eagle and the head of an owl, that held in its curved talons a
+superb girandole formed of a hundred extended swords, each bare
+blade having at its point a bright lamp in the shape of a star,
+while the clustered hilts composed the centre.
+
+Officers in full uniform were ranged on both sides of the room,
+and a number of other men richly attired stood about, conversing
+with each other in low tones, ... but though Theos took in all
+these details rapidly at a glance, his gaze soon became fixed on
+the glittering Pavilion that occupied the furthest end of the
+saloon, where on a massive throne of ivory and silver sat the
+chief object of attraction, ... Zephoranim the King. The steps of
+the royal dais were strewn ankle-deep with flowers, ... . on
+either hand a bronze lion lay couchant, ... . and four gigantic
+black statues of men supported the monarch's gold-fringed canopy,
+their uplifted arms being decked with innumerable rows of large
+and small pearls. The King's features were not just then visible--
+he was leaning back in an indolent attitude, resting on his elbow,
+and half covering his face with one hand. The individual in the
+silver coat-of-mail whispered something in Sah-luma's ear either
+by way of warning or advice, and then advanced, prostrating
+himself before the dais and touching the ground humbly with his
+forehead and hands. The King stirred slightly, but did not alter
+his position, ... he was evidently wrapped in a deep and seemingly
+unpleasant reverie.
+
+"Dread my lord. ... !" began the Herald-in-Waiting. A movement of
+decided impatience on the part of the monarch caused him to stop
+short.
+
+"By my soul!" said a rich, strong voice that made itself
+distinctly audible throughout the spacious hall--"Thou art ever
+shivering on the edge of thy duty when thou shouldst plunge boldly
+into the midst thereof! How long wilt mouth thy words? ... Canst
+never speak plain?"
+
+"Most potent sovereign!" went on the stammering herald--"Sah-luma
+waits thy royal pleasure!"
+
+"Sah-luma!" and the monarch sprang erect, his eyes flashing fire--
+"Nay, that HE should wait, bodes ill for thee, thou knave! How
+darest thou bid him wait?--Entreat him hither with all gentleness,
+as befits mine equal in the realm!"
+
+As he thus spoke, Theos was able to observe him more attentively;
+indeed it seemed as though a sudden and impressive pause had
+occurred in the action of a drama in order to allow him as
+spectator, to thoroughly master the meaning of one special scene.
+Therefore he took the opportunity offered, and, looking full at
+Zephoranim, thought he had never beheld so magnificent a man. Of
+stately height and herculean build, he was most truly royal in
+outward bearing,--though a physiognomist judging him from the
+expression of his countenance would at once have given him all the
+worst vices of a reckless voluptuary and utterly selfish
+sensualist. His straight, low brows indicated brute force rather
+than intellect,--his eyes, full, dark, and brilliant, had in them
+a suggestion of something sinister and cruel, despite their fine
+clearness and lustre, while the heavy lines of his mouth, only
+partly concealed by a short, thick black beard, plainly betokened
+that the monarch's tendencies were by no means toward the strict
+and narrow paths of virtue.
+
+Nevertheless he was a splendid specimen of the human animal at its
+best physical development, and his attire, which was a mixture of
+the civilized and savage, suited him as it certainly would not
+have suited any less stalwart frame. His tunic was of the deepest
+purple broidered with gold,--his vest of pale amber silk was
+thrown open so as to display to the greatest advantage his broad
+muscular chest and throat glittering all over with gems,--and he
+wore, flung loosely across his left shoulder, a superb leopard
+skin, just kept in place by a clasp of diamonds. His feet were
+shod with gold-colored sandals,--his arms were bare and lavishly
+decked with jewelled armlets,--his rough, dark hair was tossed
+carelessly about his brow, whereon a circlet of gold studded with
+large rubies glittered in the light,--from his belt hung a great
+sheathed sword, together with all manner of hunting implements,--
+and beside him, on a velvet-covered stand, lay a short sceptre,
+having at its tip one huge egg-shaped pearl set in sapphires.
+
+Noting the grand poise of his figure, and the statuesque grace of
+his attitude, a strange, hazy, far-off memory began to urge itself
+on Theos's mind,--a memory that with every second grew more
+painfully distinct, ... HE HAD SEEN ZEPHORANIM BEFORE! Where,
+he could not tell,--but he was as positive of it as that he
+himself lived! ... and this inward conviction was accompanied by a
+certain undefinable dread,--a vague terror and foreboding, though
+he knew no actual cause for fear.
+
+He had however no time to analyze his emotion,--for just then the
+Herald-in-Waiting, having performed a backward evolution from the
+throne to the threshold of the audience-chamber, beckoned
+impatiently to Sah-luma, who at once stepped forward, bidding
+Theos keep close behind him. The harp-bearer followed, . . and thus
+all three approached the dais where the King still stood erect,
+awaiting them. Zabastes the Critic glided in also, almost
+unnoticed, and joined a group of courtiers at the furthest end of
+the long, gorgeously lighted room, while at sight of the Laureate
+the assembled officers saluted, and all conversation ceased. At
+the foot of the throne Sah-luma paused, but made no obeisance,--
+raising his glorious eyes to the monarch's face he smiled,--and
+Theos beheld with amazement, that here it was not the Poet who
+reverenced the King, but the King who reverenced the Poet!
+
+What a strange state of things! he thought,--especially when the
+mighty Zephoranim actually descended three steps of his flower-
+strewn dais, and grasping Sah-luma's hands raised them to his lips
+with all the humility of a splendid savage paying homage to his
+intellectual conqueror! It was a scene Theos was destined never to
+forget, and he gazed upon it as one gazes on a magnificently
+painted picture, wherein two central figures fascinate and most
+profoundly impress the beholder's imagination. He heard, with a
+vague sense of mingled pleasure and sadness, the deep, mellow
+tones of the monarch's voice vibrating through the silence, ... .
+
+"Welcome, my Sah-luma!--Welcome at all times, but chiefly welcome
+when the heart is weighted by care! I have thought of thee all
+day, believe me! ... aye, since early dawn, when on my way to the
+chase I heard in the depths of the forest a happy nightingale
+singing, and deemed thy voice had taken bird-shape and followed
+me! And that I sent for thee in haste, blame me not!--as well
+blame the desert athirst for rain, or the hungry heart agape for
+love to come and fill it!" Here his restless eye flashed on Theos,
+who stood quietly behind Sah-luma, passive, yet expectant of he
+knew not what.
+
+"Whom hast thou there? ... A friend?" This as Sah-luma apparently
+explained something in a low tone, ... "He is welcome also for thy
+sake"--and he extended one hand, on which a great ruby signet
+burned like a red star, to Theos, who, bending over it, kissed it
+with the grave courtesy he fancied due to kings. Zephoranim
+appeared good-naturedly surprised at this action, and eyed him
+somewhat scrutinizingly as he said: "Thou art not of Sah-luma's
+divine calling assuredly, fair sir, else thou wouldst hardly stoop
+to a mere crowned head like mine! Soldiers and statesmen may bend
+the knee to their chosen rulers, but to whom shall poets bend?
+They, who with arrowy lines cause thrones to totter and fall,--
+they, who with deathless utterance brand with infamy or hallow
+with honor the most potent names of kings and emperors,--they by
+whom alone a nation lives in the annals of the future,--what
+homage do such elect gods owe to the passing holders of one or
+more earthly sceptres? Thou art too humble, methinks, for the
+minstrel-vocation,--dost call thyself a Minstrel? or a student of
+the art of song?"
+
+Theos looked up, his eyes resting full on the monarch's
+countenance, as he replied in low, clear tones:
+
+"Most noble Zephoranim, I am no minstrel! ... nor do I deserve to
+be called even a student of that high, sweet music-wisdom in which
+Sah-luma alone excels! All I dare hope for is that I may learn of
+him in some small degree the lessons he has mastered, that at some
+future time I may approach as nearly to his genius as a common
+flower on earth can approach to a fixed star in the furthest blue
+of heaven!"
+
+Sah-luma smiled and gave him a pleased, appreciative glance,--
+Zephoranim regarded him somewhat curiously.
+
+"By my faith, thou'rt a modest and gentle disciple of Poesy!" he
+said--"We receive thee gladly to our court as suits Sah-luma's
+pleasure and our own! Stand thee near thy friend and master, and
+listen to the melody of his matchless voice,--thou shalt hear
+therein the mysteries of many things unravelled, and chiefly the
+mystery of love, in which all other passions centre and have
+power."
+
+Re-ascending the steps of the dais, he flung himself indolently
+back in his throne,--whereupon two pages brought a magnificent
+chair of inlaid ivory and placed it near the foot of the dais at
+his right hand. In this Sah-luma seated himself, the pages
+arranging his golden mantle around him in shining, picturesque
+folds,--while Theos, withdrawing slightly into the background,
+stood leaning against a piece of tapestry on which the dead figure
+of a man was depicted lying prone on the sward with a great wound
+in his heart, and a bird of prey hovering above him expectant of
+its grim repast. Kneeling on one knee close to Sah-luma, the harp-
+bearer put the harp in tune, and swept his fingers lightly over
+the strings,--then came a pause. A clear, small bell chimed
+sweetly on the stillness, and the King, raising himself a little,
+signed to a black slave who carried a tall silver wand emblematic
+of some office.
+
+"Let the women enter!" he commanded--"Speak but Sah-luma's name
+and they will gather like waves rising to the moon,--but bid them
+be silent as they come, lest they disturb thoughts more lasting
+than their loveliness."
+
+This with a significant glance toward the Laureate, who, sunk in
+his ivory chair, seemed rapt in meditation.
+
+His beautiful face had grown grave, . . even sad, ... he played idly
+with the ornaments at his belt, ... and his eyes had a drowsy yet
+ardent light within them, as they flashed now and then from under
+the shade of his long curling lashes. The slave departed on his
+errand ... and Zabastes edging himself out from the hushed and
+attentive throng of nobles stood as it were in the foreground of
+the picture, his thin lips twisted into a sneer. and his lean
+hands grasping his staff viciously as though he longed to strike
+somebody down with it.
+
+A moment or so passed, and then the slave returned, his silver rod
+uplifted, marshalling in a lovely double procession of white-
+veiled female figures that came gliding along as noiselessly as
+fair ghosts from forgotten tombs, each one carrying a garland of
+flowers. They floated, rather than walked, up to the royal dais,
+and there prostrated themselves two by two before the King, whose
+fiery glance rested upon them more carelessly than tenderly,--and
+as they rose, they threw back their veils, displaying to full view
+such exquisite faces, such languishing, brilliant eyes, such snow-
+white necks and arms, such graceful voluptuous forms, that Theos
+caught at the tapestry near him in reeling dazzlement of sight and
+sense, and wondered how Sah-luma seated tranquilly in the
+reflective attitude he had assumed, could maintain so unmoved and
+indifferent a demeanor.
+
+Indifferent he was, however, even when the unveiled fair ones,
+turning from the King to the Poet, laid all their garlands at his
+feet,--he scarcely noticed the piled-up flowers, and still less
+the lovely donors, who, retiring modestly backwards, took their
+places on low silken divans, provided for their accommodation, in
+a semicircle round the throne. Again a silence ensued,--Sah-luma
+was evidently centred like a spider in a web of his own thought-
+weaving,--and his attendant gently swept the strings of the harp
+again to recall his wandering fancies. Suddenly he looked up, . .
+his eyes were sombre, and a musing trouble shadowed the brightness
+of his face.
+
+"Strange it is, O King"--he said in low, suppressed tones that had
+in them a quiver of pathetic sweetness,--"Strange it is that to-
+night the soul of my singing dwells on sorrow! Like a stray bird
+flying 'mid falling leaves, or a ship drifting out from sunlight
+to storm, so does my fancy soar among drear, flitting images
+evolved from the downfall of kingdoms,--and I seem to behold in
+the distance the far-off shadow of Death..."
+
+"Talk not of death!" interrupted the King loudly and in haste,--
+"'Tis a raven note that hath been croaked in mine ears too often
+and too harshly already! What! ... hast thou been met by the mad
+Khosrul who lately sprang on me, even as a famished wolf on prey,
+and grasping my bridle-rein bade me prepare to die! 'Twas an ill
+jest, and one not to be lightly forgiven! 'Prepare to die, O
+Zephoranim?' he cried--'For thy time of reckoning is come!' By my
+soul!" and the monarch broke into a boisterous laugh--"Had he bade
+me prepare live 'twould have been more to the purpose! But yon
+frantic graybeard prates of naught but death, ... 'twere well he
+should be silenced." And as he spoke, he frowned, his hand
+involuntarily playing with the jewelled hilt of his sword.
+
+"Aye,--death is an unpleasing suggestion!" suddenly said Zabastes,
+who had gradually moved up nearer and nearer till he made one of
+the group immediately round Sah-luma--"'Tis a word that should
+never be mentioned in the presence of Kings! Yet, . .
+notwithstanding the incivility of the statement, . . it is most
+certain that His Most Potent Majesty as well as His Majesty's Most
+Potent Laureate, MUST..DIE.. !" And he accompanied the words
+"must..die..." with two decisive taps of his staff, smacking his
+withered lips meanwhile as though he tasted something peculiarly
+savory.
+
+"And thou also, Zabastes!" retorted the King with a dark smile,
+jestingly drawing his sword and pointing it full at him,--then, as
+the old Critic shrank slightly at the gleam of the bare steel,
+replacing it dashingly in its sheath,--"Thou also! ... and thine
+ashes shall be cast to the four winds of heaven as suits thy
+vocation, while those of thy master and thy master's King lie
+honorably urned in porphyry and gold!"
+
+Zabastes bowed with a sort of mock humility.
+
+"It may be so, most mighty Zephoranim," he returned composedly--
+"Nevertheless ashes are always ashes,--and the scattering of them
+is but a question of time! For urns of gold and porphyry do but
+excite the cupidity of the vulgar-minded, and the ashes therein
+sealed, whether of King or Poet, stand as little chance of
+reverent handling by future generations as those of many lesser
+men. And 'tis doubtful whether the winds will know any difference
+in the scent or quality of the various pinches of human dust
+tossed on their sweeping circles,--for the substance of a man
+reduced to earth-atoms is always the same,--and not a grain of him
+can prove whether he was once a Monarch crowned, a Minstrel
+pampered, or a Critic contemned!"
+
+And he chuckled, as one having the best of the argument. The King
+deigned no answer, but turned his eyes again on Sah-luma, who
+still sat pensively silent.
+
+"How long wilt thou be mute, my singing-emperor?" he demanded
+gently--"Canst thou not improvise a canticle of love even in the
+midst of thy soul's sudden sadness?"
+
+At this, Sah-luma roused himself,--signing to his attendant he
+took the harp from him, and resting it lightly on one knee, passed
+his hands over it once or twice, half musingly, half doubtfully. A
+ripple of music answered his delicate touch,--music as soft as the
+evening wind murmuring among willows. Another instant and his
+voice thrilled on the silence,--a voice wonderful, far-reaching,
+mellow, and luscious as with suppressed tears, containing within
+it a passion that pierced to the heart of the listener, and a
+divine fullness such as surely was never before heard in human
+tones!
+
+Theos leaned forward breathlessly, his pulses beating with
+unwonted rapidity, . . what.. WHAT was it that Sah-luma sang? ... A
+Love-song! in those caressing vowel-sounds which composed the
+language of Al-Kyris, . . a love-song, burning as strong wine,
+tender as the murmur of the sea on mellow, moon-entranced
+evenings,--an arrowy shaft of rhyme tipped with fire and meant to
+strike home to the core of feeling and there inflict delicious
+wounds! ... but, as each well-chosen word echoed harmoniously on
+his ears, Theos shrank back shuddering in every limb, . . a black,
+frozen numbness seemed to pervade his being, an awful, maddening
+terror possessed his brain and he felt as though he were suddenly
+thrown into a vast, dark chaos where no light should ever shine!
+For Sah-luma's song was HIS song! ... HIS OWN, HIS VERY OWN! ...
+He knew it well? He had written it long ago in the hey-day of his
+youth when he had fancied all the world was waiting to be set to
+the music of his inspiration, . . he recognized every fancy, . . every
+couplet.. every rhyme! ... The delicate glowing ballad was HIS, . .
+HIS ALONE! ... and Sah-luma had no right to it! He, Theos, was the
+Poet, . . not this royally favored Laureate who had stolen his deas
+and filched his jewels of thought...aye! and he would tell him so
+to his face! ... he would speak! ... he would cry aloud his claims
+in the presence of the King and demand instant justice! ... .
+
+He strove for utterance,--his voice was gone! ... his lips were
+moveless as the lips of a stone image! Stricken absolutely mute,
+but with his sense of hearing quickened to an almost painful
+acuteness, he stood erect and motionless,--rage and fear
+contending in his heart, enduring the torture of a truly terrific
+mystery of mind-despair, . . forced, in spite of himself, to listen
+passively to the love-thoughts of his own dead Past revived anew
+in his Rival's singing!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE PROPHET OF DOOM.
+
+
+A few slow, dreadful minutes elapsed, . . and then,--then the first
+sharpness of his strange mental agony subsided. The strained
+tension of his nerves gave way, and a dull apathy of grief
+inconsolable settled upon him. He felt himself to be a man
+mysteriously accurst,--banished as it were out of life, and
+stripped of all he had once held dear and valuable. HOW HAD IT
+HAPPENED? Why was he set apart thus, solitary, poor, and empty of
+all worth, WHILE ANOTHER REAPED THE FRUITS OF HIS GENIUS? ... He
+heard the loud plaudits of the assembled court shaking the vast
+hall as the Laureate ended his song--and, drooping his head, some
+stinging tears welled up in his eyes and fell scorchingly on his
+clasped hands--tears wrung from the very depth of his secretly
+tortured soul. At that moment the beautiful Sah-luma turned toward
+him smiling, as one who looked for more sympathetic approbation
+than that offered by a mixed throng,--and meeting that happy self-
+conscious, bland, half-inquiring gaze, he strove his best to
+return the smile. Just then Zephoranim's fiery glance swept over
+him with a curious expression of wonder and commiseration.
+
+"By the gods, yon stranger weeps!" said the monarch in a half-
+bantering tone...then with more gentleness he added.. "Yet 'tis
+not the first time Sah-luma's voice hath unsealed a fountain of
+tears! No greater triumph can minstrel have than this,--to move
+the strong man's heart to woman's tenderness! We have heard tell
+of poets, who singing of death have persuaded many straightway to
+die,--but when they sing of sweeter themes, of lover's vows, of
+passion-frenzies, and languorous desires, cold is the blood that
+will not warm and thrill to their divinely eloquent allurements.
+Come hither, fair sir!" and he beckoned to Theos, who mechanically
+advanced in obedience to the command--"Thou hast thoughts of thine
+own, doubtless, concerning Love, and Love's fervor of delight, . .
+hast aught new to tell us of its bewildering spells whereby the
+most dauntless heroes in every age have been caught, conquered,
+and bound by no stronger chain than a tress of hair, or a kiss
+more luscious than all the honey hidden in lotus-flowers?"
+
+Theos looked up dreamily...his eyes wandered from the King to Sah-
+luma as though in wistful search for some missing thing, . . his
+lips were parched and burning and his brows ached with a heavy
+weight of pain, . . but he made an effort to speak and succeeded,
+though his words came slowly and without any previous reflection
+on his own part.
+
+"Alas, most potent Sovereign!" he murmured.. "I am a man of sad
+memories, whose soul is like the desert, barren of all beauty! I
+may have sung of love in my time, but my songs were never new,--
+never worthy to last one little hour! And whatsoever of faith,
+passion, or heart-ecstasy my fancy could with devious dreams
+devise, Sah-luma knows, . . and in Sah-luma's song all my best
+thoughts are said!"
+
+There was a ring of intense pathos in his voice as he spoke,--and
+the King eyed him compassionately.
+
+"Of a truth thou seemest to have suffered!" he observed in gentle
+accents.. "Thou hast a look as of one bereft of joy. Hast lost
+some maiden love of thine? ... and dost thou mourn her still?"
+
+A pang bitter as death shot through Theos's heart, . . had the
+monarch suddenly pierced him with his great sword he could
+scarcely have endured more anguish! For the knowledge rushed upon
+him that he had indeed lost a love so faithful, so unfathomable,
+so pure and perfect, that all the world weighed in the balance
+against it would have seemed but a grain of dust compared to its
+inestimable value! ... but what that love was, and from whom it
+emanated, he could no more tell than the tide can tell in
+syllabled language the secret of its attraction to the moon.
+Therefore he made no answer, . . only a deep, half-smothered sigh
+broke from him, and Zephoranim apparently touched by his dejection
+continued good-naturedly:
+
+"Nay, nay!--we will not seek to pry into the cause of thy spirit's
+heaviness...Enough! think no more of our thoughtless question,--
+there is a sacredness in sorrow! Nevertheless we shall strive to
+make thee in part forget thy grief ere thou leavest our court and
+city, . . meanwhile sit thou there"--and he pointed to the lower
+step of the dais, . . "And thou, Sah-luma, sing again, and this time
+let thy song he set to a less plaintive key."
+
+He leaned hack in his throne, and Theos sat wearily down among the
+flowers at the foot of the dais as commanded. He was possessed by
+a strange, inward dread,--the dread of altogether losing the
+consciousness of his own identity,--and while he strove to keep a
+firm grasp on his mental faculties he at the same time abandoned
+all hope of ever extricating himself from the perplexing enigma in
+which he was so darkly involved. Forcing himself by degrees into
+comparative calmness, he determined to resign himself to his
+fate,--and the idea he had just had of boldly claiming the ballad
+sung by Sah-luma as his own, completely passed out of his mind.
+
+How could he speak against this friend whom he loved, ..aye!--more
+than he had ever loved any living thing!--besides what could he
+prove? To begin with, in his present condition ho could give no
+satisfactory account of himself,--if he were asked questions
+concerning his nation or birth-place he could not answer them, . .
+he did not even know where he had come from, save that his memory
+persistently furnished him with the name of a place called
+"ARDATH." But what was this "Ardath" to him, he mused?--What did
+it signify? ... what had it to do with his immediate position?
+Nothing, so far as he could tell! His intellect seemed to be
+divided into two parts--one a total blank, . . the other filled with
+crowding images that while novel were yet curiously familiar. And
+how could he accuse Sah-luma of literary theft, when he had none
+of his own dated manuscripts to bear out his case? Of course he
+could easily repeat his boyhood's verses word for word, ... but
+what of that? He, a stranger in the city, befriended and protected
+by the Laureate, would certainly be considered by the people of
+Al-Kyris as far more likely to steal Sah-luma's thoughts than that
+Sah-luma should steal his!
+
+No!--there was no help for it,--as matters stood he could say
+nothing,--he could only feel as though he were the sorrowful ghost
+of some long-ago dead author returned to earth to hear others
+claiming his works and passing them off as original compositions.
+And thus he was scarcely moved to any fresh surprise when Sah-
+luma, giving back the harp to his attendant, rose up, and standing
+erect in an attitude unequalled for grace and dignity, began to
+recite a poem he remembered to have written when he was about
+twenty years of age,--a poem daringly planned, which when
+published had aroused the bitterest animosity of the press critics
+on account of what they called its "forced sublimity." The
+sublimity was by no means "forced"--it was the spontaneous outcome
+of a fresh and ardent nature full of enthusiasm and high-soaring
+aspiration, but the critics cared nothing for this, . . all they saw
+was a young man presuming to be original, and down they came upon
+him accordingly.
+
+He recollected all the heart-sore sufferings he had endured
+through that ill-fated and cruelly condemned composition,--and now
+he was listlessly amazed at the breathless rapture and excitement
+it evoked here in this marvellous city of Al-Kyris, where
+everything seemed more strange and weird than the strangest dream!
+It was a story of the gods before the world was made,--of love
+deep buried in far eternities of light, . . of vast celestial shapes
+whose wanderings through the blue deep of space were tracked by
+the birth of stars and suns and wonder-spheres of beauty, . . a
+fanciful legend of transcendent heavenly passion, telling how all
+created worlds throbbed amorously in the purple seas of pure
+ether, and how Love and Love alone was the dominant cloud of the
+triumphal march of the Universe...And with what matchless
+eloquence Sah-luma spoke the glowing lines! ..with what clear and
+rounded tenderness of accent! ... how exquisitely his voice rose
+and fell in a rhythmic rush like the wind surging through many
+leaves, . . while ever and anon in the very midst of the divinely
+entrancing joy that chiefly characterized the poem, his musicianly
+art infused a touch of minor pathos,--a suggestion of the eternal
+complaint of Nature which even in the happiest moments asserts
+itself in mournful under-tones. The effect of his splendid
+declamation was heightened by a few soft, running passages
+dexterously played on the harp by his attendant harpist and
+introduced just at the right moments; and Theos, notwithstanding
+the peculiar position in which he was placed, listened to every
+well-remembered word of his own work thus recited with a gradually
+deepening sense of peace,--he knew not why, for the verses, in
+themselves, were strangely passionate and wild. The various
+impressions produced on the hearers were curious to witness--the
+King moved restlessly, his bronzed cheeks alternately flushing and
+paling, his hand now grasping his sword, now toying with the
+innumerable jewels that blazed on his breast--the women's eyes at
+one moment sparkled with delight and at the next grew humid with
+tears,--the assembled courtiers pressed forward, awed, eager, and
+attentive,--the very soldiers on guard seemed entranced, and not
+even a small side-whisper disturbed the harmonious fall and flow
+of dulcet speech that rippled from the Laureate's lips.
+
+When he ceased, there broke forth such a tremendous uproar of
+applause that the amber pendents of the lamps swung to and fro in
+the strong vibration of so many uplifted voices,--shouts of
+frenzied rapture echoed again and again through the vaulted roof
+like thuds of thunder,--shouts in which Theos joined,--as why
+should he not? He had as good a right as any one to applaud his
+own poem! It had been sufficiently abused heretofore,--he was glad
+to find it now so well appreciated, at least in Al-Kyris,--though
+he had no intention of putting forward any claim to its
+authorship. No,--for it was evident he had in some inscrutable way
+been made an outcast from all literary honor,--and a sort of wild
+recklessness grew up within him,--a bitter mirth, arising from
+curiously mingled feelings of scorn for himself and tenderness for
+Sah-luma,--and it was in this spirit that he loudly cheered the
+triumphant robber of his stores of poesy, and even kept up the
+plaudits long after they might possibly have been discontinued.
+Never perhaps did any poet receive a grander ovation, . . but the
+exquisitely tranquil vanity of the Laureate was not a whit moved
+by it, . . his dazzling smile dawned like a gleam of sunshine all
+over his beautiful face, but, save for this, he gave no sign of
+even hearing the deafening acclamations that resounded about him
+on all sides.
+
+"A new Ilyspiros!" cried the King enthusiastically, and, detaching
+a magnificently cut ruby from among the gems he wore, he flung it
+toward his favored minstrel. It flashed through the air like a
+bright spark of flame and fell, glistening redly, on the pavement
+just half-way between Theos and Sah-luma...Theos eyed it with
+faintly amused indifference, . . the Laureate bowed gracefully, but
+did not stoop to raise it,--he left that task to his harp-bearer,
+who, taking it up, presented it to his master humbly on one knee.
+Then, and only then Sah-luma received it, kissed it lightly and
+placed it negligently among his other ornaments, smiling at the
+King as he did so with the air of one who graciously condescends
+to accept a gift out of kindly feeling for the donor. Zabastes
+meanwhile had witnessed the scene with an expression of mingled
+impatience, malignity, and disgust written plainly on his furrowed
+features, and as soon as the hubbub of applause had subsided, he
+struck his staff on the ground with an angry clang, and exclaimed
+irritably:
+
+"Now may the god shield us from a plague of fools! What means this
+throaty clamor? Ye praise what ye do not understand, like all the
+rest of the discerning public! Many is the time, as the weariness
+of my spirit witnesseth, that I have heard Sah-luma rehearse,--but
+never in all my experience of his prolix multiloquence, hath he
+given utterance to such a senseless jingle-jangle of verse-jargon
+as to-night! Strange it is that the so-called 'poetical' trick of
+confusedly heaping words together regardless of meaning, should so
+bewilder men and deprive them of all wise and sober judgment! By
+my faith! ... I would as soon listen to the gabble of geese in a
+farmyard as to the silly glibness of such inflated twaddle, such
+mawkish sentiment, such turgid garrulity, such ranting
+verbosity..."
+
+A burst of laughter interrupted and drowned his harsh voice,--
+laughter in which no one joined more heartily than Sah-luma
+himself. He had resumed his seat in his ivory chair, and leaning
+back lazily, he surveyed his Critic with tolerant good-humor and
+complete amusement, while the King's stentorian "Ha, ha, ha!"
+resounded in ringing peals through the great audience-chamber.
+
+"Thou droll knave!" cried Zephoranim at last, dashing away the
+drops his merriment had brought into his eyes--"Wilt kill me with
+thy bitter-mouthed jests? ... of a truth my sides ache at thee!
+What ails thee now? ... Come,--we will have patience, if so be our
+mirth can be restrained,--speak!--what flaw canst thou find in our
+Sah-luma's pearl of poesy?--what spots on the sun of his divine
+inspiration? As the Serpent lives, thou art an excellent
+mountebank and well deservest thy master's pay!"
+
+He laughed again,--but Zabastes seemed in nowise disconcerted. His
+withered countenance appeared to harden itself into lines of
+impenetrable obstinacy,--tucking his long staff under his arm he
+put his fingers together in the manner of one who inwardly counts
+up certain numbers, and with a preparatory smack of his lips he
+began: "Free speech being permitted to me, O most mighty
+Zephoranim, I would in the first place say that the poem so
+greatly admired by your Majesty, is totally devoid of common
+sense. It is purely a caprice of the imagination,--and what is
+imagination? A mere aberration of the cerebral nerves,--a
+morbidity of brain in which the thoughts brood on the impossible,
+--on things that have never been, and never will be. Thus, Sah-
+luma's verse resembles the incoherent ravings of a moon-struck
+madman,--moreover, it hath a prevailing tone of FORCED
+SUBLIMITY..." here Theos gave an involuntary start,--then,
+recollecting where he was, resumed his passive attitude--"which is
+in every way distasteful to the ears that love plain language. For
+instance, what warrant is there for this most foolish line:
+
+     "'The solemn chanting of the midnight stars.'
+
+'Tis vile, 'tis vile! for who ever heard the midnight stars or any
+other stars chant? ... who can prove that the heavenly bodies are
+given to the study of music? Hath Sah-luma been present at their
+singing lesson?" Here the old critic chuckled, and warming with
+his subject, advanced a step nearer to the throne as he went on:
+"Hear yet another jarring simile:
+
+     "'The wild winds moan for pity of the world.'
+
+Was ever a more indiscreet lie? A brazen lie!--for the tales of
+shipwreck sufficiently prove the pitilessness of winds,--and
+however much a verse-weaver may pretend to be in the confidence of
+Nature, he is after all but the dupe of his own frenetic dreams.
+One couplet hath most discordantly annoyed my senses--'tis the
+veriest doggerel:
+
+     "'The sun with amorous clutch
+      Tears off the emerald girdle of the rose!'
+
+O monstrous piece of extravagance!--for how can the Sun (his Deity
+set apart) 'clutch' without hands?--and as for 'the emerald girdle
+of the rose'--I know not what it means, unless Sah-luma considers
+the green calyx of the flower a 'girdle,' in which case his wits
+must be far gone, for no shape of girdle can any sane man descry
+in the common natural protection of a bud before it blooms! There
+was a phrase too concerning nightingales,--and the gods know we
+have heard enough and too much of those over-praised birds! ..."
+Here he was interrupted by one of his frequent attacks of
+coughing, and again the laughter of the whole court broke forth in
+joyous echoes.
+
+"Laugh--laugh!" said Zabastes, recovering himself and eying the
+throng with a derisive smile--"Laugh, ye witless bantlings born of
+folly!--and cling as you will to the unsubstantial dreams your
+Laureate blows for you in the air like a child playing with soap-
+bubbles! Empty and perishable are they all,--they shine for a
+moment, then break and vanish,--and the colors wherewith they
+sparkled, colors deemed immortal in their beauty, shall pass away
+like a breath and be renewed no more!"
+
+"Not so!" interposed Theos suddenly, unknowing why he spoke, but
+feeling inwardly compelled to take up Sah-luma's defence-"for the
+colors ARE immortal, and permeate the Universe, whether seen in
+the soap-bubble or the rainbow! Seven tones of light exist, co-
+equal with the seven tones in music, and much of what we call Art
+and Poesy is but the constant reflex of these never-dying tints
+and sounds. Can a Critic enter more closely into the secrets of
+Nature than a Poet? ... nay!--for he would undo all creation were
+he able, and find fault with its fairest productions! The critical
+mind dwells too persistently on the mere surface of things, ever
+to comprehend or probe the central deeps and well-springs of
+thought. Will a Zabastes move us to tears and passion? ... Will he
+make our pulses beat with any happier thrill, or stir our blood
+into a warmer glow? He may be able to sever the petals of a lily
+and name its different sections, its way of growth and habitude,--
+but can he raise it from the ground alive and fair, a perfect
+flower, full of sweet odors and still sweeter suggestions? No!--
+but Sah-luma with entrancing art can make us see, not one lily but
+a thousand lilies, all waving in the light wind of his fancy,--not
+one world but a thousand worlds, circling through the empyrean of
+his rhythmic splendor,--not one joy but a thousand joys, all
+quivering song-wise through the radiance of his clear illumined
+inspiration. The heart,--the human heart alone is the final
+touchstone of a poet's genius,--and when that responds, who shall
+deny his deathless fame!"
+
+Loud applause followed these words, and the King, leaning forward,
+clapped Theos familiarly on the shoulder:
+
+"Bravely spoken, sir stranger!" he exclaimed--"Thou hast well
+vindicated thy friend's honor! And by my soul!--thou hast a
+musical tongue of thine own!--who knows but that thou also may be
+a poet yet in time to come!--And thou, Zabastes--" here he turned
+upon the old Critic, who, while Theos spoke, had surveyed him with
+much cynical disdain--"get thee hence! Thine arguments are all at
+fault, as usual! Thou art thyself a disappointed author--hence thy
+spleen! Thou art blind and deaf, selfish and obstinate,--for thee
+the very sun is a blot rather than a brightness,--thou couldst, in
+thine own opinion, have created a fairer luminary doubtless had
+the matter been left to thee! Aye, aye!--we know thee for a beauty
+hating fool,--and though we laugh at thee, we find thee wearisome!
+Stand thou aside and be straightway forgotten!--we will entreat
+Sah-luma for another song."
+
+The discomfited Zabastes retired, grumbling to himself in an
+undertone,--and the Laureate, whose dreamy eyes had till now
+rested on Theos, his self constituted advocate, with an
+appreciative and almost tender regard, once more took up his harp,
+and striking a few rich, soft chords was about to sing again, when
+a great noise as of clanking armor was heard outside, mingled with
+a steadily increasing, sonorous hum of many voices and the
+increased tramp, tramp of marching feet. The doors were flung
+open,--the Herald-in-Waiting entered in hot haste and excitement,
+and prostrating himself before the throne exclaimed:
+
+"O great King, may thy name live forever! Khosrul is taken!"
+
+Zephoranim's black brows drew together in a dark scowl and he set
+his lips hard.
+
+"So! For once thou art quick tongued in the utterance of news!" he
+said half-scornfully--"Bring hither the captive,--an he chafes at
+his bonds we will ourselves release him..." and he touched his
+sword significantly--"to a wider freedom than is found on earth!"
+
+A thrill, ran through the courtly throng at these words, and the
+women shuddered and grew pale. Sah-luma, irritated at the sudden
+interruption that had thus distracted the general attention from
+his own fair and flattered self, gave an expressively petulant
+glance toward Theos, who smiled back at him soothingly as one who
+seeks to coax a spoilt child out of its ill-humor, and then all
+eyes were turned expectantly toward the entrance of the audience-
+chamber.
+
+A band of soldiers clad from head to foot in glittering steel
+armor, and carrying short drawn swords, appeared, and marched with
+quick, ringing steps, across the hall toward the throne--arrived
+at the dais, they halted, wheeled about, saluted, and parted
+asunder in two compact lines, thus displaying in their midst the
+bound and manacled figure of a tall, gaunt, wild-looking old man,
+with eyes that burned like bright flames beneath the cavernous
+shadow of his bent and shelving brows,--a man whose aspect was so
+grand, and withal so terrible, that an involuntary murmur of
+mingled admiration and affright broke from the lips of all
+assembled, like a low wind surging among leaf-laden branches. This
+was Khosrul,--the Prophet of a creed that was to revolutionize the
+world,--the fanatic for a faith as yet unrevealed to men,--the
+dauntless foreteller of the downfall of Al-Kyris and its King!
+
+Theos stared wonderingly at him.. at his funereal, black garments
+which clung to him with the closeness of a shroud,--at his long,
+untrimmed beard and snow-white hair that fell in disordered,
+matted locks below his shoulders,--at his majestic form which in
+spite of cords and feathers he held firmly erect in an attitude of
+fearless and composed dignity. There was something supernaturally
+grand and awe-inspiring about him, ... something commanding as
+well as defiant in the straight and steady look with which he
+confronted the King,--and for a moment or so a deep silence
+reigned,--silence apparently born of superstitious dread inspired
+by the mere fact of his presence. Zephoranim's glance rested upon
+him with cold and supercilious indifference,--seated haughtily
+upright in his throne, with one hand resting on the hilt of his
+sword, he showed no sign of anger against, or interest in, his
+prisoner, save that, to the observant eye of Theos, the veins in
+his forehead seemed to become suddenly knotted and swollen, while
+the jewels on his bare chest heaved restlessly up and down with
+the unquiet panting of his quickened breath.
+
+"We give thee greeting, Khosrul!" he said slowly and with a
+sinister smile--"The Lion's paw has struck thee down at last! Too
+long hast thou trifled with our patience,--thou must abjure thy
+heresies, or die! What sayest thou now of doom,--of judgment,--of
+the waning of glory? Wilt prophesy? ... wilt denounce the Faith?
+... Wilt mislead the people? ... Wilt curse the King? ... Thou mad
+sorcerer!--devil bewitched and blasphemous! ... What shall hinder
+me from at once slaying thee?" And he half drew his formidable
+sword from its sheath.
+
+Khosrul met his threatening gaze unflinchingly.
+
+"Nothing shall hinder thee, Zephoranim," he replied, and his
+voice, deeply musical and resonant, struck to Theos's heart with a
+strange, foreboding chill--"Nothing--save thine own scorn of
+cowardice!"
+
+The monarch's hand fell from his sword-hilt,--a flush of shame
+reddened his dark face. He bent his fiery eyes full on the
+captive--and there was something in the sorrowful grandeur of the
+old man's bearing, coupled with his enfeebled and defenceless
+condition, that seemed to touch him with a sense of compassion,
+for, turning suddenly to the armed guard, he raised his hand with
+a gesture of authority ...
+
+"Unloose his fetters!" he commanded.
+
+The men hesitated, apparently doubting whether they had heard
+aright.
+
+Zephoranim stamped his foot impatiently.
+
+"Unloose him, I say! ... By the gods! must I repeat the same thing
+twice? Since when have soldiers grown deaf to the voice of their
+sovereign? ... And why have ye bound this aged fool with such many
+and tight bonds? His veins and sinews are not of iron,--methinks
+ye might have tied him with thread and met with small resistance!
+I have known many a muscular deserter from the army fastened less
+securely when captured! Unloose him--and quickly too!--Our
+pleasure is that, ere he dies, he shall speak an he will, in his
+own defence as a free man."
+
+In trembling haste and eagerness the guards at once set to work to
+obey this order. The twisted cords were untied, the heavy iron
+fetters wrenched asunder,--and in a very short space Khosrul stood
+at comparative liberty. At first he did not seem to understand the
+King's generosity toward him in this respect, for he made no
+attempt to move,--his limbs were rigidly composed as though they
+were still bound,--and so stiff and motionless was his weird,
+attenuated figure that Theos beholding him, began to wonder
+whether he were made of actual flesh and blood, or whether he
+might not more possibly be some gaunt spectre, forced back by
+mystic art from another world in order to testify, of things
+unknown, to living men. Zephoranim meanwhile called for his cup-
+bearer, a beautiful youth radiant as Ganymede, who at a sign from
+his royal master approached the Prophet, and pouring wine from a
+jewelled flagon into a goblet of gold, offered it to him with a
+courteous salute and smile. Khosrul started violently like one
+suddenly wakened from a deep dream,--shading his eyes with his
+lean and wrinkled hand he stared dubiously at the young and gayly
+attired servitor,--then pushed the goblet aside with a shuddering
+gesture of aversion.
+
+"Away ... Away!" he muttered in a thrilling whisper that
+penetrated to every part of the vast hall--"Wilt force me to drink
+blood?" He paused,--and in the same low, horror-stricken tone,
+continued. "Blood ... Blood! It stains the earth and sky! ... its
+red, red waves swallow up the land! ... The heavens grow pale and
+tremble,--the silver stars blacken and decay, and the winds of the
+desert make lament for that which shall come to pass ere ever the
+grapes be pressed or the harvest gathered! Blood ... blood! The
+blood of the innocent! ... 'tis a scarlet sea, wherein, like a
+broken and empty ship, Al-Kyris founders ... founders ... never to
+rise again!"
+
+These words, uttered with such hushed yet passionate intensity
+produced a most profound impression. Several courtiers exchanged
+uneasy glances, and the women half rose from their seats, looking
+toward the King as though silently requesting permission to
+retire. But an imperious negative sign from Zephoranim obliged
+them to resume their places, though they did so with obvious
+nervous reluctance.
+
+"Thou art mad, Khosrul"--then said the monarch in calmly measured
+accents--"And for thy madness, as also for thine age, we have till
+now retarded justice, out of pity. Nevertheless, excess of pity in
+great Kings too oft degenerates into weakness--and this we cannot
+suffer to be said of us, not even for the sake of sparing thy few
+poor remaining years. Thou hast overstepped the limit of our
+leniency,--and madman as thou art, thou showest a madman's
+cunning,--thou dost break the laws and art dangerous to the
+realm,--thou art proved a traitor, and must straightway die. Thou
+art accused..."
+
+"Of honesty!" interrupt Khosrul suddenly, with a touch of
+melancholy satire in his tone. "I have spoken Truth in an age of
+lies! 'Tis a most death-worthy deed!"
+
+He ceased, and again seemed to retire within himself as though he
+were a Voice entering at will into the carven image of man.
+Zephoranim frowned angrily, yet answered nothing--and a brief
+pause ensued. Theos grew more and more painfully interested in the
+scene,--there was something in it that to his mind seemed
+fatefully suggestive and fraught with impending evil. Suddenly
+Sah-luma looked up, his bright face alit with laughter.
+
+"Now by the Sacred Veil,"--he said gayly, addressing himself to
+the King--"Your Majesty considers this venerable gentleman with
+too much gravity! I recognize in him one of my craft,--a poet,
+tragic and taciturn of humor, and with a taste for melodramatic
+simile, . . marked you not the mixing of his word-colors in the
+picture he drew of Al-Kyris, foundering like a wrecked ship in a
+blood-red sea, whilst overhead trembled a white sky set thick with
+blackening stars? As I live, 'twas not ill-devised for a madman's
+brain! ... and so solemn a ranter should serve your Majesty to
+make merriment withal, in place of my poor Zabastes, whose peevish
+jests grow somewhat stale owing to the Critic's chronic want of
+originality! Nay, I myself shall be willing to enter into a
+rhyming joust with so disconsolately morose a contemporary, and
+who knows whether, betwixt us twain, the chords of the major and
+minor may not be harmonized in some new and altogether marvellous
+fashion of music such as we wot not of!" And turning to Khosrul he
+added--"Wilt break a lance of song with me, sir gray-beard? Thou
+shalt croak of death, and I will chant of love,--and the King
+shall pronounce judgment as to which melody hath the most potent
+and lasting sweetness!"
+
+Khosrul lifted his head and met the Laureate's half-mirthful,
+half-mocking smile with a look of infinite compassion in his own
+deep, solemnly penetrating eyes.
+
+"Thou poor deluded singer of a perishable day!" he said
+mournfully--"Alas for thee, that thou must die so, soon, and be so
+soon forgotten! Thy fame is worthless as a grain of sand blown by
+the breath of the sea! ... thy pride and thy triumph evanescent as
+the mists of the morning that vanish in the heat of the sun! Great
+has been the measure of thine inspiration,--yet thou hast missed
+its true teaching,--and of all the golden threads of poesy placed
+freely in thy hands thou hast not woven one clew whereby thou
+shouldst find God! Alas, Sah-lum! Bright soul unconscious of thy
+fate! ... Thou shalt be suddenly and roughly slain, and THERE sits
+thy destroyer!"
+
+And as he spoke he raised his shrunken, skeleton-like hand and
+pointed steadfastly to--the King! There was a momentary hush...a
+stillness as of stupefied amazement and horror, . . then, to the
+apparent relief of all present, Zephoranim burst out laughing.
+
+"By all the virtues of Nagaya!" he cried--"This is most excellent
+fooling! I, Zephoranim, the destroyer of my friend and first
+favorite in the realm? ... Old man, thy frenzy exceeds belief and
+exhausts patience,--though of a truth I am sorry for the
+shattering of thy wits,--'tis sad that reason should be lacking to
+one so revered and grave of aspect. Dear to me as my royal crown
+is the life of Sah-luma, through whose inspired writings alone my
+name shall live in the annals of future history--for the glory of
+a great poet must ever surpass the renown of the greatest King.
+Were Al-Kyris besieged by a thousand enemies, and these strong
+palace-walls razed to the ground by the engines of warfare, we
+would ourselves defend Sah-luma!--aye, even cry aloud in the heat
+of combat that he, the Chief Minstrel of our land, should be
+sheltered from fury and spared from death, as the only one capable
+of chronicling our vanquishment of victory!"
+
+Sah-luma smiled and bowed gracefully in response to this
+enthusiastic assurance of his sovereign's friendship,--but
+nevertheless there was a slight shadow of uneasiness on his bold,
+beautiful brows. He had evidently been uncomfortably impressed by
+Khosrul's words, and the restless anxiety reflected in his face
+communicated itself by a sort of electric thrill to Theos, whose
+heart began to beat heavily with a sense of vague alarm. "What is
+this Khosrul?" he thought half resentfully--"and how dares he
+predict for the adored, the admired Sah-luma so dark and unmerited
+an end? ... "Hark! ... what was that low, far-off rumbling as of
+underground wheels rolling at full speed? ... He listened,--then
+glanced at those persons who stood nearest to him, . . no one seemed
+to hear anything unusual. Moreover all eyes were fixed fearfully
+on Khosrul, whose before rigidly sombre demeanor had suddenly
+changed, and who now with raised head, tossed hair, outstretched
+arms, and wild gestures looked like a flaming Terror personified.
+
+"Victory... Victory!" he cried, catching at the King's last
+word ... "There shall be no more victory for thee, Zephoranim! ...
+Thy conquests are ended, and the flag of thy glory shall cease to
+wave on the towers of thy strong citadels! Death stands behind
+thee! ... Destruction clamors at thy palace-gates! ... and the
+enemy that cometh upon thee unawares is an enemy that none shall
+vanquish or subdue, not even they who are mightiest among the
+mighty! Thy strong men of war shall be trodden down as wheat,--thy
+captains and rulers shall tremble and wail as children bewildered
+with fear:--thy great engines of battle shall be to thee as
+naught,--and the arrows of thy skilled archers shall be useless as
+straws in the gathering tempest of fire and fury! Zephoranim!
+Zephoranim! ..." and his voice shrilled with terrific emphasis
+through the vaulted chamber ... "The days of recompense are come
+upon thee,--swift and terrible as the desert-wind! ... The doom of
+Al-Kyris is spoken, and who shall avert its fulfilment! Al-Kyris
+the Magnificent shall fall.. shall fall! ... its beauty, its
+greatness, its pleasantness, its power, shall be utterly
+destroyed.. and ere the waning of the midsummer moon not one stone
+of its glorious buildings shall be left to prove that here was
+once a city? Fire! ... Fire! ..." and here he ran abruptly to the
+foot of the royal dais, his dark garments brushing against Theos
+as he passed,--and springing on the first step, stood boldly
+within hand-reach of the King, who, taken aback by the suddenness
+of his action, stared at him with a sort of amazed and angry
+fascination.. "To arms, Zephoranim! ... To arms! ... take up thy
+sword and shield.. get thee forth and fight with fire! Fire! ...
+How shall the King quench it? ... how shall the mighty monarch
+defend his people against it? See you not how it fills the air
+with red devouring tongues of flame! ... the thick smoke reeks of
+blood! ... Al-Kyris the Magnificent, the pleasant city of sin, the
+idolatrous city, is broken in pieces and is become a waste of
+ashes! Who will join with me in a lament for Al-Kyris? I will call
+upon the desert of the sea to hear my voice, . . I will pour forth
+my sorrows on the wind, and it shall carry the burden of grief to
+the four quarters of the earth,--all nations shall shudder and be
+astonished at the direful end of Al-Kyris, the city beautiful, the
+empress of kingdoms! Woe unto Al-Kyris, for she hath suffered
+herself to be led astray by her rulers! ... she hath drunken deep
+of the innocent blood and hath followed after idols, . . her
+abominations are manifold and the hearts of her young men and
+maidens are full of evil! Therefore because Al-Kyris delighteth in
+pride and despiseth repentance, so shall destruction descend
+furiously upon her, even as a sudden tempest in the mid-watches of
+the night,--she shall be swept away from the surface of the earth,
+... wolves shall make their lair in her pleasant gardens, and the
+generations of men shall remember her no more! Oh ye kings,
+princes, and warriors!--Weep, weep for the doom of Al-Kyris!" and
+now his wild voice sank by degrees into a piteous plaintiveness--
+"Weep!--for never again on earth shall be found a fairer dwelling-
+place for the lovers of joy! ... never again shall be builded a
+grander city for the glory and wealth of a people! Al-Kyris! Al-
+Kyris! Thou that boastest of ancient days and long lineage! ...
+thou art become a forgotten heap of ruin! ... the sands of the
+desert shall cover thy temples and palaces, and none hereafter
+shall inquire concerning thee! None shall bemoan thee, . . none
+shall shed tears for the grievous manner of thy death, . . none
+shall know the names of thy mighty heroes and men of fame,--for
+thou shalt vanish utterly and be lost far out of memory even as
+though thou hadst never been!"
+
+Here he stopped abruptly and caught his breath hard,--his blazing
+eyes preternaturally large and brilliant fixed themselves
+steadfastly on the sculptured ivory shield that surmounted the
+back of the King's throne, and over his drawn and wrinkled
+features came an expression of such ghastly horror that
+instinctively every one present turned their looks in the same
+direction. Suddenly a shriek, piercing and terrible, broke from
+his lips,--a shriek that like a swiftly descending knife seemed to
+saw the air discordantly asunder.
+
+"See ... See!" he cried in fierce haste and eagerness ... "See how the
+crested head gleams! ... How the soft, shiny throat curves and
+glistens! ... how the lithe body twists and twines! ... Hence!--
+Hence, accursed Snake! ..thou poisoner of peace! ... thou
+quivering sting in the flesh!--thou destroyer of the strength of
+manhood! What hast thou to do with Zephoranim, that thou dost wind
+thy many coils about his heart? ... Lysia ... Lysia! ..." here
+the King started violently, his face flushing darkly red, "Thou
+delicate abomination! ... Thou tyrannous treachery.. what shall be
+done unto thee in the hour of darkness! Put off, put off the
+ornaments of gold and the jewels wherewith thou adornest thy
+beauty, and crown thyself with the crown of an endless affliction!
+... for thou shalt be girdled round about with flame, and fire shall
+be thy garment! ... thy lips that have drunken sweet wine shall be
+steeped in bitterness!--vainly shalt thou make thyself fair and
+call aloud on thy legion of lovers, . . they shall be as dead men,
+deaf to thine entreaties, and none shall answer thee,--no, not
+one! None shall hide thee from shame or offer thee comfort,--in
+the midst of thy lascivious delights shalt thou suddenly perish!
+... and my soul shall be avenged on thy sins, thou unvirgined
+Virgin!--thou Queen-Courtesan!"
+
+Scarcely had he uttered the last word, when the King with a
+furious oath sprang upon him, grasped him by the throat, and
+thrusting him fiercely down on the steps of the dais, placed one
+foot on his prostrate body. Then drawing his gigantic sword he
+lifted it on high, . . the blight blade glittered in air...an
+audible gasp of terror broke from the throng of spectators, . .
+another second and Khosrul's life would have paid the forfeit for
+his temerity...when crash! ... a sudden and tremendous clap of
+thunder shook the hall, and every lamp was extinguished!
+Impenetrable darkness reigned, . . thick, close, suffocating
+darkness, . . the thunder rolled away in sullen, vibrating echoes,
+and there was a short, impressive silence. Then piercing through
+the profound gloom came the clamorous cries and shrieks of
+frightened women, . . the horrible, selfish scrambling, pushing and
+struggling of a bewildered, panic-stricken crowd, . . the helpless,
+nerveless, unreasoning distraction that human beings exhibit when
+striving together for escape from some imminent deadly peril,--and
+though the King's stentorian voice could be heard above all the
+tumult loudly commanding order, his alternate threats and
+persuasions were of no avail to calm the frenzy of fear into which
+the whole court was thrown. Groans and sobs, . . wild entreaties to
+Nagaya and the Sun-God.. curses from the soldiery, who intent on
+saving themselves were brutally trying to force a passage to the
+door regardless of the wailing women, whose frantic appeals for
+rescue and assistance were heart-rending to hear, . . all these
+sounds increased the horror of the situation,--and Theos, blind,
+giddy, and confused, listened to the uproar around him with
+something of the affrighted compassion that a stranger in Hell
+might be supposed to feel when hearkening to the ceaseless plaints
+of the self-tortured wicked. He endeavored to grope his way to
+Sah-luma's side,--and just then lights appeared, . . lights that
+were not of earth's kindling, . . strange, wandering flames that
+danced and flitted along the tapestried walls like will-o'-the-
+wisps on a dark morass, and flung a ghastly blue glare on the
+pale, uneasy faces of the scared people, till gathering in a sort
+of lurid ring round the throne, they outlined in strong relief the
+enraged, Titanesque figure of Zephoranim whose upraised sword
+looked in itself like an arrested flash of lightning. Brighter and
+brighter grew the weird lustre, illumining the whole scene.. the
+vast length of the splendid hall, . . the shining armor of the
+soldiers...the white robes of the women...the flags and pennons
+that hung from the roof and swayed to and fro as though blown by a
+gust of wind.. every object near and distant was soon as visible
+as in broad day,--and then...a terrible cry of rage burst from the
+King,--the cry of a maddened wild beast.
+
+"Death and fury!" he shouted, striking his sword with a fierce
+clang against the silver pedestal of the throne, . . "Where is
+Khosrul?"
+
+The silence of an absolute dismay answered him, ... Khosrul had
+fled! Like a cloud melting in air, or a ghost vanishing into the
+nether-world, he had mysteriously disappeared! ... he had escaped,
+no one knew how, from under the very feet and out of the very
+grasp of the irate monarch, whose baffled wrath now knew no
+bounds.
+
+"Dolts, idiots, cowards!".. and he hurled these epithets at the
+timorous crowd with all the ferocity of a giant hurling stones at
+a swarm of pigmies.. "Babes that are frighted by a summer thunder-
+storm! ... Ye have let yon accursed heretic slip from my hands ere
+I had choked him with his own lie! O ye fools! Ye puny villains!
+... I take shame to myself that I am King of such a race of
+weaklings! Lights! ... Bring lights hither, ye whimpering slaves,
+--ye shivering poltroons! ... What! call yourselves men! Nay, ye
+are feeble girls prankt out in men's attire, and your steel
+corselets cover the faintest hearts that ever failed for dastard
+fear! Shut fast the palace-gates! ... close every barrier! ...
+search every court and corner, lest haply this base false Prophet
+be still here in hiding,--he that blasphemed with ribald tongue
+the High Priestess of our Faith, the holy Virgin Lysia! ... Are ye
+all turned renegades and traitors that ye will suffer him to go
+free and triumph in his lawless heresy? Ye shameless knaves! Ye
+milk-veined rascals! ... What abject terror makes ye thus quiver
+like aspen-leaves in a storm? ... this darkness is but a
+conjurer's trick to scare women, and Khosrul's followers can so
+play with the strings of electricity that ye are duped into
+accepting the witch-glamour as Heaven's own cloud-flame! By the
+gods! If Al-Kyris falls, as yon dotard pronounceth, her ruins
+shall bury but few heroes! O superstitious and degraded souls! ...
+I would ye were even as I am--a man dauntless,--a soldier
+unafraid."
+
+His powerful and indignant voice had the effect of partially
+checking the panic and restoring something like order,--the
+pushing and struggling for an immediate exit ceased,--the armed
+guards in shamed silence began to marshal themselves together in
+readiness to start on the search for the fugitive,--and several
+pages rushed in with flaring torches, which cast a wondrous fire-
+glow on the surging throng of eager and timid faces, the brilliant
+costumes, the flash of jewels, the glimmer of swords and the dark
+outlines of the fluttering tapestry,--all forming together a
+curious chiaroscuro, from which the massive figure of Zephoranim
+stood out in bold and striking prominence against the white and
+silver background of his throne. Vaguely bewildered and lost in a
+dim stupefaction of wonderment, Theos looked upon everything with
+an odd sense of strained calmness, . . the glittering saloon whirled
+before his eyes like a passing picture in a magic glass...and
+then...an imperative knowledge forced itself upon his mind,--HE
+HAD WITNESSED THIS SELF-SAME SCENE BEFORE! Where? and when? ...
+Impossible to say,--but he distinctly remembered each incident!
+This impression however left him as rapidly as it had come, before
+he had any time to puzzle himself about it, . . and just at that
+moment Sah-luma's hand caught his own,--Sah-luma's voice whispered
+in his ear:
+
+"Let us away, my friend,--there will be naught now but mounting of
+guards and dire confusion,--the King is as a lion roused, and will
+not cease growling till his vengeance be satisfied! A plague on
+this shatter-pated Prophet!--he hath broken through my music, and
+jarred poesy into discord!--By the Sacred Veil!--Didst ever hear
+such a hideous clamor of contradictory tongues! ... all striving
+to explain what defies explanation, namely, Khosrul's flight, for
+which, after all, no one is to blame so much as Zephoranim
+himself,--but 'tis the privilege of monarchs to shift their own
+mistakes and follies on to the shoulders of their subjects! Come!
+Lysia awaits us, and will not easily pardon our tardy obedience to
+her summons,--let us hence ere the gates of the palace close."
+
+Lysia! ... The "unvirgined Virgin"--the "Queen Courtesan"! So had
+said Khosrul. Nevertheless her name, like a silver clarion, made
+the heart of Theos bound with indescribable gladness and feverish
+expectation, and without an instant's pause he readily yielded to
+Sah-luma's guidance through the gorgeously colored confusion of
+the swaying crowd. Arm-in-arm, the twain,--one a POET RENOWNED,
+the other a POET FORGOTTEN,--threaded their rapid way between the
+ranks of nobles, officers, slaves, and court-lacqueys, who were
+all excitedly discussing the recent scare, the Prophet's escape,
+and the dread wrath of the King,--and hurrying along the vast Hall
+of the Two Thousand Columns, they passed together out into the
+night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+A VIRGIN UNSHRINED.
+
+
+Under the cloudless, star-patterned sky, in the soft, warm air
+that brimmed with the fragrance of roses, they drove once more
+together through the spacious streets of Al-Kyris--streets that
+were now nearly deserted save for a few late passers-by whose
+figures were almost as indistinct and rapid in motion as pale,
+flitting shadows. There was not a sign of storm in the lovely
+heavens, though now and again a sullen roll as of a distant
+cannonade hinted of pent-up anger lurking somewhere behind that
+clear and exquisitely dark-blue ether, in which a million worlds
+blazed luminously like pendulous drops of white fire. Sah-luma's
+chariot whirled along with incredible swiftness, the hoofs of the
+galloping horses occasionally striking sparks of flame from the
+smooth mosaic-pictured pavement; but Theos now began to notice
+that there was a strange noiselessness in their movements--that
+the whole CORTEGE appeared to be environed by a magic circle of
+silence--and that the very night itself seemed breathlessly
+listening in entranced awe to some unlanguaged warning from the
+gods invisible.
+
+Compared with the turbulence and terror just left behind at the
+King's palace, this weird hush was uncomfortably impressive, and
+gave a sense of fantastic unreality to the scene. The sleepy,
+mesmeric radiance of the full moon, shining on the delicate
+traceries of the quaintly sculptured houses on either hand, made
+them look brittle and evanescent; the great heavy, hanging orange-
+boughs and the feathery frondage of the tall palms seemed outlined
+in mere mist against the sky; and the glimpses caught from time to
+time of the broad and quietly flowing river were like so many
+flashes of light seen through a veil of cloud. Theos, standing
+beside his friend with one hand resting familiarly on his
+shoulder, dreamily admired the phantom-like beauty of the city
+thus transfigured in the moonbeams, and though he vaguely wondered
+a little at the deep, mysterious stillness that everywhere
+prevailed, he scarcely admitted to himself that there was or could
+be anything unusual in it. He took his position as he found it--
+indeed he could not well do otherwise, since he felt his fate was
+ruled by some resolute, unseen force, against which all resistance
+would be unavailing. Moreover, his mind was now entirely possessed
+by the haunting vision of Lysia--a vision half-human, half-divine
+--a beautiful, magical, irresistible Sweetness that allured his
+soul, and roused within him a wordless passion of infinite desire.
+
+He exchanged not a syllable with Sah-luma--an indefinable yet
+tacit understanding existed between them,--an intuitive
+foreknowledge and subtle perception of each other's character,
+intentions, and aims, that for the moment rendered speech
+unnecessary. And there was something, after all, in the profound
+silence of the night that, while strange, was also eloquent--
+eloquent of meanings, unutterable, such as lie hidden in the
+scented cups of flowers when lovers gather them on idle summer
+afternoons and weave them into posies for one another's wearing.
+How fleetly the gilded, shell-shaped car sped on its way!--trees,
+houses, bridges, domes, and cupolas, seemed to fly past in a
+varied whirl of glistening color! Now and again a cluster of fire-
+flies broke from some thicket of shade and danced drowsily by in
+sparkling tangles of gold and green; here and there from great
+open squares and branch-shadowed gardens gleamed the stone face of
+an obelisk, or the white column of a fountain; while over all
+things streamed the long prismatic rays flung forth from the
+revolving lights in the Twelve Towers of the Sacred Temple, like
+flaming spears ranged lengthwise against the limitless depth of
+the midnight horizon. With straining necks, tossed manes, and foam
+flying from their nostrils, Sah-luma's fiery coursers dashed
+onward at almost lightning speed, and the journey became a wild,
+headstrong rush through the dividing air--a rush toward some
+voluptuous end, dimly discerned, yet indefinite!
+
+At last they stopped. Before them rose a lofty building, crested
+with fantastic pinnacles such as are formed by ice on the roof in
+times of intense cold; a great gate stood open, and pacing slowly
+up and down in front of it was a tall slave in white tunic and
+turban, who, turning his gleaming eyeballs on Sah-luma, nodded by
+way of salutation, and then uttered a sharp, peculiar whistle.
+This summons brought out two curious, dwarfish figures of men,
+whose awkward misshapen limbs resembled the contorted branches of
+wind-blown trees, and whose coarse and repulsive countenances
+betokened that malignant delight in evil-doing which only demons
+are supposed to know. These ungainly servitors possessed
+themselves of the Laureate's chafing steeds, and led them and the
+chariot away into some unseen courtyard; while the Laureate
+himself, still saying no word, kept fast hold of his companion's
+arm, and hurried him along a dark avenue overshadowed with thick
+boughs that drooped heavily downward to the ground--a solitary
+place where the intense quiet was disturbed only by the occasional
+drip, drip of dewy moisture trickling tearfully from the leaves,
+or the sweet, faint, gurgling sound of fountains playing somewhere
+in the distance.
+
+On they went for several paces, till at a sharp bend in the moss-
+grown path, an amethystine light broke full between the arched
+green branches; directly in front of them glimmered a broad piece
+of water, and out of the purple-tinted depths rose the white,
+nude, lovely form of a woman, whose rounded, outstretched arms
+appeared to beckon them, . . whose mouth smiled in mingled malice
+and sweetness, . . and round whose looped-up tresses sparkled a
+diadem of sapphire flame. With a cry of astonishment and ecstacy
+Theos sprang forward: Sah-luma held him back in laughing
+remonstrance.
+
+"Wilt drown for a statue's sake?" he inquired mirthfully. "By my
+soul, good Theos, if thy wits thus wander at sight of a witching,
+marble nymph illumed by electric glamours, what will become of
+thee when thou art face to face with living, breathing loveliness!
+Come, thou hotheaded neophyte! thou shalt not waste thy passion on
+images of stone, I warrant thee! Come!"
+
+But Theos stood still. His eyes roved from Sah-luma to the
+glittering statue and from the statue back again to Sah-luma in
+mingled doubt and dread. A vague foreboding filled his mind, he
+fancied that a bevy of mocking devils peered at him from out the
+wooded labyrinth, ... and that Sin was the name of the white siren
+yonder, whose delicate body seemed to palpitate with every slow
+ripple of the surrounding waters. He hesitated,--with that often
+saving hesitation a noble spirit may feel ere willfully yielding
+to what it instinctively knows to be wrong,--and for the briefest
+possible space an imperceptible line was drawn between his own
+self-consciousness and the fascinating personality of his lately
+found friend--a line that parted them asunder as though by a gulf
+of centuries.
+
+"Sah-luma," he said, in a tremulous, low tone, "tell me truly,--is
+it good for us to be here?"
+
+Sah-luma regarded him in wide-eyed amazement.
+
+"Good? good?" he repeated with a sort of impatient disdain. "What
+dost thou mean by 'good'? What is good? What is evil? Canst thou
+tell? If so, thou art wiser than I! Good to be here? If it is good
+to drown remembrance of the world in draughts of pleasure; if it
+is good to love and be beloved; if it is good to ENJOY, aye! enjoy
+with burning zest every pulsation of the blood and every beat of
+the heart, and to feel that life is a fiery delight, an exquisite
+dream of drained-off rapture, then it is good to be here! If," and
+he caught Theos's hand in his own warm palm and pressed it, while
+his voice sank to a soft and infinitely caressing sweetness, "if
+it is good to climb the dizzy heights of joy and drowse in the
+deep sunshine of amorous eyes, . . to slip away on elfin wings into
+the limitless freedom of Love's summerland, ... to rifle rich
+kisses from warm lips even as rosebuds are rifled from the parent
+rose, and to forget! ...--to forget all bitter things that are
+best forgotten--"
+
+"Enough, enough!" cried Theos, fired with a reckless impulse of
+passionate ardor. "On, on, Sah-luma! I follow thee! On! let us
+delay no more!"
+
+At that moment a far-off strain of music saluted his ears--music
+evidently played on stringed instruments. It was accompanied by a
+ringing clash of cymbals; he listened, and listening, saw a smile
+lighten Sah-luma's features--a smile sweet, yet full of delicate
+mockery. Their eyes met; a wanton impetuosity flashed like
+reflected flame from one face to the other, and then, without
+another instant's pause, they hurried on.
+
+Across a broad, rose-marbled terrace garlanded with a golden
+wealth of orange-trees and odorous oleanders.. ... under a
+trellis-work covered with magnolias whose half-shut, ivory-tinted
+buds glistened in the moonlight like large suspended pearls, . .
+then through a low-roofed stone-corridor, close and dim, lit only
+by a few flickering oil-lamps placed at far intervals, . . then on
+they went, till at last, ascending three red granite steps on
+which were carved some curious hieroglyphs, they plunged into what
+seemed to be a vast jungle enclosed in some dense tropical forest.
+What a strange, unsightly thicket of rank verdure was here,
+thought Theos! ... it was as though Nature, grown tired of floral
+beauty, had, in a sudden malevolent mood, purposely torn and
+blurred the fair green frondage and twisted every bud awry! Great,
+jagged leaves covered with prickles and stained all over with
+blotches as of spilt poison, . . thick brown stems glistening with
+slimy moisture and coiled up like the sleeping bodies of snakes, . .
+masses of purple and blue fungi, . . and blossoms seemingly of the
+orchid species, some like fleshy tongues, others like the waxen
+yellow fingers of a dead hand, protruded spectrally through the
+matted foliage,--while all manner of strange, overpowering odors
+increased the swooning oppressiveness of the sultry, languorous
+air.
+
+This uncouth botanical garden was apparently roofed in by a lofty
+glass dome, decorated with hangings of watery-green silk, but the
+grotesque trees and plants grew to so enormous a height that it
+was impossible to tell which were the falling draperies and which
+the straggling leaves. Curious birds flew hither and thither,
+voiceless creatures, scarlet and amber winged; a huge gilded
+brazier stood in one corner from whence ascended the constant
+smoke of burning incense, and there were rose-shaded lamps all
+about, that shed a subdued mysterious lustre on the scene, and
+bestowed a pale glitter on a few fantastic clumps of arums and
+nodding lotus-flowers that lazily lifted themselves out of a
+greenish pool of stagnant water sunk deeply in on one side of the
+marble flooring. Theos, holding Sah-luma's arm, stepped eagerly
+across the threshold; he was brimful of expectation: . . and what
+mattered it to him whether the weed-like things that grew in this
+strange pavilion were pure or poisonous, provided he might look
+once more upon the witching face that long ago had so sweetly
+enticed him to his ruin! ... Stay! what was he thinking of? Long
+ago? Nay, that was impossible,--since he had only seen the
+Priestess Lysia for the first time that very morning! How
+piteously perplexing it was to be thus tormented with these
+indistinct ideas!--these half-formed notions of previous intimate
+acquaintance with persons and places he never could have known
+before!
+
+All at once he drew back with a startled exclamation; an enormous
+tigress, sleek and jewel-eyed, bounded up from beneath a tangled
+mass of red and yellow creepers and advanced toward him with a low
+savage snarl.
+
+"Peace, Aizif, peace;" said Sah-luma, carelessly patting the
+animal's head. "Thou art wont to be wiser in distinguishing 'twixt
+thy friends and foes." Then turning to Theos he added--"She is
+harmless as a kitten, this poor Aizif! Call her, good Theos, she
+will come to thy hand--see!" and he smiled, as Theos, not to be
+outdone by his companion in physical courage, bent forward and
+stroked the cruel-looking beast, who, while submitting to his
+caress, never for a moment ceased her smothered snarling.
+Presently, however, she was seized with a sudden fit of savage
+playfulness,--and throwing herself on the ground before him, she
+rolled her lithe body to and fro with brief thirsty roars of
+satisfaction, . . roars that echoed through the whole pavilion with
+terrific resonance: then rising, she shook herself vigorously and
+commenced a stealthy, velvet-footed pacing up and down, lashing
+her tail from side to side, and keeping those sly, emerald-like
+eyes of hers watchfully fixed on Sah-luma, who merely laughed at
+her fierce antics. Leaning against one of the dark, gnarled trees,
+he tapped his sandaled foot with some impatience on the marble
+pavement, while Theos, standing close beside him, wondered whether
+the mysterious Lysia knew of their arrival.
+
+Sah-luma appeared to guess his thoughts, for he answered them as
+though they had been spoken aloud.
+
+"Yes," he said, "she knows we are here--she knew the instant we
+entered her gates. Nothing is or can be hidden from her! He who
+would have secrets must depart out of Al-Kyris and find some other
+city to dwell in, . . for here he shall be unable to keep even his
+own counsel. To Lysia all things are made manifest; she reads
+human nature as one reads an open scroll, and with merciless
+analysis she judges men as being very poor creatures, limited in
+their capabilities, disappointing and monotonous in their
+passions, unproductive and circumscribed in their destinies. To
+her ironical humor and icy wit the wisest sages seem fools; she
+probes them to the core, and discovers all their weaknesses; . . she
+has no trust in virtue, no belief in honesty. And she is right!
+Who but a madman would be honest in these days of competition and
+greed of gain? And as for virtue, 'tis a pretty icicle that melts
+at the first touch of a hot temptation! Aye! the Virgin Priestess
+of Nagaya hath a most profound comprehension of mankind's
+immeasurable brute stupidity; and, strong in this knowledge, she
+governs the multitude with iron will, intellectual force, and
+dictative firmness: . . when she dies I know not what will happen."
+
+Here he interrupted himself, and a dark shadow crossed his brows.
+"By my soul!" he muttered, "how this thought of death haunts me
+like the unburied corpse of a slain foe! I would there were no
+such thing as Death; 'tis a cruel and wanton sport of the gods to
+give us life at all if life must end so utterly and so soon!"
+
+He sighed deeply. Theos echoed the sigh, but answered nothing. At
+that moment the restless Aizif gave another appalling roar, and
+pounced swiftly toward the eastern side of the pavilion, where a
+large painted panel could be dimly discerned, the subject of the
+painting being a hideous idol, whose long, half-shut, inscrutable
+eyes leered through the surrounding foliage with an expression of
+hateful cunning and malevolence. In front of this panel the
+tigress lay down, licking the pavement thirstily from time to time
+and giving vent to short purring sounds of impatience: . . then all
+suddenly she rose with ears pricked, in an attitude of attention.
+The panel slowly moved, it glided back,--and the great brute
+leaped forward, flinging her two soft paws on the shoulders of the
+figure that appeared--the figure of a woman, who, clad in
+glistening gold from head to foot, shone in the dark aperture like
+a gilded image in a shrine of ebony. Theos beheld the brilliant
+apparition in some doubt and wonder. Was this Lysia? He could not
+see her face, as she wore a thick white veil through which only
+the faintest sparkle of dark eyes glimmered like flickering
+sunbeams; nor was he able to discern the actual outline of her
+form, as it was completely enveloped and lost in the wide,
+shapeless folds of her stiff, golden gown. Yet every nerve in his
+body thrilled at her presence! ... every drop of blood seemed to
+rush from his heart to his brain in a swift, scorching torrent
+that for a second blinded his eyes with a red glare and made him
+faint and giddy.
+
+Woman and tigress! They looked strangely alike, he thought, as
+they stood mutually caressing each other under the great drooping
+masses of fantastic leaves. Yet where was the resemblance? What
+possible similarity could there he between a tawny, treacherous
+brute of the forests, full of sly malice and voracious cruelty,
+and that dazzling, gold-garmented creature, whose small white
+hand, flashing with jewels, now tenderly smoothed the black,
+silken stripes on the sleek coat of her savage favorite?
+
+"Down, sweet Aizif, down!" she said, in a grave, dulcet voice as
+softly languorous as the last note of a love-song. "Down, my
+gentle one! thou art too fond, down! so!" this as the tigress
+instantly removed its embracing paws from her neck, and, trembling
+in every limb, crouched on the ground in abjectly submissive
+obedience. Another moment, and she advanced leisurely into the
+pavilion, Aizif slinking stealthily along beside her and seeming
+to imitate her graceful gliding movements, till she stood within a
+few paces of Theos and Sah-luma, just near the spot where the
+lotus-flowers swayed over the grass-green, stagnant pool. There
+she paused, and apparently scrutinized her visitors intently
+through the folds of her snowy veil. Sah-luma bent his head before
+her in a half haughty, half humble salutation.
+
+"The tardy Sah-luma!" she said, with an undercurrent of laughter
+in her musical tones, "the poet who loves the flattery of a
+foolish king, and the applause of a still more foolish court! And
+so Khosrul disturbed the flood of thine inspiration to-night, good
+minstrel? Nay, for that he should die, if for no other crime! And
+this," here she turned her veiled features toward Theos, whose
+heart beat furiously as he caught a luminous flash from those
+half-hidden, brilliant eyes, "this is the unwitting stranger who
+honored me by so daring a scrutiny this morning! Verily, thou hast
+a singularly venturesome spirit of thine own, fair sir! Still, we
+must honor courage, even though it border on rashness, and I
+rejoice to see that the wrathful mob of Al-Kyris hath yet left
+thee man enough to deserve my welcome! Nevertheless thou were
+guilty of most heinous presumption!" Here she extended her
+jewelled hand. "Art thou repentant? and wilt thou sue for pardon?"
+
+Scarcely conscious of what he did, Theos approached her, and
+kneeling on one knee took that fair, soft hand in his own and
+kissed it with passionate fervor.
+
+"Criminal as I am," he murmured tremulously, "I glory in my crime,
+nor will I seek forgiveness? Nay, rather will I plead, with thee
+that I may sin so sweet a sin again, and blind myself with beauty
+unreproved!"
+
+Slowly she withdrew her fingers from his clasp.
+
+"Thou art bold!" she said, with a touch of indolent amusement in
+her accents. "But in thy boldness there is something of the hero.
+Knowest thou not that I, Lysia, High Priestess of Nagaya, could
+have thee straightway slain for that unwise speech of thine?--
+unwise because over-hasty and somewhat over-familiar. Yes, I could
+have thee slain!" and she laughed,--a rippling little laugh like
+that of a pleased child. "Howbeit thou shalt not die this time for
+thy foolhardiness--thy looks are too much in thy favor! Thou art
+like Sah-luma in his noblest moods, when tired of verse-stringing
+and sonnet-chanting he condescends to remember that he is not
+quite divine! See how he chafes at that!" and plucking a lotus-bud
+she threw it playfully at the Laureate, whose handsome face
+flushed vexedly at her words. "And thou art prudent, Sir Theos--do
+I not pronounce thy name aptly?--thou wilt be less petulant than
+he, and less absorbed in self-adoration, for here men--even poets
+--are deemed no more than men, and their constant querulous claim
+to be considered as demi-gods meets with no acceptance! Wilt
+'blind thyself with beauty' as thou say'st? Well then, lose thine
+eyes, but guard thy heart!"
+
+And with a careless movement she loosened her veil; it fell from
+her like a soft cloud, and Theos, springing to his feet, gazed
+upon her with a sense of enraptured bewilderment and passionate
+pain. It was as though he saw the wraith of some fair, dead woman
+he had loved of old, risen anew to redemand from him his former
+allegiance. O, unfamiliar yet well-known face! ... O, slumbrous,
+starry eyes that seemed to hold the memory of a thousand love-
+thoughts! ... O, sweet curved lips whereon a delicious smile
+rested as softly as sunlight on young rose-petals! Where, . . where,
+in God's name, had he seen all this marvelous, witching, maddening
+loveliness BEFORE? His heart beat with heavy, laboring thuds, . .
+his brain reeled, . . a dim, golden, suffused radiance seemed to
+hover like an aureole above that dazzling white brow, adorned with
+a clustering wealth of raven-black tresses, whose massive coils
+were crowned with the strangest sort of diadem--a wreath of small
+serpents' heads cunningly fashioned in rubies and rose brilliants,
+and set in such a manner that they appeared to lift themselves
+erect from out the dusky hair as though in darting readiness to
+sting. Full of a vague, wild longing, he instinctively stretched
+out his arms, . . then on a sudden impulse turned swiftly away, in a
+dizzy effort to escape from the basilisk fire-gleam of those
+sombre, haunting eyes that plunged into his inmost soul, and there
+aroused such dark desires, such retrospective evil, such wild
+weakness as shamed the betterness of his nature! Sah-luma's clear,
+mocking laugh just then rang sharply through the perfumed
+stillness.
+
+"Thou mad Theos! Whither art thou bound?" cried the Laureate
+mirthfully. "Wilt leave our noble hostess ere the entertainment
+has begun? Ungallant barbarian! What frenzy possesses thee?"
+
+These words recalled him to himself. He came back slowly step by
+step, and with bowed head, to where Lysia stood--Lysia, whose
+penetrating gaze still rested upon him with strangely fixed
+intensity.
+
+"Forgive me," he said, in a low, unsteady voice that to his own
+ears sounded full of suppressed yet passionate appeal. "Forgive
+me, lady, that for one moment I have seemed discourteous. I am not
+so, in very truth. Sad fancies fret my brain at times, and--and
+there is that within thine unveiled beauty which sword-like wounds
+my soul! I am not joyous natured: ...unlike Sah-luma, chosen
+favorite of fortune, I have lost all, all that made my life once
+seem fair. I am dead to those that loved me, ... forgotten by
+those that honored me, . . a wanderer in strange lands, a solitary
+wayfarer perplexed with many griefs to which I cannot give a name!
+Nevertheless," and he drew a quick, hard breath, "if I may serve
+thee, fairest Lysia,--as Sah-luma serves thee,--subject to thy
+sovereign favor,--thou shalt not find me lacking in obedience!
+Command me as thou wilt; let me efface myself to worship thee! Let
+me, if it be possible, drown thought,--slay memory,--murder
+conscience,--so that I may once more, as in the old time, be glad
+with the gladness that only love can give and only death can take
+away!"
+
+As he finished this unpremeditated, uncontrollable outburst his
+eyes wistfully sought hers. She met his look with a languid
+indifference and a half-disdainful smile.
+
+"Enough! restrain thine ardor!" she said coldly, her dark dilating
+orbs shining like steel beneath the velvet softness of her long
+lashes. "Thou dost speak ignorantly, unknowing what thy words
+involve--words to which I well might bind thee, were I less
+forbearing to thine inconsiderate rashness. How like all men thou
+art! How keen to plunge into unfathomed deeps, merely to snatch
+the pearl of present pleasure! How martyr-seeming in thy fancied
+sufferings, as though THY little wave of personal sorrow swamped
+the world! O wondrous human Egotism! that sees but one great
+absolute 'I' scrawled on the face of Nature! 'I' am afflicted, let
+none dare to rejoice! 'I' would be glad, let none presume to
+grieve!" ... She laughed, a little low laugh of icy satire, and
+then resumed: "I thank thee for thy proffered service, sir
+stranger, albeit I need it not,--nor do I care to claim it at thy
+hands. Thou art my guest--no more! Whether thou wilt hereafter
+deserve to be enrolled my bondsman depends upon thy prowess and--
+my humor!"
+
+Her beautiful eyes flashed scornfully, and there was something
+cruel in her glance. Theos felt it sting him like a sharp blow.
+His nerves quivered,--his spirit rose in arms against the cynical
+hauteur of this woman whom he loved; yes,--LOVED, with a curious
+sense of revived passion--passion that seemed to have slept in a
+tomb for ages, and that now suddenly sprang into life and being,
+like a fire kindled anew on dead ashes!
+
+Acting on a sudden proud impulse he raised his head and looked at
+her with a bold steadfastness,--a critical scrutiny,--a calmly
+discriminating valuation of her physical charms that for the
+moment certainly appeared to startle her self-possession, for a
+deep flush colored the fairness of her face and then faded,
+leaving her pale as marble. Her emotion, whatever it was, lasted
+but a second,--yet in that second he had measured his mental
+strength against hers, and had become aware of his own supremacy!
+This consciousness filled him with peculiar satisfaction. He drew
+a long breath like one narrowly escaped from close peril. He had
+now no fear of her--only a great, all-absorbing, all-evil love,
+and to that he was recklessly content to yield. Her eyes dwelt
+glitteringly first upon him and then on Sah-luma, as the eyes of a
+falcon dwell on its prey, and her smile was touched with a little
+malice, as she said, addressing them both:
+
+"Come, fair sirs! we will not linger in this wilderness of wild
+flowers. A feast awaits us yonder--a feast prepared for those who,
+like yourselves obey the creed of sweet self indulgence, ... the
+world-wide creed wherein men find no fault, no shadow of
+inconsistency! The truest wisdom is to enjoy,--the only philosophy
+that which teaches us how best to gratify our own desires! Delight
+cannot satiate the soul, nor mirth engender weariness! Follow me!--"
+and with a lithe movement she swept toward the door, her pet
+tigress creeping closely after her; then suddenly looking back she
+darted a lustiously caressing glance over her shoulder at Sah-luma
+and stretched out her hand. He at once caught it in his own and
+kissed it with an almost brusque eagerness.
+
+"I thought you had forgotten me!" he murmured in a vexed, half-
+reproachful tone.
+
+"Forgotten you? Forgotten Sah-luma? Impossible!" and her silvery
+laughter shook the air into little throbs of music. "When the
+greatest poet of the age is forgotten, then fall Al-Kyris! ... for
+there shall be no more need of kingdoms!"
+
+Laughing still and allowing her hand to remain in his, she passed
+out of the pavilion, and Theos followed them both as a man might
+follow the beckoning sylphs in a fairy dream.
+
+A mellow, luminous, witch-like radiance seemed to surround them
+as they went--two dazzling figures gliding on before him with the
+slow, light grace of moonbeams flitting over a smooth ocean. They
+seemed made for each other, ... he could not separate them in his
+thoughts; but the strangest part of the matter was the feeling he
+had, that he himself somehow belonged to them and they to him. His
+ideas on the subject, however, were very indefinite; he was in a
+condition of more or less absolute passiveness, save when strong
+shudders of grief, memory, remorse or roused passion shook him
+with sudden force like a storm blast shaking some melancholy
+cypress whose roots are in the grave. He mused on Lysia's scornful
+words with a perplexed pain. Was he then so selfish? "The one
+great absolute 'I' scrawled on the face of Nature!" Could that
+apply to him? Surely not! since in his present state of mind he
+could hardly lay claim to any distinct personality, seeing that
+that personality was forever merging itself and getting lost in
+the more clearly perfect identity of Sah-luma, whom he regarded
+with a species of profound hero-worship such as one man seldom
+feels for another. To call himself a Poet NOW seemed the acme of
+absurdity; how should such an one as he attempt to conquer fame
+with a rival like Sah-luma already in the field and already
+supremely victorious?
+
+Full of these fancies, he scarcely heeded the wonders through
+which he passed, as he followed his two radiant guides along. His
+eyes were tired, and rested almost indifferently on the
+magnificence that everywhere surrounded him, though here and there
+certain objects attracted his attention as being curiously
+familiar. These lofty corridors, gorgeously frescoed, . . these
+splendid groups of statuary, . . these palm-shaded nooks of verdure
+where imprisoned nightingales warbled plaintive songs that were
+all the sweeter for their sadness, ... these spacious marble
+loggias cooled by the rising and falling spray of myriad
+fountains--did he not dimly recognize all these things? He thought
+so, yet was not sure,--for he had arrived at a pass when he could
+neither rely on his reason nor his memory. Naught of deeper
+humiliation could he have than this, to feel within himself that
+he was still AN INTELLECTUAL, THINKING, SENTIENT HUMAN BEING, and
+that yet at the same time, his INTELLIGENCE COULD DO NOTHING TO
+EXTRICATE HIM from the terrific mystery which had engulfed him
+like a huge flood, and wherein he was now tossed to and fro as
+helplessly as a floating straw.
+
+On, still on he went, treading closely in Sah-luma's footsteps and
+wistfully noting how often the myrtle-garlanded head of his friend
+drooped caressingly toward Lysia's dusky perfumed locks, whence
+those jewelled serpents' fangs darted flashingly upward like light
+from darkness. On, still on, till at last he found himself in a
+grand vestibule, built entirely of sparkling red granite. Here
+were ten sphinxes, so huge in form that a dozen men might have
+lounged at ease on each one of their enormous paws; they were
+ranged in rows of five on each side, and their coldly meditative
+eyes appeared to dwell steadfastly on the polished face of a large
+black Disc placed conspicuously on a pedestal in the exact centre
+of the pavement. Strange letters shone from time to time on this
+ebony tablet, . . letters that seemed to be written in quicksilver;
+they glittered for a second, then ran off like phosphorescent
+drops of water, and again reappeared, but the same signs were
+never repeated twice over. All were different, . . all were rapid in
+their coming and going as flashes of lightning. Lysia, approaching
+the Disc, turned it slightly; at her touch it revolved like a
+flying wheel, and for a brief space was literally covered with
+mysterious characters, which the beautiful Priestess perused with
+an apparent air of satisfaction. All at once the fiery writing
+vanished, the Disc was left black and bare,--and then a silver
+ball fell suddenly upon it, with a clang, from some unseen height,
+and rolling off again instantly disappeared. At the same moment a
+harsh voice, rising as it were from the deepest underground,
+chanted the following words in a monotonous recitative:
+
+"Fall, O thou lost Hour, into the dreadful Past! Sink, O thou
+Pearl of Time, into the dark and fathomless abyss! Not all the
+glory of kings or the wealth of empires can purchase thee back
+again! Not all the strength of warriors or the wisdom of sages can
+draw thee forth from the Abode of Silence whither thou art fled!
+Farewell, lost Hour!--and may the gods defend us from thy reproach
+at the Day of Doom! In the name of the Sun and Nagaya, ... Peace!"
+
+The voice died away in a muffled echo, and the slow, solemn boom
+of a brazen-tongued bell struck midnight. Then Theos, raising his
+eyes, saw that all further progress was impeded by a great wall of
+solid rock that glistened at every point with flashes of pale and
+dark violet light--a wall composed entirely of adamantine spar,
+crusted thick with the rough growth of oriental amethyst. It rose
+sheer up from the ground to an altitude of about a hundred feet,
+and apparently closed in and completed the vestibule.
+
+Surely there was no passing through such a barrier as this? ... he
+thought wonderingly; nevertheless Lysia and Sah-luma still went
+on, and he--as perforce he was compelled--still followed. Arrived
+at the foot of the huge erection that towered above him like a
+steep cliff of molten gems, he fancied he heard a faint sound
+behind it as of clinking glasses and boisterous laughter, but
+before he had time to consider what this might mean, Lysia laid
+her hand lightly on a small, protruding knob of crystal, pressed
+it, and lo! ... the whole massive structure yawned open suddenly
+without any noise, suspending itself as it were in sparkling
+festoons of purple stalactites over the voluptuously magnificent
+scene disclosed.
+
+At first it was difficult to discern more than a gorgeous maze of
+swaying light and color as though a great field of tulips in full
+bloom should be seen waving to and fro in the breath of a soft
+wind; but gradually this bewildering dazzle of gold and green,
+violet and crimson, resolved itself into definite form and
+substance; and Theos, standing beside his two companions on the
+elevated threshold of the partition through which they had
+entered, was able to look down and survey with tolerable composure
+the wondrous details of the glittering picture--a picture that
+looked like a fairy-fantasy poised in a haze of jewel-like
+radiance as of vaporized sapphire.
+
+He saw beneath him a vast circular hall or amphitheatre, roofed in
+by a lofty dome of richest malachite, from the centre of which was
+suspended a huge globe of fire, that revolved with incredible
+swiftness, flinging vivid, blood-red rays on the amber-colored
+silken carpets and embroideries that strewed the floor below. The
+dome was supported by rows upon rows of tall, tapering crystal
+columns, clear as translucent water and green as the grass in
+spring, . . and between and beyond these columns on the left-hand
+side there were large, oval-shaped casements set wide open to the
+night, through which the gleam of a broad lake laden with water-
+lilies could be seen shimmering in the yellow moon. The middle of
+the hall was occupied by a round table covered with draperies of
+gold, white, and green, and heaped with all the costly accessories
+of a sumptuous banquet such as might have been spread before the
+gods of Olympus in the full height of their legendary prime. Here
+were the lovely hues of heaped-up fruit,--the tender bloom of
+scattered flowers,--the glisten of jewelled flagons and goblets,
+the flash of massive golden dishes carried aloft by black slaves
+attired in white and crimson,--the red glow of poured-out wine;
+and here, in the drowsy warmth, lounging on divans of velvet and
+embroidered satin, eating, drinking, idly gossiping, loudly
+laughing, and occasionally bursting into wild snatches of song,
+were a company of brilliant-looking personages,--all men, all
+young, all handsome, all richly clad, and all evidently bent on
+enjoying the pleasures offered by the immediate hour. Suddenly,
+however, their noisy voices ceased--with one accord, as though
+drawn by some magnetic spell, they all turned their heads toward
+the platform where Lysia had just silently made her appearance,--
+and springing from their seats they broke into a boisterous shout
+of acclamation and welcome. One young man whose flushed face had
+all the joyous, wanton, effeminate beauty of a pictured Dionysius,
+reeled forward, goblet in hand, and tossing the wine in air so
+that it splashed down again at his feet, staining his white
+garments as it fell with a stain as of blood, he cried, tipsily:
+
+"All hail, Lysia! Where hast thou wandered so long, thou Goddess
+of Morn? We have been lost in the blackness of night, sunk in the
+depths of a hell-like gloom--but lo! now the clouds have broken in
+the east, and our hearts rejoice at the birth of day! Vanish, dull
+moon, and be ashamed! ... for a fairer planet rules the sky!
+Hence, ye stars! ... puny glow-worms lazily crawling in the fields
+of ether! Lysia invests the heaven and earth, and in her smile we
+live! Ha! art thou there, Sah-luma? Come, praise me for my
+improvised love-lines; they are as good as thine, I warrant thee!
+Canst compose when thou art drunk, my dainty Laureate? Drain a cup
+then, and string me a stanza! Where is thy fool Zebastes? I would
+fain tickle his long ears with ribald rhyme, and hearken to the
+barbarous braying forth of his asinine reflections! Lysia! what,
+Lysia! ... dost thou frown at me? Frown not, sweet queen, but
+rather laugh! ... thy laughter kills, 'tis true, but thy frown
+doth torture spirits after death! Unbend thy brows! Night looms
+between them like a chaos! ... we will have no more night, I say,
+but only noon! ... a long, languorous, lovely noon, flower-girdled
+and sunbeam-clad!
+
+"'With roses, roses, roses crown my head, For my days are few! And
+remember, sweet, when I am dead, That my heart was true!'"
+
+Singing unsteadily, with the empty goblet upside-down in his hand,
+he looked up laughing,--his bright eyes flashing with a wild
+feverish fire, his fair hair tossed back from his brows and
+entangled in a half-crushed wreath of vine-leaves,--his rich
+garments disordered, his whole demeanor that of one possessed by a
+semi-delirium of sensuous pleasure...when all at once, meeting
+Lysia's keen glance, he started as though he had been suddenly
+stabbed,--the goblet fell from his clasp, and a visible shudder
+ran through his strong, supple frame. The low, cold, merciless
+laughter of the beautiful Priestess cut through the air hissingly
+like the sweep of a scimetar.
+
+"Thou art wondrous merry, Nir-jalis," she said, in languid, lazily
+enunciated accents. "Knowest thou not that too much mirth
+engenders weeping, and that excessive rejoicing hath its fitting
+end in grievous lamentation? Nay, even now already thou lookest
+more sadly! What sombre cloud has crossed thy wine-hued heaven? Be
+happy while thou mayest, good fool! ... I blame thee not! Sooner
+or later all things must end! ... in the mean time, make thou the
+most of life while life remains; 'tis at its best an uncertain
+heritage, that once rashly squandered can never be restored,--
+either here or hereafter."
+
+The words were gently, almost tenderly, spoken; but Nir-jalis
+hearing them, grew white as death--his smile faded, leaving his
+lips set and stern as the lips of a marble mask. Stooping, he
+raised his fallen goblet and held it out almost mechanically to a
+passing slave, who re-filled it with wine, which he drank off
+thirstily at a draught, though the generous liquid brought no
+color back to his drawn and ashy features.
+
+Lysia paid no further heed to his evident discomfiture; bidding
+Sah-luma and Theos follow her, she descended the few steps that
+led from the raised platform into the body of the brilliant hall;
+the rocky screen of amethyst closed behind her as noiselessly as
+it had opened, and in another moment she stood among her assembled
+guests, who at once surrounded her with eager salutations and
+gracefully worded flatteries. Smiling on them all with that
+strange smile of hers that was more scornful than sweet, and yet
+so infinitely bewitching, she said little in answer to their
+greetings, . . she moved as a queen moves through a crowd of
+courtiers, the varied light of crimson and green playing about her
+like so many sparkles of living flame, . . her dark head, wreathed
+with those jewelled serpents, lifting itself proudly erect from
+her muffling golden mantle, and her eyes shining with that frosty
+gleam of mockery which made them look so lustrous yet so cold. And
+now Theos perceived that at one end of the splendid banquet table
+a dais was erected, draped richly in carnation-colored silk, and
+that on this dais a throne was placed--a throne composed entirely
+of BLACK crystals, whose needle-like points sparkled with a dark
+flash as of bayonets seen through the smoke of battle. It was
+cushioned in black velvet, and above it was a bent arch of ivory
+on which glittered a twisted snake of clustered emeralds.
+
+With that slow, superb ease that distinguished all her actions,
+Lysia, attended closely by her tigress, mounted the dais,--and as
+she did so a loud clash of brazen bells rang out from some
+invisible turret beyond the summit of the great dome. At the sound
+of the jangling chime four negresses appeared--goblin creatures
+that looked as though they had suddenly sprung from some sooty,
+subterranean region of gnomes--and humbly prostrating themselves
+before Lysia, kissed the ground at her feet. This done, they rose,
+and began to undo the fastenings of her golden, domino-like
+garment; but either they were slow, or the fair priestess was
+impatient for she suddenly shook herself free of their hands, and,
+loosening the gorgeous mantle herself from its jewelled clasps, it
+fell slowly from her symmetrical form on the perfumed floor with a
+rustle as of falling leaves.
+
+A sigh quivered audibly through the room--whether of grief, joy,
+hope, relief, or despair it was difficult to tell. The pride and
+peril of a matchless loveliness was revealed in all its fatal
+seductiveness and invincible strength--the irresistible perfection
+of woman's beauty was openly displayed to bewilder the sight and
+rouse the reckless passions of man! Who could look on such
+delicate, dangerous, witching charms unmoved? Who could gaze on
+the exquisite outlines of a form fairer than that of any
+sculptured Venus and refuse to acknowledge its powerfully sweet
+attraction?
+
+The Virgin Priestess of the Sun had stepped out of her
+shrine; . . no longer a creature removed, impersonal, and sacred,
+she had become most absolutely human. Moreover, she might now have
+been taken for a bacchante, a dancer, or any other unsexed example
+of womanhood inasmuch as with her golden mantle she had thrown off
+all disguise of modesty. Her beautiful limbs, rounded and smooth
+as pearl, could be plainly discerned through the filmy garb of
+silvery tissue that clung like a pale mist about the voluptuous
+curves of her figure and floated behind her in shining gossamer
+folds; her dazzling white neck and arms were bare; and from slim
+wrist to snowy shoulder, little twining diamond snakes glistened
+in close coils against the velvety fairness of her flesh. A silver
+serpent with a head of sapphires girdled her waist, and just above
+the full wave of her bosom, that rose and fell visibly beneath the
+transparent gathers of her gauzy drapery, shone a large, fiery
+jewel, fashioned in the semblance of a human Eye. This singular
+ornament was so life-like as to be absolutely repulsive, and as it
+moved to and fro with its wearer's breathing it seemed now to
+stare aghast,--anon to flash wickedly as with a thought of evil,--
+while more often still it assumed a restlessly watchful expression
+as though it were the eye of a fiend-inquisitor intent on the
+detection of some secret treachery. Poised between those fair
+white breasts it glared forth a glittering Menace; . . a warning of
+unimaginable horror; and Theos, gazing at it fixedly, felt a
+curious thrill run through him, as if, so to speak, a hook of
+steel had been suddenly thrust into his quivering veins to draw
+him steadily and securely on toward some pitfall of unknown
+tortures. Then he remembered what Sah-luma had said about the
+"all-reflecting Eye, the weird mirror and potent dazzler of human
+sight," and wondered whether its mystical properties were such as
+to compel men to involuntarily declare their inmost thoughts, for
+it seemed to him that its sinister glow penetrated into the very
+deepest recesses of his mind, and there discovered all the hidden
+weaknesses, follies, and passions of the worst side of his nature!
+
+He trembled and grew faint,--his dazed eyes wandered over the
+dainty grace and marvel of Lysia's almost unclad loveliness with
+mingled emotions of allurement and repugnance. Fascinated, yet at
+the same time repelled, his soul yearned toward her as the soul of
+the knight in the Lore-lei legend yearned toward the singing
+Rhine-siren, whose embrace was destruction; and then.. ... he
+became filled with a strange, sudden fear; fear, not for himself,
+but for Sah-luma, whose ardent glance burned into her dark,
+languid-lidded, amorous orbs with the lustre of flame meeting
+flame--Sah-luma, whose beautiful flushed face was as that of a god
+inspired, or lover triumphant. What could he do to shield and save
+this so idolized friend of his?--this dear familiar for whom he
+had such close and ever-increasing sympathy! Might he not possibly
+guard him in some way and ward off impending danger? But what
+danger? What spectral shadow of dread hovered above this brilliant
+scene of high feasting and voluptuous revelry? None that he could
+imagine or define, and yet he was conscious, of an omimous,
+unuttered premonition of peril in the very air--peril for Sah-
+luma, always for Sah-luma, never for himself, ... Self seemed dead
+and entombed forever! Involuntarily lifting his eyes to the great
+green dome where the globe of fire twirled rapidly like a rolling
+star, he saw some words written round it in golden letters, they
+were large and distinct, and ran thus:
+
+"Live in the Now, but question not the Afterwards!"
+
+A wise axiom! ... yet almost a platitude, for did not every one
+occupy themselves exclusively with the Now, regardless of future
+consequences? Of course! Who but sages--or fools--would stop to
+question the Afterwards!
+
+Just then Lysia ascended her black crystal throne in all her
+statuesque majesty, and sinking indolently amid its sable
+cushions, where she shone in her wonderful whiteness like a
+glistening pearl set in ebony, she signed to her guests to resume
+their places at table. She was instantly obeyed. Sah-luma took
+what was evidently his accustomed post at her right hand, while
+Theos found a vacant corner on her left, next to the picturesque,
+lounging figure of the young man Nir jahs, who looked up at him
+with a half smile as he seated himself, and courteously made more
+room for him among the tumbled emerald silk diapers of the
+luxurious divan, they now shared together. Nir jahs was by no
+means sober, but he had recovered a little of his self-possession
+since Lysia's sleepy eyes had darted such cold contempt upon him,
+and he seemed for the present to be on his guard against giving
+any further possible cause of offence.
+
+"Thou art a new comer,--a stranger, if I mistake not?" he inquired
+in a low, abrupt, yet kindly tone.
+
+"Yes," replied Theos in the same soft sotto-voce. "I am a mere
+sojourner in Al-Kyris for a few days only, ... the guest of the
+divine Sah-luma."
+
+Nir-jahs raised his eyebrows with an expression of amused wonder.
+
+"Divine!" he ejaculated "By my faith! what neophyte have we here!"
+and supporting himself on one elbow he stared at his companion as
+though he saw in him some singular human phenomenon. "Dost thou
+really believe," he went on jestingly, "in the divinity of poets?
+Dost thou think they write what they mean, or practice what they
+preach? Then art thou the veriest innocent that ever wore the
+muscular semblance of man! Poets, my friend, are the most absolute
+impostors, . . they melodize their rhymed music on phases of emotion
+they have never experienced; as for instance our Lameate yonder
+will string a pretty sonnet on the despair of love, he knowing
+nothing of despair, . . he will write of a broken heart, his own
+being unpricked by so much as a pin's point of trouble; and he
+will speak in his verso of dying for love when he would not let
+his little finger ache for the sake of a woman who worshipped him!
+Look not so vaguely! 'tis so, indeed! and as for the divine part
+of him, wait but a little, and thou shalt see thy poet-god become
+a satyr!"
+
+He laughed maliciously, and Theos felt an angry flush rising to
+his brows. He could not bear to hear Sah-luma thus lightly
+maligned even by this half-drunken reveller, it stung him to the
+quick, as if he personally were included in the implied accusation
+of unworthiness. Nir-jalis perceived his annoyance, and added
+good naturedly:
+
+"Tush, man! Vex not thy soul as to thy friend's virtues or vices--
+what are they to thee? And of truth Sah-luma is no worse than the
+rest of us. All I maintain is that he is certainly no better. I
+have known many poets in my day, and they are all more or less
+alike--petulant as babes, peevish as women, selfish as misers, and
+conceited as peacocks. They SHOULD be different? Oh, yes!--they
+SHOULD be the perpetual youth of mankind, the faithful singers of
+love idealized and made perfect. But then none of us are what we
+ought to be! Besides, if we were all virtuous, . . by the gods! the
+world would become too dull a hole to live in! Enough! Wilt drink
+with me?" and beckoning a slave, he had his own goblet and that of
+Theos filled to the brim with wine.
+
+"To our more intimate acquaintance!" he said smilingly, and Theos,
+somewhat captivated by the easy courtesy of his manner, could do
+no less than respond cordially to the proffered toast. At that
+moment a triumphant burst of music, like the sound of mingled
+flutes, hautboys, and harps, pushed through the dome like a strong
+wind sweeping in from the sea, and with it the hum and buzz of
+conversation began in good earnest. Theos, lifting his gaze toward
+Lysia's seat, saw that she was now surrounded by the four
+attendant negresses, who, standing two on each side of her throne,
+held large fans of peacock plumes, which, as they were waved
+slowly to and fro, emitted a thousand scintillations of jewel-like
+splendor. A slave, attired in scarlet, knelt on one knee before
+her, proffering a golden salver loaded with the choicest fruits
+and wines; a lazy smile played on her lips--lips that outrivaled
+the dewy tint of half-opening roses; the serpents in her hair and
+on her rounded arms quivered in the light like living things; the
+great Symbolic Eye glanced wickedly out from the white beauty of
+her heaving breast; and as he surveyed her, thus resplendent in
+all the startling seductiveness of her dangerous charms, her
+loveliness entranced and intoxicated him like the faint perfume of
+some rare and powerful exotic, ... his senses seemed to sink
+drowningly in the whelming influence of her soft and dazzling
+grace; and though he still resented, he could not resist her
+mesmeric power. No wonder, he thought, that Sah-luma's eyes
+darkened with passions as they dwelt on her! ... and no wonder
+that he, like Sah-luma, was content to be gently but surely drawn
+within the glittering web of her magic spell--a spell fatal, yet
+too bewilderingly sweet for human strength to fight against. The
+mysterious sense he had of danger lurking somewhere for Sah-luma
+applied, so he fancied, in no way to himself--it did not much
+matter what happened to HIM--HE was a mere nobody. He could be of
+no use anywhere; he was as one banished into strange exile; his
+brain--that brain he had once deemed so clear, so subtle, so
+eminently reasoning and all-comprehensive--was now nothing but a
+chaotic confusion of vague suggestions, and only served to very
+slightly guide him in the immediate present, giving him no
+practical clue at all as to the past through which he had lived,
+or the circumstances he most wished to remember. He was a fool--a
+dreamer--ungifted--unfamous! ... were he to die, not a soul would
+regret his loss. His own fate therefore concerned him little--he
+could handle fire recklessly and not feel the flame; he could, so
+he believed, run any risk, and yet escape, comparatively free of
+harm.
+
+But with Sah-luma it was different! Sah-luma must be guarded and
+cherished; his was a valuable life--the life of a genius such as
+the world sees but once in a century--and it should not, so Theos
+determined,--be emperilled or wasted; no! not even for the sake of
+the sensuous, exquisite, conquering beauty of this dazzling
+Priestess of the Sun--the fairest sorceress that ever triumphed
+over the frail yet immortal Spirit of Man!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE LOVE THAT KILLS.
+
+
+How the time went he could not tell; in so gay and gorgeous a
+scene hours might easily pass with the swiftness of unmarked
+moments. Peals of laughter echoed now and again through the
+vaulted dome, and excited voices were frequently raised in
+clamorous disputations and contentious arguments that only just
+sheered off the boundary-line of an actual quarrel. All sorts of
+topics were discussed--the laws, the existing mode of government,
+the latest discoveries in science, and the military prowess of the
+King--but the conversation chiefly turned on the spread of
+disloyalty, atheism, and republicanism among the population of Al-
+Kyris,--and the influence of Khosrul on the minds of the lower
+classes. The episode of the Prophet's late capture and fresh
+escape seemed to be perfectly well known to all present, though it
+had occurred so recently; one would have thought the detailed
+account of it had been received through some private telephone,
+communicating with the King's palace.
+
+As the banquet progressed and the wine flowed more lavishly, the
+assembled guests grew less and less circumspect in their general
+behavior; they flung themselves full length on their luxurious
+couches, in the laziest attitudes, now pulling out handfuls of
+flowers from the tall porcelain jars that stood near, and pelting
+one another with them for mere idle diversion, . . now summoning the
+attendant slaves to refill their wine-cups while they lay lounging
+at ease among their heaped-up cushions of silk and embroidery; and
+yet with all the voluptuous freedom of their manners, the
+picturesque grace that distinguished them was never wholly
+destroyed. These young men were dissolute, but not coarse; bold,
+but not vulgar; they took their pleasure in a delicately wanton
+fashion that was infinitely more dangerous in its influence on the
+mind than would have been the gross mirth and broad jesting of a
+similar number of uneducated plebeians. The rude licentiousness of
+an uncultivated boor has its safety-valve in disgust and
+satiety, . . but the soft, enervating sensualism of a trained and
+cultured epicurean aristocrat is a moral poison whose effects are
+so insidious as to be scarcely felt till all the native nobility
+of character has withered, and naught is left of a man but the
+shadow-wreck of his former self.
+
+There was nothing repulsive in the half-ironical, half-mischievous
+merriment of these patrician revellers; their witticisms were
+brilliant and pointed, but never indelicate; and if their darker
+passions were roused, and ready to run riot, they showed as yet no
+sign of it. They ENJOYED--yes! with that selfish animal enjoyment
+and love of personal indulgence which all men, old and young
+without exception, take such delight in--unless indeed they be
+sworn and sorrowful anchorites, and even then you may be sure they
+are always regretting the easy license and libertinage of their
+bygone days of unbridled independence when they could foster their
+pet weaknesses, cherish their favorite vices, and laugh at all
+creeds and all morality as though Divine Justice were a mere empty
+name, and they themselves the super-essence of creation. Ah, what
+a ridiculous spectacle is Man! the two-legged pigmy of limited
+brain, and still more limited sympathies, that, standing
+arrogantly on his little grave the earth, coolly criticises the
+Universe, settles law, and measures his puny stature against that
+awful Unknown Force, deeply hidden, but majestically existent,
+which for want of ampler designation we call GOD--God, whom some
+of us will scarcely recognize, save with the mixture of doubt,
+levity, and general reluctance; God, whom we never obey unless
+obedience is enforced by calamity; God, whom we never truly love,
+because so many of us prefer to stake our chances of the future on
+the possibility of His non-existence!
+
+Strangely enough, thoughts of this God, this despised and
+forgotten Creator, came wandering hazily over Theos's mind at the
+present moment when, glancing round the splendid banquet-table, he
+studied the different faces of all assembled, and saw Self, Self,
+Self, indelibly impressed on every one of them. Not a single
+countenance was there that did not openly betray the complacent
+hauteur and tranquil vanity of absolute Egotism, Sah-luma's
+especially. But then Sah-luma had something to be proud of--his
+genius; it was natural that he should be satisfied with himself--
+he was a great man! But was it well for even a great man to admire
+his own greatness? This was a pertinent question, and somewhat
+difficult to answer. A genius must surely be more or less
+conscious of his superiority to those who have no genius? Yet why?
+May it not happen, on occasions, that the so-called fool shall
+teach a lesson to the so-called wise man? Then where is the wise
+man's superiority if a fool can instruct him? Theos found these
+suggestions curiously puzzling; they seemed simple enough, and yet
+they opened up a vista of intricate disquisition which he was in
+no humor to follow. To escape from his own reflections he began to
+pay close attention to the conversation going on around him, and
+listened with an eager, almost painful interest, whenever he heard
+Lysia's sweet, languid voice chiming through the clatter of men's
+tongues like the silver stroke of a small bell ringing in a storm
+at sea.
+
+"And how hast thou left thy pale beauty Niphrata?" she was asking
+Sah-luma in half-cold, half-caressing accents. "Does her singing
+still charm thee as of yore? I understand thou hast given her her
+freedom. Is that prudent? Was she not safer as thy slave?"
+
+Sah-luma glanced up quickly in surprise. "Safer? She is as safe as
+a rose in its green sheath," he replied. "What harm should come to
+her?"
+
+"I spoke not of harm," said Lysia, with a lazy smile. "But the day
+may come, good minstrel, when thy sheathed rose may seek some
+newer sunshine than thy face! ... when thy much poesy may pall
+upon her spirit, and thy love-songs grow stale! ... and she may
+string her harp to a different tune than the perpetual adoration-
+hymn of Sah-luma!"
+
+The handsome Laureate looked amused.
+
+"Let her do so then!" he laughed carelessly. "Were she to leave me
+I should not miss her greatly; a thousand pieces of gold will
+purchase me another voice as sweet as hers,--another maid as fair!
+Meanwhile the child is free to shape her own fate,--her own
+future. I bind her no longer to my service; nevertheless, like the
+jessamine-flower, she clings,--and will not easily unwind the
+tendrils of her heart from mine."
+
+"Poor jessamine-flower!" murmured Lysia negligently, with a touch
+of malice in her tone. "What a rock it doth embrace; how little
+vantage-ground it hath wherein to blossom!" And her drowsy eyes
+shot forth a fiery glance from under their heavily fringed
+drooping white lids.
+
+Sah-luma met her look with one of mingled vexation and reproach;
+she smiled and raising a goblet of wine to her lips, kissed the
+brim, and gave it to him with an indescribably graceful, swaying
+gesture of her whole form that reminded one of a tall white lily
+bowing in the breeze. He seized the cup eagerly, drank from it and
+returned it,--his momentary annoyance, whatever it was, passed,
+and a joyous elation illumined his fine features. Then Lysia,
+refilling the cup, kissed it again and handed it to Theos with so
+much soft animation and tenderness in her face as she turned to
+him, that his enforced calmness nearly gave way, and he had much
+ado to restrain himself from falling at her feet in a transport of
+passion, and crying out! ... "Love me, O thou sorceress-sovereign of
+beauty! ... love me, if only for an hour, and then let me die! ...
+for I shall have lived out all the joys of life in one embrace of
+thine!" His hand trembled as he took the goblet, and he drank half
+its contents thirstily,--then imitating Sah-luma's example, he
+returned it to her with a profound salutation. Her eyes dwelt
+meditatively upon him.
+
+"What a dark, still, melancholy countenance is thine, Sir Theos!"
+she said abruptly--"Thou art, for sure, a man of strongly
+repressed and concentrated passions, ... 'tis a nature I love! I
+would there were more of thy proud and chilly temperament in Al-
+Kyris! ... Our men are like velvet-winged butterflies, drinking
+honey all day and drowsing in sunshine--full to the brows of
+folly,--frail and delicate as the little dancing maidens of the
+King's seraglio, . . nervous too, with weak heads, that art apt to
+ache on small provocation, and bodies that are apt to fail easily
+when but slightly fatigued. Aye!--thou art a man clothed complete
+in manliness,--moreover..."
+
+She paused, and leaning forward so that the dark shower of her
+perfumed hair brushed his arm ... "Hast ever heard travellers talk
+of volcanoes? ... those marvellous mountains that oft wear crowns
+of ice on their summits and yet hold unquenchable fire in their
+depths? ... Methinks thou dost resemble these,--and that at a
+touch, the flames would leap forth uncontrolled!"
+
+Her magical low voice, more melodious in tone than the sound of
+harps played by moonlight on the water, thrilled in his ears and
+set his pulses beating madly,--with an effort he checked the
+torrent of love-words that rushed to his lips, and looked at her
+in a sort of wildly wondering appeal. Her laughter rang out in
+silvery sweet ripples, and throwing herself lazily back in her
+throne, she called..
+
+"Aizif! ... Aizif!"
+
+The great tigress instantly bounded forward like an obedient
+hound, and placed its fore-paws on her knees, while she playfully
+held a sugared comfit high above its head.
+
+"Up, Aizif! up!" she cried mirthfully.. "Up! and be like a man for
+once! ... snatch thy pleasure at all hazards!"
+
+With a roar, the savage brute leaped and sprang, its sharp white
+teeth fully displayed, its sly green eyes glisteningly prominent,
+--and again Lysia's rich laughter pealed forth, mingling with the
+impatient snarls of her terrific favorite. Still she held the
+tempting morsel in her little snowy hand that glittered all over
+with rare gems,--and still the tigress continued to make impotent
+attempts to reach it, growing more and more ferocious with every
+fresh effort,--till all at once she shut her palm upon the dainty
+so that it could not be seen, and lightly catching the irritated
+beast by the throat brought its eyes on a level with her own. The
+effect was instantaneous, ... a strong shudder passed through its
+frame--and it cowered and crouched lower and lower, in abject
+fear,--the sweat broke out, and stood in large drops on its sleek
+hide, and panting heavily, as the firm grasp its mistress slowly
+relaxed, it sank down prone, in trembling abasement on the second
+step of the dais, still looking up into those densely brilliant
+gazelle eyes that were full of such deadly fascination and
+merciless tyranny.
+
+"Good Aizif!" said Lysia then, in that languid, soft voice, that
+while so sweet, suggested hidden treachery.. "Gentle fondling! ...
+Thou hast fairly earned thy reward! ... Here! ... take it!"--and
+unclosing her roseate palm, she showed the desired bonne-bouche,
+and offered it with a pretty coaxing air,--but the tigress now
+refused to touch it, and lay as still as an animal of painted
+stone.
+
+"What a true philosopher she is, my sweet Aizif!" she went on
+amusedly stroking the creature's head,--"Her feminine wit teaches
+her what the dull brains of men can never grasp, . . namely, that
+pleasures, no matter how sweet, turn to ashes and wormwood when
+once obtained,--and that the only happiness in this world is the
+charm of DESIRE! There is a subject for thee, Sah-luma! ... write
+an immortal Ode on the mysteries, the delights, the never-ending
+ravishment of Desire! ... but carry not thy fancy on to desire's
+fulfilment, for there thou shalt find infinite bitterness! The
+soul that wilfully gratifies its dearest wish, has stripped life
+of its supremest joy, and stands thereafter in an emptied sphere,
+sorrowful and alone,--with nothing left to hope for, nothing to
+look forward to, save death, the end of all ambition!"
+
+"Nay, fair lady,"--said Theos suddenly,--"We who deem ourselves
+the children of the high gods, and the offspring of a Spirit
+Eternal, may surely aspire to something beyond this death, that,
+like a black seal, closes up the brief scroll of our merely human
+existence! And to us, therefore, ambition should be ceaseless,--
+for if we master the world, there are yet more worlds to win: and
+if we find one heaven, we do but accept it as a pledge of other
+heavens beyond it! The aspirations of Man are limitless,--hence
+his best assurance of immortality, ... else why should he
+perpetually long for things that here are impossible of
+attainment? ... things that like faint, floating clouds rimmed
+with light, suggest without declaring a glory unperceived?"
+
+Lysia looked at him steadfastly, an under-gleam of malice shining
+in her slumbrous eyes.
+
+"Why? ... Because, good sir, the gods love mirth! ... and the
+wanton Immortals are never more thoroughly diverted, than, when
+leaning downward from their clear empyrean, they behold Man, their
+Insect-Toy, arrogating to himself a share in their imperishable
+Essence! To keep up the Eternal Jest, they torture him with vain
+delusions, and prick him on with hopes never to be realized; aye!
+and the whole vast Heaven may well shake with thunderous laughter
+at the pride with which he doth put forth his puny claim to be
+elected to another and fairer state of existence! What hath he
+done? ... what does he do, to merit a future life? ... Are his
+deeds so noble? ... is his wisdom so great? ... is his mind so
+stainless? He, the oppressor of all Nature and of his brother
+man,--he, the insolent, self-opinionated tyrant, yet bound slave
+of the Earth on which he dwells ... why should he live again and
+carry his ignoble presence into the splendors of an Eternity too
+vast for him to comprehend? ..Nay, nay! ... I perceive thou art
+one of the credulous, for whom a reasonless worship to an unproved
+Deity is, for the sake of state-policy, maintained, . . I had
+thought thee wiser! ... but no matter! thou shalt pay thy vows to
+the shrine of Nagaya to-morrow, and see with what glorious pomp
+and panoply we impose on the faithful, who like thee believe in
+their own deathless and divinely constituted natures, and enjoy to
+the full the grand Conceit that persuades them of their right to
+Immortality!"
+
+Her words carried with them a certain practical positiveness of
+meaning, and Theos was somewhat impressed by their seeming truth.
+After all, it WAS a curious and unfounded conceit of a man to
+imagine himself the possessor of an immortal soul,--and yet ... if
+all things were the outcome of a divine Creative Influence, was it
+not unjust of that Creative Influence to endow all humanity with
+such a belief if it had no foundation whatever? And could
+injustice be associated with divine law? ...
+
+He, Theos, for instance, was certain of his own immortality,--so
+certain that, surrounded as he was by this brilliant company of
+evident atheists, he felt himself to be the only real and positive
+existing Being among an assembly of Shadow-figures,--but it was
+not the time or the place to enter into a theological discussion,
+especially with Lysia, . . and for the moment at least, he allowed
+her assertions to remain uncontradicted. He sat, however, in a
+somewhat stern silence, now and then glancing wistfully and
+anxiously at Sah-luma, on whom the potent wines were beginning to
+take effect, and who had just thrown himself down on the dais at
+Lysia's feet, close to the tigress that still lay couched there in
+immovable quiet. It was a picture worthy of the grandest painter's
+brush, ... that glistening throne black as jet, with the fair form
+of Lysia shining within it, like a white sea-nymph at rest in a
+grotto of ocean-stalactites, . . the fantastically attired negresses
+on each side, with their waving peacock-plumes,--the vivid
+carnation-color of the dais, against which the black and yellow
+stripes of the tigress showed up in strong and brilliant
+contrast, . . and the graceful, jewel-decked figure of the Poet
+Laureate, who, half sitting, half reclining on a black velvet
+cushion, leaned his handsome head indolently against the silvery
+folds of Lysia's robe, and looked up at her with eyes in which
+burned the ardent admiration and scarcely restrained passion of a
+privileged lover.
+
+Suddenly and quite involuntarily Theos thought of Niphrata, ...
+alas, poor maiden! how utterly her devotion to Sah-luma was
+wasted! What did he care for her timid tenderness, . . her unselfish
+worship? Nothing? ... less than nothing! He was entirely absorbed
+by the sovereign-peerless beauty of this wonderful High
+Priestess,--this witch-like weaver of spells more potent than
+those of Circe; and musing thereon, Theos was sorry for Niphrata,
+he knew not why. He felt that she had somehow been wronged,--that
+she suffered, ... and that he, as well as Sah-luma, was in some
+mysterious way to blame for this, though he could by no means
+account for his own share in the dimly suggested reproach. This
+peculiar, remorseful emotion was transitory, like all the vaguely
+incomplete ideas that travelled mistily through his perplexed
+brain, and he soon forgot it in the increasing animation and
+interest of the scene that immediately surrounded him.
+
+The general conversation was becoming more and more noisy, and the
+laughter more and more boisterous,--several of the young men were
+now very much the worse for their frequent libations, and Nir-
+jalis, particularly, began again to show marked symptoms of an
+inclination to break loose from all the bonds of prudent reserve.
+He lay full length on his silk divan, his feet touching Theos, who
+sat upright,--and, singing little snatches of song to himself, he
+pulled the vine-wreath from his tumbled fair locks as though he
+found it too weighty, and flung it on the ground among the other
+debris of the feast. Then folding his arms lazily behind his head,
+he stared straight and fixedly before him at Lysia, seeming to
+note every jewel on her dress, every curve of her body, every
+slight gesture of her hand, every faint, cold smile that played on
+her lovely lips. One young man whom the others addressed as Ormaz,
+a haughty, handsome fellow enough, though with rather a sneering
+mouth just visible under his black mustache, was talking somewhat
+excitedly on the subject of Khosrul's cunningly devised flight, . .
+for it seemed to be universally understood that the venerable
+Prophet was one of the Circle of Mystics,--persons whose knowledge
+of science, especially in matters connected with electricity,
+enabled them to perform astonishing juggleries, that were
+frequently accepted by the uninitiated vulgar as almost divine
+miracles. Not very long ago, according to Ormaz, who was
+animatedly recalling the circumstance for the benefit of the
+company, the words "FALL, AL-KYRIS!" had appeared emblazoned in
+letters of fire on the sky at midnight, and the phenomenon had
+been accompanied by two tremendous volleys of thunder, to the
+infinite consternation of the multitude, who received it as a
+supernatural manifestation. But a member of the King's Privy
+Council, a satirical skeptic and mistruster of everybody's word
+but his own, undertook to sift the matter,--and adopting the dress
+of the Mystics, managed to introduce himself into one of their
+secret assemblies, where with considerable astonishment, he saw
+them make use of a small wire, by means of which they wrote in
+characters of azure flame on the whiteness of a blank wall,--
+moreover, he discovered that they possessed a lofty turret, built
+secretly and securely in a deep, unfrequented grove of trees, from
+whence, with the aid of various curious instruments and
+reflectors, they could fling out any pattern or device they chose
+on the sky, so that it should seem to be written by the finger of
+Lightning. Having elucidated these mysteries, and become highly
+edified thereby, the learned Councillor returned to the King, and
+gave full information as to the result of his researches,
+whereupon forty Mystics were at once arrested and flung into
+prison for life, and their nefarious practices were made publicly
+known to all the inhabitants of the city. Since then, no so-called
+"spiritual" demonstrations had taken place till now, when on this
+very night Zephoranim's Presence-Chamber had been suddenly
+enveloped in the thunderous and terrifying darkness which had so
+successfully covered Khosrul's escape.
+
+"The King should have slain him at once--" declared Ormaz
+emphatically, turning to Lysia as he spoke.. "I am surprised that
+His Majesty permitted so flagrant an impostor and trespasser of
+the law to speak one word, or live one moment in his royal
+presence."
+
+"Thou art surprised, Ormaz, at most things, especially those which
+savor of simple good-nature and forbearance..." responded Lysia
+coldly. "Thou art a wolfish, youth, and wouldst tear thine own
+brother to shreds if he thwarted thy pleasure! For myself I see
+little cause for astonishment, that a soldier-hero like Zephoranim
+should take some pity on so frail and aged a wreck of human wit as
+Khosrul. Khosrul blasphemes the Faith, . . what then? ... do ye not
+all blaspheme?"
+
+"Not in the open streets!" said Ormaz hastily.
+
+"No--ye have not the mettle for that!"--and Lysia smiled darkly,
+while the great eye on her breast flashed forth a sardonic lustre--
+"Strong as ye all are, and young, ye lack the bravery of the weak
+old man who, mad as he may be, has at least the courage of his
+opinions! Who is there here that believes in the Sun as a god, or
+in Nagaya as a mediator? Not one, . . but ye are cultured hypocrites
+all, and careful to keep your heresies secret!"
+
+"And thou, Lysia!" suddenly cried Nir-jalis, . . "Why if thou canst
+so liberally admire the valor of thy sworn enemy Khosrul, why dost
+not THOU step boldly forth, and abjure the Faith thou art
+Priestess of, yet in thy heart deridest as a miserable
+superstition?"
+
+She turned her splendid flashing orbs slowly upon him, ... what an
+awful chill, steely glitter leaped forth from their velvet-soft
+depths!
+
+"Prithee, be heedful of thy speech, good Nirjalis!" she said, with
+a quiver in her voice curiously like the suppressed snarl of her
+pet tigress.. "The majority of men are fools, ... like thee! ...
+and need to be ruled according to their folly!"
+
+Ormaz broke into a laugh. "And thou dost rule them, wise Virgin,
+with a rod of iron!" he said satirically ... "The King himself is
+but a slave in thy hands!" "The King is a devout believer,"--
+remarked a dainty, effeminate-looking youth, arrayed in a
+wonderfully picturesque garb of glistening purple,--"He pays his
+vows to Nagaya three times a day, at sunrise, noon, and sunset,--
+and 'tis said he hath oft been seen of late in silent meditation
+alone before the Sacred Veil, even after midnight. Maybe he is
+there at this very moment, offering up a royal petition for those
+of his less pious subjects who, like ourselves, love good wine
+more than long prayers. Ah!--he is a most austere and noble
+monarch,--a very anchorite and pattern of strict religious
+discipline! "And he shook his head to and fro with an air of mock
+solemn fervor. Every one laughed, . . and Ormaz playfully threw a
+cluster of half-crushed roses at the speaker.
+
+"Hold thy foolish tongue, Pharnim,--" he said,--"The King doth but
+show a fitting example to his people, . . there is a time to pray,
+and a time to feast, and our Zephoranim can do both as becomes a
+man. But of his midnight meditations I have heard naught, . . since
+when hath he deserted his Court of Love for the colder chambers of
+the Sacred Temple?"
+
+"Ask Lysia!" muttered Nir-jalis drowsily, under his breath--"She
+knows more of the King than she cares to confess!"
+
+His words were spoken in a low voice, and yet they were distinct
+enough for all present to hear. A glance of absolute dismay went
+round the table, and a breathless silence followed like the
+ominous hush of a heated atmosphere before a thunder-clap. Nir-
+jalis, apparently struck by the sudden stillness, looked lazily
+round from among the tumbled cushions where he reclined,--a
+vacant, tipsy smile on his lips.
+
+"What a company of mutes ye are!" he said thickly..
+
+"Did ye not hear me? I bade ye ask Lysia, . ." and all at once he
+sat bolt upright, his face crimsoning as with an access of
+passion.. "Ask Lysia!" he repeated loudly.. "Ask her why the
+mighty Zephoranim creeps in and out the Sacred Temple at midnight
+like a skulking slave instead of a King! ... at midnight, when he
+should be shut within his palace walls, playing the fool among his
+women! I warrant 'tis not piety that persuades him to wander
+through the underground Passage of the Tombs alone and in
+disguise! Sah-luma! ... pretty pampered hound as thou art! ...
+thou art near enough to Our Lady of Witcheries,--ask her, ... ask
+her! ... she knows, . . "and his voice sank into an incoherent
+murmur, . . "she knows more than she cares to confess!"
+
+Another deep and death like pause ensued, ... and then Lysia's
+silvery cold tones smote the profound silence with calm, clear
+resonance.
+
+"Friend Nir-jalis," she said, . . how tuneful were her accents, . .
+how chilly sweet her smile! ... "Methinks thou art grown
+altogether too wise for this world! ... 'tis pity thou shouldest
+continue to linger in so narrow and incomplete a sphere! ...
+Depart hence therefore! ... I shall frely excuse thine absence,
+since THY HOUR HAS COME! ..."
+
+And, taking from the table at her side a tall crystal chalice
+fashioned in the form of a lily set on a golden stem, she held it
+up toward him. Starting wildly from his couch he looked at her, as
+though doubting whether he had heard her words aright, . . a strong
+shudder shook him from head to foot, . . his hands clenched
+themselves convulsively together,--and then slowly, slowly, he
+staggered to his feet and stood upright. He was suddenly but
+effectually sobered--the flush of intoxication died off his
+cheeks--and his eyes grew strained and piteous. Theos, watching
+him in wonder and fear, saw his broad chest heave with the rapid-
+drawn gasping of his breath, ..he advanced a step or two--then all
+at once stretched out his hands in imploring agony.
+
+"Lysia!" he murmured huskily. "Lysia! ... pardon! ... spare me!
+... For the sake of past love have pity!"
+
+At this Sah-luma sprang up from his lounging posture on the dais,
+his hand on the hilt of his dagger, his whole face flaming with
+wrath.
+
+"By my soul!" he cried, "what doth this fellow prate of? ... Past
+love? ... Thou profane boaster! ... how darest thou speak of love
+to the Priestess of the Faith?"
+
+Nir-jalis heeded him not. His eyes were fixed on Lysia, like the
+eyes of a tortured animal who vainly seeks for mercy at the hand
+of its destroyer. Step by step he came hesitatingly to the foot of
+her throne, . . and it was then that Theos perceived rear at hand a
+personage he immediately recognized,--the black scarlet-clad slave
+Gazia, who had brought Lysia's message to Sah-luma that same
+afternoon. He had made his appearance now so swiftly and silently,
+that it was impossible to tell where he had come from,--and he
+stood close to Nir-jalis, his muscular firms folded tightly across
+his chest, and his hideous mouth contorted into a grin of cruel
+amusement and expectancy. Absolute quiet reigned within the
+magnificent banquet hall, . . the music had ceased,--and not a sound
+could be heard, save the delicate murmur of the wind outside
+swaying the water-lilies on the moonlit lake. Every one's
+attention was centred on the unhappy young man, who with lifted
+head and rigidly clasped hands, faced Lysia as a criminal faces a
+judge, . . Lysia, whose dazzling smile beamed upon him with the
+brightness of summer sunbeams,--Lysia, whose exquisite voice lost
+none of its richness as she spoke his doom.
+
+"By the vow which thou hast vowed to me, Nir-jalis--" she said
+slowly.. "and by thine oath sworn on the Symbolic Eye of Raphon"..
+here she touched the dreadful Jewel on her breast--"which bound
+thy life to my keeping, and thy death to my day of choice, I
+herewith bestow on thee the Chalice of Oblivion--the Silver Nectar
+of Peace! Sleep, and wake no more!--drink and die! The gateways of
+the Kingdom of Silence stand open to receive thee! ... thy
+service is finished! ... ... fare-thee-well!"
+
+With the utterance of the last word, she gave him the glittering
+cup she held. He took it mechanically,--and for one instant glared
+about him on all sides, scanning the faces of the attentive guests
+as though in the faint hope of some pity, some attempt at rescue.
+But not a single look of compassion was bestowed upon him save by
+Theos, who, full of struggling amazement and horror, would have
+broken out into indignant remonstrance, had not an imperative
+glance from Sah-luma warned him that any interference on his part
+would only make matters worse. He therefore, sorely against his
+will, and only for Sah-luma's sake, kept silence, watching Nir-
+jalis meanwhile in a sort of horrible fascination.
+
+There was something truly awful in the radiant unquenchable
+laughter that lurked in Lysia's lovely eyes, . . something
+positively devilish in the grace of her manner, as with a
+negligent movement, she reseated herself in her crystal throne,
+and taking a knot of magnolia-flowers that lay beside her, idly
+toyed with their creamy buds, all the while keeping her basilisk
+gaze fixed immovably and relentlessly on her sentenced victim. He,
+grasping the lily-shaped chalice convulsively in his right hand,
+looked up despairingly to the polished dome of malachite, with its
+revolving globe of fire that shed a solemn blood-red glow upon his
+agonized young face, . . a smile was on his lips,--the dreadful
+smile of desperate, maddened misery.
+
+"Oh, ye malignant gods!" he cried fiercely--"ye immortal Furies
+that made Woman for Man's torture, ... Bear witness to my death!
+... bear witness to my parting spirit's malediction! Cursed be
+they who love unwisely and too well! ... cursed be all the wiles
+of desire and the haunts of dear passion!--cursed he all fair
+faces whose fairness lures men to destruction! ... cursed be the
+warmth of caresses, the beating of heart against heart, the kisses
+that color midnight with fire! Cursed be Love from birth unto
+death!--may its sweetness be brief, and its bitterness endless!--
+its delight a snare, and its promise treachery! O ye mad lovers!--
+fools all!" ... and he turned his splendid wild eyes round on the
+hushed assemblage,--"Despise me and my words as ye will,
+throughout ages to come, the curse of the dead Nir-jalis shall
+cling!"
+
+He lifted the goblet to his lips, and just then his delirious
+glanced lighted on Sah-luma.
+
+"I drink to thee, Sir Laureate!" he said hoarsely, and with a
+ghastly attempt at levity--"Sing as sweetly as thou wilt, thou
+must drain the same cup ere long!"
+
+And without another second's hesitation he drank off the entire
+contents of the chalice at a draught. Scarcely had he done so,
+when with a savage scream he fell prone on the ground, his limbs
+twisted in acute agony,--his features hideously contorted,--his
+hands beating the air wildly, as though in contention with some
+invisible foe, ..while in strange and terrible dissonance with his
+tortured cries, Lysia's laughter, musically mellow, broke out in
+little quick peals, like the laughter of a very young child.
+
+"Ah, ah, Nir-jalis!" she exclaimed. "Thou dost suffer! That is
+well! ... I do rejoice to see thee fighting for life in the very
+jaws of death! Fain would I have all men thus tortured out of
+their proud and tyrannous existence! ... their strength made
+strengthless, their arrogance brought to naught, their egotism and
+vain-glory beaten to the dust! Ah, ah! thou that wert the
+complacent braggart of love,--the self-sufficient proclaimer of
+thine own prowess, where is thy boasted vigor now? ... Writhe on,
+good fool! ... thy little day is done! ... All honor to the Silver
+Nectar whose venom never fails!"
+
+Leaning forward eagerly, she clapped her hands in a sort of fierce
+ecstasy--and apparently startled by the sound, the tigress rose up
+from its couchant posture, and shaking itself with a snarling
+yawn, glared watchfully at the convulsed human wretch whose
+struggles became with each moment more and more frightful to
+witness. The impassive, cold-blooded calmness with which all the
+men present, even Sah-luma, looked on at the revolting spectacle
+of their late comrade's torture, filled Theos with shuddering
+abhorrence, ... sick at heart, he strove to turn away his eyes
+from the straining throat and upturned face of the miserable Nir-
+jalis,--a face that had a moment or two before been beautiful, but
+was now so disfigured as to be almost beyond recognition.
+Presently as the anguish of the poisoned victim increased, shriek
+after shriek broke from his pallid lips, . . rolling himself on the
+ground like a wild beast, he bit his hands and arms in his frenzy
+till he was covered with blood, ... and again and yet again the
+dulcet laughter of the High Priestess echoed through the length
+and breadth of the splendid hall,--and even Sah-luma, the poet
+Sah-luma, condescended to smile! That smile, so cold, so cruel, so
+unpitying, made Theos for a moment hate him, . . of what use, he
+thought, was it, to be a writer of soft and delicate verse, if the
+inner nature of the man was merciless, selfish, and utterly
+regardless of the woes of others? ... The rest of the guests were
+profoundly indifferent,--they kept silence, it is true, ... but
+they went on drinking their wine with perfectly unabated
+enjoyment.. they were evidently accustomed to such scenes. The
+attendant slaves stood all mute and motionless, with the exception
+of Gazra, who surveyed the torments of Nir-jalis with an air of
+professional interest, and appeared to be waiting till they should
+have reached that pitch of excruciating agony when Nature,
+exhausted, gives up the conflict and welcomes death as a release
+from pain.
+
+But this desirable end was not yet. Suddenly springing to his
+feet, Nir-jalis tore open his richly jewelled vest, and pressed
+his two hands hard upon his heart, ... the veins in his flesh were
+swollen and blue,--his labored breath seemed as though it must
+break his ribs in its terrible, panting struggle,--his face, livid
+and lined with purple marks like heavy bruises, bore not a single
+trace of its former fairness, ... and his eyes, rolled up and
+fixed glassily in their quivering sockets, seemed to be dreadfully
+filled with the speechless memory of his lately spoken curse. He
+staggered toward Theos, and dropped heavily on his knees, . .
+
+"Kill me!" he moaned piteously, feebly pointing to the sheathed
+dagger in the other's belt. "In mercy! ... Kill me! ... One
+thrust! ... release me! ... this agony is more than I can bear,
+... Kill ... Kill. ... !"
+
+His voice died away in an inarticulate, gasping cry,--and Theos
+stared down upon him in dizzy fear and horror! For...HE HAD SEEN
+THIS SAME NIR-JALIS DYING THUS CRUELLY BEFORE! Oh God! ... where,
+--where had this tragedy been previously enacted? Bewildered and
+overcome with unspeakable dread, he drew his dagger--he would at
+least, he thought, put the tortured sufferer out of his misery,
+... but scarcely had his weapon left the sheath, when Lysia's
+clear, cold voice exclaimed:
+
+"Disarm him!" and with the silent rapidity of a lightning-flash,
+Gazra glided to his side, and the steel was snatched from his
+hand. Full of outraged pride and wrath, he sprang up, a torrent of
+words rushing to his lips, but before he could utter one, two
+slaves pounced upon him, and holding his arms, dexterously wound a
+silk scarf tight about his mouth.
+
+"Be silent!" whispered some one in his ear,--"As you value your
+life and the life of Sah-luma,--be silent!"
+
+But he cared nothing for this warning, . . reckless of consequences,
+he tore the scarf away and breaking loose from the hands that held
+him, made a bound toward Lysia ... here he paused. Her eyes met
+his languidly, shedding a sombre, mysterious light upon him
+through the black shower of her abundant hair, ... the evil
+glitter of the great Symbolic Gem she wore fixed him with its
+stony yet mesmeric luster ... a delicious smile parted her roseate
+lips,--and breaking off a magnolia-bud from the cluster she held,
+she kissed and gave it to him...
+
+"Be at peace, good Theos!" she said in a low, tender tone, . .
+"Beware of taking up arms in the defence of the unworthy, . . rather
+reserve thy courage for those who know how best to reward thy
+service!"
+
+As one in a trance he took the flower she offered,--its fragrance,
+subtle and sweet, seemed to steal into his veins. and rob his
+manhood of all strength, ... sinking submissively at her feet he
+gazed up at her in wondering wistfulness and ardent admiration, . .
+never was there a woman so bewilderingly beautiful as she! What
+were the sufferings of Nir-jalis now? ... what was anything
+compared to the strangely enervating ecstasy he felt in letting
+his eyes dwell fondly on the fairness of her face, the whiteness
+of her half-veiled bosom, the delicate, sheeny dazzle of her
+polished skin, the soft and supple curves of her whole exquisite
+form, . . and spell-bound by the witchery of her loveliness, he
+almost forgot the very presence of her dying victim. Occasionally
+indeed, he glanced at the agonized creature where he lay huddled
+on the ground in the convulsive throes of his dreadful death-
+struggle,--but it was now with precisely the same quiet and
+disdainful smile as that for which he had momentarily hated Sah-
+luma! There was a sound of singing somewhere,--singing that had a
+mirthful under-throbbing in it, as though a thousand light-footed
+fairies were dancing to its sweet refrain! And Nir-jalis heard it!
+... dying inch by inch as he was, he heard it, and with a
+last superhuman effort forced himself up once more to his feet,
+... his arms stiffly outstretched, . . his anguished eyes full of a
+softened, strangely piteous glory.
+
+"To die!" he whispered in awed accents that penetrated the air
+with singular clearness--"To die! ... nay...not so! ... There is
+no death! ... I see it all! ... I know! ... .To die is to live!
+... to live again.. and to remember...to remember,--and repent, . .
+the past!"
+
+And with the last word he fell heavily, face forward, a corpse. At
+the same moment a terrific roar resounded through the dome, and
+the tigress Aizif sprang stealthily down from the dais, and
+pounced upon the warm, lifeless body, mounting guard over it in an
+ominously significant attitude, with glistening eyes, lashing tail
+and nervously quivering claws. A slight thrill of horror ran
+through the company, but not a man moved.
+
+"Aizif!--Aizif!" called Lysia imperiously.
+
+The animal looked round with an angry snarl, and seemed for once
+disposed to disobey the summons of its mistress. She therefore
+rose from her throne, and stepping forward with a swift, agile
+grace, caught the savage beast by the neck, and dragged it from
+its desired prey. Then, with the point of her little, silver-
+sandaled foot, she turned the fallen face of the dead man slightly
+round, so that she might observe it more attentively, and noting
+its livid disfigurement, smiled.
+
+"So much for the beauty and dignity of manhood!" she said with a
+contemptuous shrug of her snowy shoulders,--"All perished in the
+space of a few brief moments! Look you, ye fair sirs that take
+pride in your strength and muscular attainments! ... Ye shall not
+find in all Al-Kyris a fairer face or more nobly knit frame than
+was possessed by this dead fool, Nir-jalis, and yet, lo!--how the
+Silver Nectar doth make havoc on the sinews of adamant, the nerves
+of steel, the stalwart limbs! Tried by the touchstone of Death, ye
+are, with all your vaunted intelligence, your domineering audacity
+and self-love, no better than the slain dogs that serve vultures
+for carrion! ...--moreover, ye are less than dogs in honesty, and
+vastly shamed by them in fidelity!"
+
+She laughed scornfully as she spoke, still grasping the tigress by
+the neck in one slight hand,--and her glorious eyes flashed a
+mocking defiance on all the men assembled. Their countenances
+exhibited various expressions of uneasiness amounting to fear, . .
+some few smiled forcedly, others feigned a careless
+indifference, . . Sah-luma flushed an angry red, and Theos, though
+he knew not why, felt a sudden pricking sense of shame. She marked
+all these signs of disquietude with apparently increasing
+amusement, for her lovely face grew warm and radiant with
+suppressed, malicious mirth. She made a slight imperative gesture
+of command to Gazra, who at once approached, and, bending over the
+dead Nir-jalis, proceeded to strip off all the gold clasps and
+valuable jewels that had so lavishly adorned the ill-fated young
+man's attire,--then beckoning another slave nearly as tall and
+muscular as himself, they attached to the neck and feet of the
+corpse round, leaden, bullet-shaped weights, fastened by means of
+heavy iron chains. This done, they raised the body from the floor
+and carried it between them to the central and largest casement of
+all that stood open to the midnight air, and with a dexterous
+movement flung it out into the waters of the lake beneath. It fell
+with a sullen splash, the pale lilies on the surface rocking
+stormily to and fro as though blown by a gust of wind, while great
+circling ripples shone softly in the yellow gleam of the
+moonlight, as the dead man sank down, down, down like a stone into
+his crystal-quiet grave.
+
+Lysia returned to her throne with a serene step and unruffled
+brow, followed by the sulky and disappointed Aizif, . . smiling
+gently on Theos and Sah-luma she reseated herself, and touched a
+small bell at her side. It gave a sharp kling-klang like a
+suddenly struck cymbal--and lo! ... the marble floor yawned
+asunder, and the banquet-table with all its costly fruits and
+flowers vanished underground with the swiftness of lightning! The
+floor closed again, . . the broad, circular centre-space of the hall
+was now clear from all obstruction,--and the company of revellers
+roused themselves a little from their drowsy postures of half-
+inebriated languor. The singing voices that had stirred Nir-jalis
+to sudden animation even in his dying agony, sounded nearer and
+nearer, and the globe of fire overhead changed its hue from that
+of crimson to a delicate pink. At the extreme end of the
+glittering vista of pale-green, transparent columns, a door
+suddenly opened, and a flock of doves came speeding forth, their
+white, spread wings colored softly in the clear rose-radiance,--
+they circled round and round the dome three times, then fluttered
+in a palpitating arch over Lysia's head, and finally sped straight
+across the hall to the other end, where they streamed snowily
+through another aperture and disappeared. Still nearer rippled the
+sound of singing, . . and all at once a troop of girls came dancing
+noiselessly as fire-flies into the full, quivering pinkness of the
+jewel-like light that floated about them, . . girls as lovely, as
+delicate, as dainty as cyclamens that wave in the woods in the
+early days of an Italian spring. Their garments were so white, so
+transparent, so filmy and clinging, that they looked like elves
+robed in mountain-vapor rather than human creatures, . . there were
+fifty of them in all, and as they tripped forward, they, like the
+doves that had heralded their approach, surrounded Lysia
+flutteringly, saluting her with gestures of exquisite grace and
+devout humility, while she, enthroned in supreme fairness, with
+her tigress crouched beside her, looked down on them like a
+goddess calmly surveying a crowd of vestal worshippers. Their
+salutations done, they rushed pell-mell, like a shower of white
+rose-leaves drifting before a gale, into the exact centre of the
+hall, and there poising bird-like, with their snowy arms upraised
+as though about to fly, they waited, . . their lovely faces radiant
+with laughter, their eyes flashing dangerous allurement, their
+limbs glistening like polished alabaster through the gauzy attire
+that betrayed rather than concealed their exquisite forms. Then
+came the soft pizzicato of pulled strings, ... and a tinkling
+jangle of silver bells beating out a measured, languorous rhythm,
+--and with one accord, they all merged together in the voluptuous
+grace of a dance more ravishing, more wild and wondrous than ever
+poet pictured in his word-fantasies of fairy-land! Theos drank in
+the intoxicating delight of the scene with eager, dazzled eyes and
+heavily beating heart, ..the mysterious passion of mingled love
+and hatred he felt for Lysia stole over him more strongly than
+ever in the sultry air of this strange night, . . this night of
+sweet delirium, in which all that was most dangerous and erring in
+his nature woke into life and mastered his better will! A curious,
+instinctive knowledge swept across his mind,--namely THAT SAH-
+LUMA'S EMOTIONS WERE THE FAITHFUL REFLEX OF HIS OWN,--but as he
+had felt no anger against his rival in fame, so now he had no
+jealousy of his possible rival in love. Their sympathies were too
+closely united for distrust to mar the friendship so ardently
+begun, ... nevertheless, as he fell resistlessly deeper and deeper
+into the glittering snares that were spread for his destruction,
+he was CONSCIOUS OF EVIL THOUGH HE LACKED FORCE TO OVERCOME IT. At
+any rate, he would save Sah-luma from harm, he resolved, if he
+could not save himself! Meantime he watched the bewildering
+evolutions and witching entanglements of the gliding maze of fair
+faces, snowy bosoms and twining limbs, that palpitated to and fro
+under the soft rose-light of the dome like white flowers colored
+by the sunset, and, glancing ever and again at Lysia's imperial
+sorceress-beauty, he thought dreamily ... "Better the love that
+kills than no love at all!" And he thereupon gave himself up a
+voluntary captive to the sway of his own passions, determining to
+enjoy the immediate present, no matter what the future might have
+in store. Outside, the water-lilies nodded themselves to sleep in
+their shrouding, dark leaves, . . and the unbroken smoothness of the
+lake spread itself out in the moon like a sheet of molten gold
+over the spot where Nir-jalis had found his chilly rest. "THE
+CURSE OF THE DEAD NIR-JALIS SHALL CLING!" Yes,--possibly!--in the
+hereafter! ... but now his parting malison seemed but a foolish
+clamor against destiny, ... he was gone! ... none of his late
+companions missed him, ... none regretted him--like all dead men,
+once dead he was soon forgotten!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+A STRANGE TEMPTATION.
+
+
+On went the dance, ... faster, faster, and ever faster! Only the
+pen of some mirth-loving, rose-crowned Greek bard could adequately
+describe the dazzling, wild beauty and fantastic grace of those
+whirling fairy forms, that now inspired to a bacchante-like ardor,
+urged one another to fresh speed with brief soft cries of musical
+rapture! Now advancing,--now retreating ... now intermingling all
+together in an undulating garland of living loveliness, ... now
+parting asunder with an air of sweet coquettishness and caprice,
+...--anon meeting again, and winding arm within arm,--till
+bending forward in attitudes of the tenderest entreaty, they
+seemed, with their languid, praying eyes and clasped hands, to be
+waiting for Love to soothe the breathless sweetness of their
+parted lips with kisses! The light in the dome again changed its
+hue,--from pale rose-pink it flickered to delicate amber-green,
+flooding the floor with a radiance as of watery moonbeams, and
+softening the daintily draped outlines of that exquisite group of
+human blossoms, till they looked like the dimly imagined shapes of
+Nereids floating on the glistening width of the sea.
+
+And now the extreme end of the vast hall began to waver to and fro
+as though shaken at its foundation by subterranean forces,--a
+flaring shaft of flame struck through it like the sweeping blade
+of a Titan's sword,--and presently with a thunderous noise the
+whole wall split asunder, and recoiling backwards on either side,
+disclosed a garden, golden with the sleepy glory of the late moon,
+and peacefully fair in all the dreamy attractiveness of drooping
+foliage, soft turf, and star-sprinkled, violet sky. In full view,
+and lit up by the reflected radiance flung out from the dome, a
+rushing waterfall made sonorous surgy music of its own as it
+tumbled headlong into a rocky recess overgrown with lotus-lilies
+and plumy fern,--here and there, small, white and gold tents or
+pavilions glimmered invitingly through the shadows cast by the
+great magnolia trees, from whose lovely half-shut buds balmy odors
+crept deliciously through the warm air. The sound of sweet pipes
+and faintly tinkling cymbals echoed from distant shady nooks, as
+though elfin shepherds were guarding their fairy flocks in some
+hidden corner of this ambrosial pasturage, and ever by degrees the
+light grew warmer and more mellow in tint, till it resembled the
+deep hue of an autumn, yellow sunset, flecked through with emerald
+haze.
+
+Another clash of cymbals! ... this time stormily persistent and
+convincing! ... another! ... yet another! ... and then, a chime of
+bells,--a steady ringing, persuasive chime, such as brings tears
+to the eyes of many a wanderer, who, hearing a similar sound when
+far away from home, straightway thinks of the village church of
+his earlier years, . . those years of the best happiness we ever
+know on earth, because we enjoy in them the bliss of ignorance,
+the glory of youth! A curious stifling sensation began to oppress
+Theos's heart as he listened to those bells, . . they reminded him
+of such strange things, ... things to which he could not give a
+name,--things foolish, yet sweet, . . odd suggestions of fair women
+who were wont to pray for those they loved, and who believed, . .
+alas, the pity of it!--that their prayers would be heard ... and
+granted! What was it that these dear, loving, credulous ones said,
+when in the silence of the night they offered up their patient
+supplications to an irresponsive Heaven? "LEAD US NOT INTO
+TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL!" Yes! ... he remembered,--
+those were the words,--the simple-wise words that for positive-
+practical minds had neither meaning nor reason,--and that yet were
+so infinitely pathetic in their perfect humility and absolute
+trust!
+
+"LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION!" ... He murmured the phrase under
+his breath as he gazed with straining eyes out into the languorous
+beauty of that garden-scene that spread its dewy, emerald glamour
+before him,--and--"deliver us from evil!" broke from his lips in a
+half-sobbing sigh, as the peal of the chiming bells softened by
+degrees into a subdued tunefulness of indistinct and tremulous
+semitones, and the clarion-clearness of the cymbals again smote
+the still air with forceful and jarring clangor. Then...like a
+rainbow-garmented Peri floating easefully out of some far-off
+sphere of sky-wonders,--an aerial Maiden-Shape glided into the
+full lustre of the varying light,--a dancer, nude save for the
+pearly glistening veil that was carelessly cast about her dainty
+limbs, her white arms and delicate ankles being adorned with
+circlets of tiny, golden bells, which kept up a melodious jingle-
+jangle as she moved. And now began the strangest music,--music
+that seemed to hover capriciously between luscious melody and
+harsh discord,--a wild and curious medley of fantastic, minor
+suggestions in which the imaginative soul might discover hints of
+tears and folly, love and madness. To this uncertain yet
+voluptuous measure the glittering girl-dancer leaped forward with
+a startlingly beautiful abruptness,--and halting, as it were, on
+the boundary-line between the dome and the garden beyond, raised
+her rounded arms in a snowy arch above her head, and so for one
+brief instant, looked like an exquisite angel ready to soar upward
+to her native realm. Her pause was a mere breathing space in
+duration, ... dropping her arms again with a swift decision that
+set all the little bells on them clashing stormily, she
+straightway hurled herself, so to speak, into the giddy paces of a
+dance that was more like an enigma than an exercise. Round and
+round she floated wildly, like an opal-winged butterfly in a net
+of sunbeams,--now seemingly shaken by delicate tremors as aspen
+leaves are shaken by the faintest wind, ..now assuming the most
+voluptuous eccentricities of posture, . . sometimes bending
+wistfully toward the velvet turf on which she trod, as though she
+listened to the chanting of demon voices underground, . . and again,
+with her waving white hands, appearing to summon spirits downward
+from their wanderings in upper air. Her figure was in perfect
+harmony with the seductive grace of her gestures,--not only her
+twinkling feet, but her whole body danced,--her very features
+bespoke entire abandonment to the frenzy of rapid movement,--her
+large black eyes flashed with something of fierceness as well as
+languor; her raven hair streamed behind her like a dark spread
+wing, . . her parted lips pouted and quivered with excitement and
+ardor while ever and anon she turned her beautiful head toward the
+eagerly attentive group of revelers who watched her performance,
+with an air of indescribable sweetness, malice, and mockery. Again
+and again she whirled,--she flew, she sprang,--and wild cries of
+"Hail, Nelida!" "Triumph to Nelida!" resounded uproariously
+through the dome. Suddenly the character of the music changed, ...
+from an appealing murmurous complaint and persuasion, it rose to a
+martial and almost menacing fervor; the roll of drums and the
+shrill, reedy warbling of pipes and other fluty minstrelsy crossed
+the silvery thread of strung harps and viols, ... the light from
+the fiery globe shot forth a new effulgence, this time in two
+broad rays, one a dazzling, pale azure, the other a clear, pearly
+white. Nelida's graceful movements grew slower and slower, till
+she merely seemed to sway indolently to and fro like a mermaid
+rocking herself to sleep on the summit of a wave, ... and then,--
+from among the veiling shadows of the trees, there stepped forth a
+man,--beautiful as a sculptured god, of magnificently moulded form
+and noble stature, clothed from chest to knee in a close fitting
+garb of what seemed to be a thick network of massively linked
+gold. His dark hair was crowned with ivy, and at his belt gleamed
+an unsheathed dagger. Slowly and with courtly grace he approached
+the panting Nelida, who now, with half-closed eyes and slackening
+steps, looked as though she were drowsily footing her way into
+dreamland. He touched her snowy shoulder,--she started with an
+inimitable gesture of surprise, ... a smile, brilliant as morning,
+dawned on her face,--withdrawing herself slightly, she assumed an
+air of haughtily sweet disdain and refusal, ... then capriciously
+relenting, she gave him her hand, and in another instant, to the
+sound of a joyous melody that seemed to tumble through the air as
+billows tumble on the beach, the dazzling pair whirled away in a
+giddy waltz like two bright flames blown suddenly together by the
+wind. No language could give an adequate idea of the marvelous
+bewitchment and beauty of their united movements, and as they flew
+over the dark smooth turf, with the flower-laden trees drooping
+dewily about them, and the yellow moonbeams like melted amber
+beneath their noiseless feet, ... while the pale sapphire and
+white radiations from the dome, sparkling upon them aureole-wise,
+gave them the appearance of glittering birds circling through a
+limitless space of luminous and never-clouded ether. On, on! ...
+and they scarcely touched the earth as they spun dizzily round and
+round, their gracefully entwined limbs shining like polished ivory
+in the light, ... on, on!--with ever-increasing swiftness they
+sped, till their two forms seemed to merge into one, ... when as
+though oppressed by their own abandonment of joy they paused
+hoveringly, their embracing arms closing round one another, their
+lips almost touching, ... their eyes reflecting each other's
+ardent looks, ... then, ... their figures grew less and less
+distinct, ... they appeared to melt mysteriously into the azure,
+pearly light that surrounded them, and finally, like faint clouds
+fading on the edge of a sea-horizon, they vanished! The effect of
+this brief voluptuous dance, and its equally voluptuous end, was
+simply indescribable,--the young men, who had watched it through
+in silence and flushed ecstasy, now sprang from their couches with
+shouts of rapture and unrestrained excitement, and seizing the
+other dancing-maidens who had till now remained in clustered,
+half-hidden groups behind the crystalline columns of the hall,
+whirled them off into the inviting pleasaunce beyond, where the
+little white and gold pavilions peeped through the heavy foliage,
+--and before Theos, in the picturesque hurry and confusion of the
+scene, could quite realize what had happened, the great globe in
+the dome was suddenly extinguished, ... a firm hand closed
+imperiously on his own, and he was drawn along swiftly, he knew
+not whither!
+
+A slight tremor shook him as he discovered that Sah-luma was no
+longer by his side ... the friend whom he so ardently desired to
+protect had gone,--and he could not tell where. He glanced about
+him,--in the semi-obscurity he was able to discern the sheen of
+the lake with its white burden of water-lilies, and the branchy
+outlines of the moonlit garden, ... and ... yes! it was Lysia
+whose grasp lay so warmly on his arm, ... Lysia whose lovely,
+tempting face was so perilously near his own,--Lysia whose smile
+colored the soft gloom with such alluring lustre! ... His heart
+beat,--his blood burned,--he strove in vain to imagine what fate
+was now in store for him. He was conscious of the beauty of the
+night that spread its star-embroidered splendors about him,--
+conscious too of the vital youth and passion that throbbed
+amorously in his veins, endowing him with that keenly sweet,
+headstrong rapture which is said to come but once in a lifetime,
+and which in the very excess of its fond folly is too often apt to
+bring sorrow and endless remorse in its train. One moment more and
+he found himself in an exquisitely adorned pavilion of painted
+silk, faintly lit by one lamp of tenderest rose lustre, and
+carpeted with gold-spangled tissue. It was surrounded by a thicket
+of orange trees in full bloom, and the fragrance of the waxen-
+white flowers clung heavily to the air, breathing forth delicate
+suggestions of languor and sleep. The measured rush of the near
+waterfall alone disturbed the deep silence, with now and then the
+subdued and plaintive trill of a nightingale soothing itself to
+rest with its own song in some deep shadowed copse. Here, on a
+couch of heaped-up, stemless roses, such as might have been
+prepared for the repose of Titania, Lysia seated herself, while
+Theos stood gazing at her in fascinated wonderment and gradually
+increasing masterfulness of passion. She looked lovelier than ever
+in that dim, soft, mingled light of rosy lamp and silver
+moonbeams,--her smile was no longer cold but warmly sweet,--her
+eyes had lost their mocking glitter, and swam in a soft languor
+that was strangely bewitching,--even the Orbed Symbol on her white
+bosom seemed for once to drowse. Her lips parted in a faint sigh,--
+a glance like fire flashed from beneath her black, silken lashes,
+...
+
+"Theos!" she said tremulously. "Theos!" and waited.
+
+He, mute and oppressed by indistinct, hovering recollections, fed
+his gaze on her seductive fairness for one earnest moment longer,
+--then suddenly advancing he knelt before her, and took her
+unresisting hands in his.
+
+"Lysia!"--and his voice, even to his own ears, had a solemn as
+well as passionate thrill,--"Lysia, what wouldst thou have with
+me? Speak! ... for my heart aches with a burden of dark memories,
+--memories conjured up by the wizard spell of thine eyes,--those
+eyes so cruel-sweet that seem to lure me to my soul's ruin! Tell
+me--have we not met before? ... loved before? ... wronged each
+other and God before? ... parted before? ... Maybe 'tis but a
+brain sick fancy,--nevertheless my spirit knows thee,--feels
+thee,--clings to thee,--and yet recoils from thee as one whom I
+did love in by-gone days of old! My thoughts of thee are strange,
+fair Lysia!"--and he pressed her warm, delicate fingers with
+unconscious fierceness,--"I would have sworn that in the Past thou
+didst betray me!"
+
+Her low laugh stirred the silence into a faint, tuneful echo.
+
+"Thou foolish dreamer!" she murmured half mockingly, half tenderly
+... "Thou art dazed with wine, steeped in song, bewitched with
+beauty, and knowest nothing of what thou sayest! Methinks thou art
+a crazed poet, and more fervid than Sah-luma in the mystic nature
+of thine utterance,--thou shouldst be Laureate, not he! What if
+thou wert offered his place? ... his fame?"
+
+He looked at her, surprised and perplexed, and paused an instant
+before replying. Then he said slowly:
+
+"So strange a thing could never be ... for Sah-luma's place, once
+empty, could not again be filled! I grudge him not his glory-
+laurels,--moreover, ... what is Fame compared to Love!" He uttered
+the last words in a low tone as though he spoke them to himself,
+... she heard,--and a flash of triumph brightened her beautiful
+face.
+
+"Ah! ..." and she drooped her head lower and lower till her dark,
+fragrant tresses touched his brow ... "Then, ... thou dost love
+me?"
+
+He started. A dull pang ached in his heart,--a chill of vague
+uncertainty and dread. Love! ... was it love indeed that he felt?
+... love, ... or ... base desire? Love ... The word rang in his
+ears with the same sacred suggestiveness as that conveyed by the
+chime of bells,--surely, Love was a holy thing, ... a passion
+pure, impersonal, divine, and deathless,--and it seemed to him
+that somewhere it had been written or said ... "Wheresoever a man
+seeketh himself, there he falleth from Love" And he, ... did he
+not seek himself, and the gratification of his own immediate
+pleasure? Painfully he considered, ... it was a supreme moment
+with him,--a moment when he felt himself to be positively held
+within the grasp of some great Archangel, who, turning grandly
+reproachful eyes upon him, demanded ...
+
+"Art thou the Servant of Love or the Slave of Self?" And while he
+remained silent, the silken sweet voice of the fairest woman he
+had ever seen once more sent its musical cadence through his brain
+in that fateful question:
+
+"Thou dost love me?"
+
+A deep sigh broke from him, ... he moved nearer to her, ... he
+entwined her warm waist with his arms, and stared upon her as
+though he drank her beauty in with his eyes. Up to the crowning
+masses of her dusky hair where the little serpents' heads darted
+forth glisteningly,--over the dainty curve of her white shoulders
+and bosom where the symbolic Eye seemed to regard him with a
+sleepy weirdness,--down to the blue-veined, small feet in the
+silvery sandals, and up again to the red witchery of her mouth and
+black splendor of those twin fire-jewels that flashed beneath her
+heavy lashes--his gaze wandered hungrily, searchingly,
+passionately,--his heart beat with a loud, impatient eagerness
+like a wild thing struggling in its cage, but though his lips
+moved, he said no word,--she too was silent. So passed or seemed
+to pass some minutes,--minutes that were almost terrible in the
+weight of mysterious meaning they held unuttered. Then, with a
+half-smothered cry, he suddenly released her and sprang erect.
+
+"Love!" he cried, ... "Nay!--'tis a word for children and angels!
+--not for me! What have I to do with love? ... what hast thou? ...
+thou, Lysia, who dost make the lives of men thy sport and their
+torments thy mockery! There is no name for this fever that
+consumes me when I look upon thee, ... no name for this unquiet
+ravishment that draws me to thee in mingled bliss and agony! If I
+must perish of mine own bitter-sweet frenzy, let me be slain now
+and most utterly, ... but Love has no abiding-place 'twixt me and
+thee, Lysia! ... Love! ... ah, no, no! ... speak no more of love
+... it hath a charmed sound, recalling to my soul some glory I
+have lost!"
+
+He spoke wildly, incoherently, scarcely knowing what he said, and
+she, half lying on her couch of roses, looked at him curiously,
+with somber, meditative eyes. A smile of delicate derision parted
+her lips.
+
+"Of a truth, our late feasting hath roused in thee a most singular
+delirium!" she murmured indolently with a touch of cold amusement
+in her accents--"Thou dost seem to dwell in the Past rather than
+the Present! What ails thee? ... Come hither--closer!"--and she
+stretched out her lovely arms on which the twisted diamond snakes
+glittered in such flashing coils,--"Come! ... or is thy manful
+guise mere feigning, and dost thou fear me?"
+
+"Fear thee!"--and stung to a sudden heat Theos made one bound to
+her side and seizing her slim wrists, held them in a vise-like
+grip--"So little do I fear thee, Lysia, so well do I know thee,
+that in my very caresses I would slay thee, couldst thou thus be
+slain! Thou art to me the living presence of an unforgotten Sin,--
+a sin most deadly sweet and unrepented of, . . ah! why dost thou
+tempt me!"--and he bent over her more ardently--"must I not meet
+my death at thy hands? I must,--and more than death!--yet for thy
+kiss I will risk hell,--for one embrace of thine I will brave
+perdition! Ah, cruel enchantress!"--and winding his arms about
+her, he drew her close against his breast and looked down on the
+dreamy fairness of her face,--"Would there WERE such a thing as
+Death for souls like mine and thine! Would we might die most
+absolutely thus, heart against heart, never to wake again and
+loathe eathtypo or archaism? other! Who speaks of the cool
+sweetness of the grave,--the quiet ending of all strife,--the
+unbreaking seal of Fate, the deep and stirless rest? ... These
+things are not, and never were, . . for the grave gives up its
+dead,--the strife is forever and ever resumed,--the seal is
+broken, and in all the laboring Universe there shall be found no
+rest, and no forgetfulness, . . ah, God! ... no forgetfulness!" A
+shudder ran through his frame,--and clasping her almost roughly,
+he stooped toward her till his lips nearly touched hers, . . "Thou
+art accursed, Lysia,--and I share thy curse! Speak--how shall we
+cheer each other in the shadow-realm of fiends? Thou shall be
+Queen there, and I thy servitor,--we will make us merry with the
+griefs of others,--our music shall be the dropping of lost women's
+tears, and the groans of betrayed and tortured men,--and the light
+around us shall be quenchless fire! Shall it not be so, Lysia? ...
+and thinkest thou that we shall ever regret the loss of Heaven?"
+
+The words rushed impetuously from his lips; he thought little and
+cared less what he said, so long as he could, by speech, no matter
+how incoherent, relieve in part, the terrible oppression of vague
+memories that burdened his brain. But she, listening, drew herself
+swiftly from his embrace and stood up,--her large eyes fixed full
+upon him with an expression of wondering scorn and fear.
+
+"Thou art mad!" she said, a quiver of alarm in her voice ... "Mad as
+Khosrul, and all his evil-croaking brethren! I offer thee Love,--
+and thou pratest of death,--life is here in all the fulness of the
+now, for thy delight, and thou ravest of an immortal Hereafter
+which is not, and can never be! Why talk thus wildly? ... why gaze
+on me with so distraught a countenance? But an hour agone, thou
+wert the model of a cold discretion and quiet valor,--thus I had
+judged thee worthy of my favor--favor sought by many, and granted
+to few, . . but an thou dost wander amid such chaotic and
+unreasoning fancies, thou canst not serve me,--nor therefore canst
+thou win the reward that would otherwise have awaited thee."...
+
+Here she paused,--a questioning, keen under-glance flashed from
+beneath her dark lashes, . . he, however, with pained, wistful eyes
+raised steadfastly to hers, gave no sign of apology or contrition
+for the disconnected strangeness of his recent outburst. Only he
+became gradually conscious of an inward, growing calm,--as though
+the Divine Voice that had once soothed the angry waves of Galilee
+were now hushing his turbulent emotions with a soft "Peace be
+still!" She watched him closely, . .and all at once apparently
+rendered impatient by his impassive attitude, she came coaxingly
+toward him, and laid one soft hand on his shoulder.
+
+"Canst thou not be happy, Theos?" she whispered gently--"Happy as
+other men are, when loved as thou art loved?"
+
+His upturned gaze rested on the glittering serpents' heads that
+crowned her dusky tresses,--then on the great Eye that stared
+watchfully between her white breasts. A strong tremor shook him,
+and he sighed.
+
+"Happy as other men are, when they love and are deceived in
+love!"--he said.. "Yes, even so, Lysia,--I can be happy!"
+
+She threw one arm about him. "Thou shalt not be deceived"--she
+murmured quickly,--"Thou shalt be honored above the noblest in the
+realm, . . thy dearest hopes shall be fulfilled, . . thy utmost
+desires shall be granted, . . riches, power, fame,--all shall be
+thine,--IF THOU WILT DO MY BIDDING!"
+
+She uttered the last words with slow and meaning emphasis. He met
+her eager, burning looks quietly, almost coldly,--the curious numb
+apathy of his spirit increased, and when he spoke, his voice was
+low and faint like the voice of one who speaks unconsciously in
+his sleep.
+
+"What canst thou ask that I will not grant?" he said listlessly..
+"Is it not as it was in the old time,--thou to command, and I to
+obey? ... Speak, fair Queen!--how can I serve thee?"
+
+Her answer came, swift and fierce as the hiss of a snake:
+
+"KILL SAH-LUMA!"
+
+The brief sentence leaped into his brain with the swift, fiery
+action of some burning drug,--a red mist rose to his eyes,--
+pushing her fiercely from him, he started to his feet in a
+bewildered, sick horror. KILL SAH-LUMA! ... kill the gracious,
+smiling, happy creature whose every minute of existence was a
+joy,--kill the friend he loved,--the poet he worshipped! ... Kill
+him! ... ah God! ... never! ... never! ... He staggered backward
+dizzily,--and Lysia with a sudden stealthy spring, like that of
+her favorite tigress, threw herself against his breast and looked
+up at him, her splendid eyes ablaze with passion, her black hair
+streaming, her lips curved in a cruel smile, and the hateful Jewel
+on her breast seeming to flash with ferocious vindictiveness.
+
+"Kill him!" she repeated eagerly--"Now--in his sottish slumber,--
+now when he hath lost sight of his Poetmission in the hot fumes of
+wine,--now, when, despite his genius, he hath made of himself a
+thing lower than the beasts! Kill him! ...--I will keep good
+council, and none shall ever know who did the deed! He loves me,
+and I weary of his love, . . I would have him dead--dead as Nir-
+jalis! ... but were he to drain the Silver Nectar, the whole city
+would cry out upon me for his loss,--therefore he may not perish
+so. But an thou wilt slay him, . . see!" and she clung to Theos with
+the fierce tenacity of some wild animal--"All this beauty of mine,
+is thine!--thy days and nights shall be dreams of rapture,--thou
+shalt be second to none in Al-Kyris,--thou shalt rule with me over
+King and people,--and we will make the land a pleasure-garden for
+our love and joy! Here is thy weapon.."--and she thrust into his
+hand a dagger,--the very dagger her slave Gazra, had deprived him
+of, when by its prompt use he might have mercifully ended the
+cruel torments of Nir-jalis,--"Let thy stroke be strong and
+unfaltering, . . stab him to the heart,--the cold, cold, selfish
+heart that has never ached with a throb of pity! ... kill him!--
+'tis an easy task,--for lo! how fast he sleeps!"
+
+And suddenly throwing back a rich gold curtain that depended from
+one side of the painted pavilion, she disclosed a small interior
+chamber hung with amber and crimson, where, on a low, much-tumbled
+couch covered with crumpled glistening draperies, lay the King's
+Chief Minstrel,--the dainty darling of women,--the Laureate of the
+realm, sunk in a heavy, drunken stupor, so deep as to be almost
+death-like. Theos stared upon him amazed and bewildered, . . how
+came he there? Had he heard any of the conversation that had just
+passed between Lysia and himself? ... Apparently not, . . he seemed
+bound as by chains in a stirless lethargy. His posture was
+careless, yet uneasy,--his brilliant attire was torn and otherwise
+disordered,--and some of his priceless jewels had fallen on the
+couch, and gleamed here and there like big stray dewdrops. His
+face was deeply flushed, and his straight dark brows were knit
+frowningly, his breathing was hurried and irregular, . . one arm was
+thrown above his head,--the other hung down nervelessly, the
+relaxed fingers hovering immediately above a costly jewelled cup
+that had dropped from his clasp,--two emptied wine flagons lay
+cast on the ground beside him, and he had evidently experienced
+the discomfort and feverous heat arising from intoxication, for
+his silken vest was loosened as though for greater ease and
+coolness, thus leaving the smooth breadth of his chest bare and
+fully exposed. To this Lysia pointed with a fiendish glee, as she
+pulled Theos forward.
+
+"Strike now!" she whispered.. "Quick.. why dost thou hesitate?"
+
+He looked at her fixedly, . . the previous hot passion he had felt
+for her froze like ice within his veins, ... her fairness seemed
+no longer so distinctly fair, . . the witching radiance of her eyes
+had lost its charm, . . ... and he motioned her from him with a
+silent gesture of stern repugnance. Catching sight of the sheeny
+glimmer of the lake through the curtained entrance of the tent, he
+made a sudden spring thither--dashed aside the draperies, and
+flung the dagger he held, far out towards the watery mirror. It
+whirled glittering through the air, and fell with a quick splash
+into the silver-rippled depths,--and, gravely contented, he turned
+upon her, dauntless and serene in the consciousness of power.
+
+"Thus do I obey thee!" he said, in firm tones that thrilled
+through and through with scorn and indignation,--"Thou evil
+Beauty! ... thou fallen Fairness! ... Kill Sah-luma? ... Nay,
+sooner would I kill myself...or thee! His life is a glory to the
+world, . . his death shall never profit thee!"...
+
+For one instant a lurid anger blazed in her face,--the next her
+features hardened themselves into a rigidly cold expression of
+disdain, though her eyes widened with wrathful wonder. A low laugh
+broke from her lips.
+
+"Ah!" she cried--"Art thou angel or demon that thou darest defy
+me? Thou shouldst be either or both, to array thyself in
+opposition against the High Priestess of Nagaya, whose relentless
+Will hath caused empires to totter and thrones to fall! HIS life a
+glory to the world? ..." and she pointed to Sah-luma's recumbent
+figure with a gesture of loathing and contempt, . . "HIS? ... the
+life of a drunken voluptuary? ... a sensual egotist? ... a poet
+who sees no genius save his own, and who condemns all vice, save
+that which he himself indulges in! A laurelled swine! ... a false
+god of art! ... and for him thou dost reject Me! ... ah, thou
+fool!" and her splendid eyes shot forth resentful fire.. "Thou
+rash, unthinking, headstrong fool! thou knowest not what thou hast
+lost! Aye, guard thy friend as thou wilt,--thou dost guard him at
+thine own peril! ... think not that he, . . or thou, ... shall
+escape my vengeance! What!--dost thou play the heroic with me? ...
+thou who art Man, and therefore NO hero? ... For men are cowards
+all, except when in the heat of battle they follow the pursuit of
+their own brief glory! ... poltroons and knaves in spirit,
+incapable of resisting their own passions! ... and wilt THOU
+pretend to be stronger than the rest? ... Wilt thou take up arms
+against thyself and Destiny? Thou madman!"--and her lithe form
+quivered with concentrated rage--"Thou puny wretch that dost first
+clutch at, and then refuse my love!--thou who dost oppose thy
+miserable force to the Fate that hunts thee down!--thou who dost
+gaze at me with such grave, child-foolish eyes! ... Beware, . .
+beware of me! I hate thee as I hate ALL men! ... I will humble
+thee as I have humbled the proudest of thy sex! ..--wheresoever
+thou goest I will track thee out and torture thee! ... and thou
+shalt die--miserably, lingeringly, horribly,--as I would have
+every man die could I fulfil my utmost heart's desire! To-night,
+be free! ... but to-morrow as thou livest, I will claim thee!"
+
+Like an enraged Queen she stood,--one white, jewelled arm
+stretched forth menacingly,--her bosom heaving, and her face
+aflame with wrath, but Theos, leaning against Sah-luma's couch,
+heard her with as much impassiveness as though her threatening
+voice were but the sound of an idle wind. Only, when she ceased,
+he turned his untroubled gaze calmly and full upon her,--and
+then,--to his own infinite surprise she shivered and shrank
+backwards, while over her countenance flitted a vague,
+undefinable, almost spectral expression of terror. He saw it, and
+swift words came at once to his lips,--words that uttered
+themselves without premeditation.
+
+"To-morrow, Lysia, thou shalt claim nothing!" he said in a still,
+composed voice that to himself had something strange and unearthly
+in its tone ... "Not even a grave! Get thee hence! ... pray to thy
+gods if thou hast any,--for truly there is need of prayer! Thou
+shalt not harm Sah-luma, . . his love for thee may be his present
+curse,--but it shall not work his future ruin! As for me, . . though
+canst not slay me, Lysia,--seeing that to myself I am dead
+already! ... dead, yet alive in thought, . . and thou dost now seem
+to my soul but the shadow of a past Crime, . . the ghost of a
+temptation overcome and baffled! Ah, thou sweet Sin!" here he
+suddenly moved toward her and caught her hands hard, looking
+fearlessly the while at her flushed half-troubled face,--"I do
+confess that I have loved thee, . . I do own that I have found thee
+fair! ... but now--now that I see thee as thou art, in all the
+nameless horror of thy beauty, I do entreat,".. and his accents
+sank to a low yet fervent supplication--"I do entreat the most
+high God that I may be released from thee forever!"
+
+She gazed upon him with dilated, terrified eyes, ... and he dimly
+wondered, as he looked, why she should seem to fear him?--Not a
+word did she utter in reply, . . step by step she retreated from
+him, . . her glittering, exquisite form grew paler and more
+indistinct in outline--and presently, catching at the gold curtain
+that divided the two pavilions, she paused...still regarding him
+steadfastly. An evil smile curved her lips, . . a smile of cold
+menace and derisive scorn, . . the iris-colored jewel on her breast
+darted forth vivid flashes of azure, and green and gray, . . the
+snakes in her hair seemed to rise and hiss at him, . . and then,--
+with an awful unspoken threat written resolvedly on every line of
+her fair features, . . she let the gold draperies fall softly,--and
+so disappeared, . . leaving him alone with Sah-luma! He stood for a
+moment half amazed, half perplexed,--then, drawing a deep breath,
+he pushed the clustering hair off his forehead with an unconscious
+gesture of relief. She was gone! ... and he felt as though he had
+gained a victory over something, though he knew not what. The cold
+air from the lake blew refreshingly on his heated brow, . . and a
+thousand odors from orange-flowers and jessamine floated
+caressingly about him. The night was very still,--and approaching
+the opening of the tent, he looked out. There, in the soft sky
+gloom, moved the majestic procession of the Undiscovered Worlds
+seeming to be no more than bright dots on the measureless expanse
+of pure ether, . . there, low on the horizon, the yellow moon
+swooned languidly downwards in a bed of fleecy cloud,--the drowsy
+chirrup of a dreaming bird came softly now and again from the
+deep-branched shadows of the heavy foliage,--and the lilies on the
+surface of the lake nodded mysteriously among the slow ripples,
+like wise, white elves whispering to one another some secret of
+fairyland. And Sah-luma still slept, . . and still that puzzled and
+weary frown darkened the fairness of his broad brow, . . and, coming
+back to his side, Theos stood watching him with a yearning and
+sorrowful wistfulness. Gathering up the jewels that had fallen out
+of his dress, he replaced them one by one,--and strove to re-
+arrange the tossed and tumbled garb as best he might. While he was
+thus occupied his hand happened to touch the tablet that hung by a
+silver chain from the Laureate's belt,--he glanced at it, . . it was
+covered with fine writing, and turning it more toward the light,
+he soon made out four stanzas, perfectly rhymed and smoothly
+flowing as a well-modulated harmony. He read them slowly with a
+faint smile,--he recognized them as HIS OWN!--they were part of a
+poem he had long ago begun, yet have never finished! And now Sah-
+luma had the same idea! ... moreover he had chosen the same
+rhythm, the same words! ... well! ... after all, what did it
+matter? Nothing, he felt, so far as he was concerned,--he had
+ceased to care for his own personality or interests,--Sah-luma had
+become dearer to him than himself!
+
+His immediate anxiety was centered in the question of how to rouse
+his friend from the torpor in which he lay, and get him out of
+this voluptuous garden of delights, before any lurking danger
+could overtake him. Full of this intention, he presently ventured
+to draw aside the curtain that concealed Lysia's pavilion, . . and
+looking in, he saw to his great relief, that she was no longer
+there. Her couch of crushed roses scented the place with heavy
+fragrance, and the ruby lamp was still burning, . . but she herself
+had departed. Now was the time for escape!--thought Theos--now,--
+while she was absent,--now, if Sah-luma could be persuaded to come
+away, he might reach his own palace in safety, and once there, he
+could be warned of the death that threatened him through the
+treachery of the woman he loved. But would he believe in, or
+accept, the warning? At any rate some effort must be made to
+rescue him, and Theos, without more ado, bent above him and called
+aloud:
+
+"Sah-luma! ... Wake! Sah-luma!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE PASSAGE OF THE TOMBS.
+
+
+Sah-luma stirred uneasily and smiled in his sleep.
+
+"More wine!" he muttered thickly--"More, . . more I say! What! wilt
+thou stint the generous juice that warms my soul to song? Pour, . .
+pour out lavishly! I will mix the honey of thy luscious lips with
+the crimson bubbles on this goblet's brim, and the taste thereof
+shall be as nectar dropped from paradise! Nay, nay! I will drink
+to none but Myself,--to the immortal bard Sah-luma,--Poet of
+poets,--named first and greatest on the scroll of Fame! ... aye,
+'tis a worthy toast and merits a deeper draught of mellow vintage!
+Fill...fill again!--the world is but the drunken dream of a God
+Poet and we but the mad revellers of a shadow day! 'Twill pass--
+'twill pass, . . let us enjoy ere all is done,--drown thought in
+wine, and love, and music, . . wine and music..."
+
+His voice broke in a short, smothered sigh,--Theos surveyed him
+with mingled impatience, pity, and something of repulsion, and
+there was a warm touch of indignant remonstrance in his tone when
+he called again:
+
+"Sah-luma! Rouse thee, man, for very shame's sake! Art thou dead
+to the honor of thy calling, that thou dost wilfully consent to be
+the victim of wine-bibbing and debauchery? O thou frail soul! how
+hast thou quenched the heavenly essence within thee! ... why wilt
+thou be thus self-disgraced and all inglorious? Sah-luma! Sah-
+luma!"--and he shook him violently by the arm--"Up,--up, thou
+truant to the faith of Art! I will not let thee drowse the hours
+away in such unseemliness, . . wake! for the night is almost past,--
+the morning is at hand, and danger threatens thee,--wouldst thou
+be found here drunk at sunrise?"
+
+This time Sah-luma was thoroughly disturbed, and with a half
+uttered oath he sat up, pushed his tumbled hair from his brows,
+and stared at his companion in blinking, sleepy wonderment.
+
+"Now, by my soul! ... thou art a most unmannerly ruffian!" he said
+pettishly, yet with a vacant smile,--"what question didst thou
+bawl unmusically in mine ear? Will I be drunk at sunrise? Aye! ...
+and at sunset too, Sir Malapert, if that will satisfy thee! Hast
+thou been grudged sufficient wine that thou dost envy me my
+slumber? What dost thou here? ... where hast thou been?".. and,
+becoming more conscious of his surroundings he suddenly stood up,
+and catching hold of Theos to support himself, gazed upon him
+suspiciously with very dim and bloodshot eyes ... "Art thou fresh
+from the arms of the ravishing Nelida? ... is she not fair? a
+choice morsel for a lover's banquet? ... Doth she not dance a
+madness into the veins? ... aye, aye!--she was reserved for thee,
+my jolly roysterer! but thou art not the first nor wilt thou be
+the last that hath revelled in her store of charms! No matter!"--
+and he laughed foolishly ... "Better a wild dancer than a tame
+prude!" Here he looked about him in confused bewilderment.. "Where
+is Lysia? Was she not here a moment since? ..." and he staggered
+toward the neighboring pavilion, and dashed the dividing curtain
+aside ... "Lysia! ... Lysia! ..." he shouted noisily,--then,
+receiving no answer, he flung himself down on the vacant couch of
+roses, and gathering up a handful of the crumpled flowers, kissed
+them passionately,--"The witch has flown!" he said, laughing again
+that mirthless, stupid laugh as he spoke--"She doth love to
+tantalize me thus! ... Tell me! what dost thou think of her? Is
+she not a peerless moon of womanhood? ... doth she not eclipse all
+known or imaginable beauty? ... Aye! ... and I will tell thee a
+secret,--she is mine!--mine from the dark tresses down to the
+dainty feet! ... mine, all mine, so long as I shall please to call
+her so! ...--notwithstanding that the foolish people of Al-Kyris
+think she is impervious to love, self-centered, holy and
+'immaculate'! Bah! ... as if a woman ever was 'immaculate'! But
+mark you! ... though she loves me,--me, crowned Laureate of the
+realm, she loves no other man! And why? Because no other man is
+found half so worthy of love! All men must love her, . . Nirjalis
+loved her, and he is dead because of overmuch presumption, . . and
+many there be who shall still die likewise, for love of her, but
+_I_ am her chosen and elected one,--her faith is mine!--her heart
+is mine,--her very soul is mine!--mine I would swear though all
+the gods of the past, present, and future denied her constancy!"
+
+Here his uncertain, wandering gaze met the grave, pained, and
+almost stern regard of Theos. "Why dost thou stare thus owl-like
+upon me?"--he demanded irritably.. "Art thou not my friend and
+worshipper? Wilt preach? Wilt moralize on the folly of the time,--
+the vices of the age? Thou lookest it,--but prithee hold thy peace
+an thou lovest me!--we can but live and die and there's an end, . .
+all's over with the best and wisest of us soon,--let us be merry
+while we may!"
+
+And he tossed a cluster of roses playfully in the air, catching
+them as they fell again in a soft shower of severed fluttering
+pink and white petals. Theos listened to his rambling, unguarded
+words with a sense of acute personal sorrow. Here was a man,
+young, handsome, and endowed with the rarest gift of nature, a
+great poetic genius,--a man who had attained in early manhood the
+highest worldly fame together with the friendship of a king, and
+the love of a people, . . yet what was he in himself? A mere petty
+Egoist, . . a poor deluded fool, the unresisting prey of his own
+passions, . . the besotted slave of a treacherous woman and the
+voluntary degrader of his own life! What was the use of Genius,
+then, if it could not aid one to overcome Self, . . what the worth
+of Fame, if it were not made to serve as a bright incentive and
+noble example to others of less renown? As this thought passed
+across his mind, Theos sighed, . . he felt curiously conscience-
+stricken, ashamed, and humiliated, THROUGH Sah-luma, and solely
+for Sah-luma's sake! At present, however, his chief anxiety was to
+get his friend safely out of Lysia'a pavilion before she should
+return to it, and his spirit chafed within him at each moment of
+enforced delay.
+
+"Come, come, Sah-luma!" he said at last, gently, yet with
+persuasive earnestness.. "Come away from this place, . . the feast
+is over,--the fair ones are gone, . . why should we linger? Thou art
+half-asleep,--believe me 'tis time thou wert home and at rest.
+Lean upon me, ... so! that is well!"--this, as the other rose
+unsteadily to his feet and lurched heavily against him, . . "Now let
+me guide thee,--though of a truth I know not the way through this
+wondrous woodland maze, . . canst tell me whither we should turn?
+... or hast thou no remembrance of the nearest road to thine own
+dwelling?"--
+
+Thus speaking, he managed to lead his stupefied companion out of
+the tent into the cool, dewy garden, where, feeling somewhat
+refreshed by the breath of the night wind blowing on his face,
+Sah-luma straightened himself, and made an absurd attempt to look
+exceedingly dignified.
+
+"Nay, an thou wilt depart with such scant ceremony"--he grumbled
+peevishly--"get thee thence and find out the road as best thou
+mayest! ... why should I aid thee? For myself I am well contented
+here to remain and sleep,--no better couch can the Poet have than
+this violet-scented moss"--and he waved his arm with a
+grandiloquent gesture,--"no grander canopy than this star-
+besprinkled heaven! Leave me,--for my eyes are wondrous heavy, and
+I would fain slumber undisturbed till the break of day! By my
+soul, thou art a rough companion! ..." and he struggled violently
+to release himself from Theos's resolute and compelling grasp..
+"Where wouldst thou drag me?"
+
+"Out of danger and the shadow of death!" replied Theos firmly..
+"Thy life is threatened, Sah-luma, and I will not see thee slain!
+If thou canst not guard thyself, then I must guard thee! ... Come,
+delay no longer, I beseech thee!--do I not love thee, friend?--and
+would I urge thee thus without good reason? O thou misguided soul!
+thou dost most ignorantly court destruction, but if my strength
+can shield thee, thou shalt not die before thy time!"
+
+And he hurried his pace, half leading, half carrying the reluctant
+poet, who, however, was too drowsy and lethargic to do more than
+feebly resent his action,--and thus they went together along a
+broad path that seemed to extend itself in a direct line straight
+across the grounds, but which in reality turned and twisted about
+through all manner of perplexing nooks and corners,--now under
+trees so closely interwoven that not a glimpse of the sky could be
+seen through the dense darkness of the crossed boughs,--now by
+gorgeous banks of roses, pale yellow and white, that looked like
+frozen foam in the dying glitter of the moon,--now beneath fairy-
+light trellis work, overgrown with jasamine, and peopled by
+thousands of dancing fire-flies,--while at every undulating bend
+or sharp angle in the road, Theos's heart beat quickly in fear
+lest they should meet some armed retainer or spy of Lysia's, who
+might interrupt their progress, or perhaps peremptorily forbid
+their departure. Nothing of the kind happened, or seemed likely to
+happen,--the splendid gardens were all apparently deserted,--and
+not a living soul was anywhere to be seen. Presently through an
+archway of twisted magnolia stems, Theos caught a glimpse of the
+illuminated pool with the marble nymph in its centre which had so
+greatly fascinated him on his first arrival,--and he pressed
+forward eagerly, knowing that now they could not be very far from
+the gates of exit. All at once the tall figure of a man clad in
+complete armor came into sudden view between some heavily drooping
+boughs,--it stood out for a second, and then hurriedly
+disappeared, muffling its face in a black mantle as it fled. Not,
+however, before Theos had recognized those dark, haughty features,
+those relentless brows, and that, stern almost lurid smile! ...
+and with a quick convulsive movement he grasped his companion's
+arm.
+
+"Hist, Sah-luma!" he whispered ... "Saw you not the King?"
+
+Sah-luma started as though he had received a dagger thrust, . . his
+very lips turned pale in the moonlight.
+
+"The KING?" he echoed, with an accent of incredulous
+amazement ... "The King? ... thou art mad! ... it could not be!
+Where didst thou see him?"
+
+In silence Theos pointed to the dark shrubbery. Sahluma shook
+himself free of his friend's hold, and, standing erect, gazed in
+the direction indicated, with an expression of mingled fear,
+distrust, bewilderment, and wrath on his features, . . he was
+suddenly but effectually sobered, and all the delicate beauty of
+his face came back like the rich tone of a fine picture restored.
+His hand fell instinctively toward the jewelled hilt of the
+poniard at his belt.
+
+"The King?" he muttered under his breath, ... "The King? ...
+Then.. is Khosrul right after all, and must one learn wisdom from
+a madman? ... By my soul! ... If I thought..." Here he checked
+himself abruptly and turned upon Theos ... "Nay, thou art deceived!"
+he said with a forced smile.. "'Twas not the King! ... 'twas some
+rash, unknown intruder whose worthless life must pay the penalty
+of trespass!"--and he drew his flashing weapon from his sheath..
+"THIS shall unmask him! ... And thou, my friend, get thee away and
+home, . . fear nothing for my safety! ... go hence and quickly; I'll
+follow thee anon!"
+
+And before Theos could utter a word of warning, he plunged
+impetuously into the innermost recess of the dense foliage behind
+which the mysterious armed figure had just vanished, and was
+instantly lost to sight.
+
+"Sah-luma! ... Sah-luma!"--called Theos passionately ... "Come
+back! Whether wilt thou go? ... Sah-luma!"
+
+Only silence answered him,--silence rendered even more profound by
+the subdued, faint rustling of the wind among the leaves,--and
+agitated by all manner of vague alarms and dreary forebodings, he
+stood still for a moment hesitating as to whether he should follow
+his friend or no. Some instinct stronger than himself, however,
+persuaded him that it would be best to continue his road,--he
+therefore went on slowly, hoping against hope that Sah-luma might
+still rejoin him,--but herein he was disappointed. He waited a
+little while near the illuminated water, dreamily eying the
+beautiful marble nymph crowned with her wreath of amethystine
+flame, . . she resembled Lysia somewhat, he thought,--only this was
+a frozen fairness, while the peerless charms of the cruel High
+Priestess were those of living flesh and blood. Yet the
+remembrance of all the tenderly witching loveliness that might
+have been his, had he slain Sah-luma at her bidding, now moved him
+neither to regret nor lover's passion, but only touched his spirit
+with a sense of bitter repulsion, . . while a strange pity for the
+Poet Laureate's infatuation awoke in him,--pity that any man could
+he so reckless, blind, and desperate as to love a woman for her
+mere perishable beauty of body, and never care to know whether the
+graces of her mind were equal to the graces of her form.
+
+"We men have yet to learn the true meaning of love,"--he mused
+rather sadly--"We consider it from the selfish standpoint of our
+own unbridled passions,--we willingly accept a fair face as the
+visible reflex of a fair soul, and nine times out of ten, we are
+utterly mistaken! We begin wrongly, and we therefore end
+miserably,--we should love a woman for what she IS, and not for
+what she appears to be. Yet, how are we to fathom her nature? how
+shall we guess, . . how can we decide? Are we fooled by an evil
+fate?--or do we in our loves and marriages deliberately fool
+ourselves?"
+
+He pondered the question hazily without arriving at any
+satisfactory answer, . . and as Sah-luma still did not return, he
+resumed his slow, unguided, and solitary way. He presently found
+himself in a close boscage of tall trees straight as pines, and
+covered with very large, thick leaves that exhaled a peculiarly
+faint odor,--and here, pausing abruptly, he looked anxiously about
+him. This was certainly not the avenue through which he had
+previously come with Sah-luma, . . and he soon felt uncomfortably
+convinced that he had somehow taken the wrong path. Perceiving a
+low iron gate standing open in front of him, he went thither and
+discovered a steep stone staircase leading down, down into what
+seemed to be a vast well, black and empty as a starless midnight.
+Peering doubtfully into this gloomy pit, he fancied he saw a
+small, blue flame wavering to and fro at the bottom, and, pricked
+by a sudden impulse of curiosity, he made up his mind to descend.
+
+He went down slowly and cautiously, counting each step as he
+placed his foot upon it, . . there were a hundred steps in all, and
+at the end the light he had seen completely vanished, leaving him
+in the most profound darkness. Confused and startled, he stretched
+out his hands instinctively as a blind man might do, and thus came
+in contact with something sharp, pointed, and icy cold like the
+frozen talon of a dead bird. Shuddering at the touch, he
+recoiled,--and was about to try and grope his way up the stairs
+again, when the light once more appeared, this time casting a
+thin, slanting, azure blaze through the dense shadows,--and he was
+able gradually to realize the horrors of the place into which he
+had unwittingly adventured. One faint cry escaped his lips,--and
+then he was mute and motionless,--chilled to the very heart. A
+great awe and speechless dread overwhelmed him, . . for he--a living
+man and fully conscious of life--stood alone, surrounded by a
+ghastly multitude of skeletons, skeletons bleached white as ivory
+and glistening with a smooth, moist polish as of pearl. Shoulder
+to shoulder, arm against arm, they stood, placed upright, and as
+close together as possible,--every bony hand held a rusty spear,--
+and on every skull gleamed a small metal casque inscribed with
+hieroglyphic characters. Thousands of eyeless sockets seemed to
+turn toward him in blank yet questioning wonder, suggesting
+awfully to his mind that the eyes might still be there, fallen far
+back into the head from whence they yet SAW, themselves unseen,--
+thousands of grinning jaws seemed to mock at him, as he leaned
+half-fainting against the damp, weed-grown portal,--he fancied he
+could hear the derisive laugh of death echoing horribly through
+those dimly distant arches! This, . . this, he thought wildly, was
+the sequel to his brief and wretched history! ... for this one end
+he had wandered out of the ways of his former life, and forgotten
+almost all he had ever known,--here was the only poor finale an
+all-wise and all-potent God could contrive for the close of His
+marvelous symphony of creative Love and Light! ... Ah, cruel,
+cruel! Then there was no justice, no pity, no compensation in all
+the width and breadth of the Universe, if Death indeed was the end
+of everything!--and God or the great Force called by that name was
+nothing but a Tyrant and Torturer of His helpless creature, Man!
+So thinking, dully and feebly, he pressed his hand on his aching
+eyes, to shut out the sight of that grim crowd of fleshless, rigid
+Shapes that everywhere confronted him, . . the darkness of the place
+seemed to descend upon him crushingly, and, reeling forward, he
+would have fallen in a swoon, had not a strong hand suddenly
+grasped his arm and supported him firmly upright.
+
+"How now, my son!"--said a grave, musical voice that had in it a
+certain touch of compassion, . . "What ails thee? ... and why art
+thou here? Art thou condemned to die! ... or dost thou seek an
+escape from death?"
+
+Making an effort to overcome the sick giddiness that confused his
+brain, he looked up,--a bright lamp flared in his eyes,
+contrasting so dazzlingly with the surrounding gloom that for a
+moment he was half-blinded by its brilliancy, but presently
+steadying his gaze he was able to discern the dark outline of a
+tall, black-garmented figure standing beside him,--the figure of
+an old man, whose severe and dignified aspect at first reminded
+him somewhat of the prophet Khosrul. Only that Khosrul's rugged
+features had borne the impress of patient, long-endured, bitter
+suffering, and the personage who now confronted him had a face so
+calm and seriously impassive that it might have been taken for
+that of one newly dead, from whose lineaments all traces of
+earthly passion had forever been smoothed away.
+
+"Art thou condemned to die, or dost thou seek an escape from
+death?" The question had, or seemed to have, a curious
+significance,--it reiterated itself almost noisily in his ears,--
+his mind was troubled by vague surmises and dreary forebodings,--
+speech was difficult to him, and his lips quivered pathetically,
+when he at last found force to frame his struggling thoughts into
+language.
+
+"Escape from death!" he murmured, gazing wildly around as he
+spoke, on the vast skeleton crowd that encircled him.. "Old man,
+dost thou also talk of dream-like impossibilities? Wilt thou also
+maintain a creed of hope when naught awaits us but despair? Art
+thou fooled likewise with the glimmering Soul-mirage of a never-
+to-be-realized future? ... Escape from death? ... How?--and where!
+Art not these dry and vacant forms sufficiently eloquent of the
+all-omnipotence of Decay?" ... and he caught his unknown companion
+almost fiercely by the long robe, while a sound that was half a
+sob and half a sigh came from his aching throat.. "Lo you, how
+emptily they stare upon us! ... how frozen-piteous is their smile!
+... Poor, poor frail shapes! ... nay!--who would think these
+hollow shells of bone had once been men! Men with strong hearts,
+warm-flowing blood, and throbbing pulses, . . men of thought and
+action, who maybe did most nobly bear themselves in life upon the
+earth, and yet are now forgotten, . . men--ah, great Heaven! can it
+be that these most rueful, loathly things have loved, and hoped,
+and labored through all their days for such an end as this! Escape
+from death! ... alas, there is no escape, . . 'tis evident we all
+must die, . . die, and with dust-quenched eyes unlearn our knowledge
+of the sun, the stars, the marvels of the universe,--for us no
+more shall the flowers bloom or the sweet birds sing; the poem of
+the world will write itself anew in every roseate flushing of the
+dawn,--but we,--we who have joyed therein,--we who have sung the
+praises of the light, the harmonies of wind and sea, the
+tunefulness of woods and fields,--we whose ambitious thoughts have
+soared archangel-like through unseen empyreans of space, there to
+drink in a honeyed hope of Heaven,--we shall be but DEAD! ...
+mute, cold, and stirless as deep, undug stones, . . dead! ... Ah
+God, thou Utmost Cruelty!"--and in a sudden access of grief and
+passion he raised one hand and shook it aloft with a menacing
+gesture--"Would I might look upon Thee face to face, and rebuke
+Thee for Thy merciless injustice!"
+
+He spoke wildly as though possessed by a sort of frenzy,--his
+unknown companion heard him with an air of mild and pitying
+patience.
+
+"Peace--peace! Blaspheme not the Most High, my son!" he said
+gently, yet reproachfully. "Distraught as thou dost seem with some
+strange misery, and sick with fears, forbear thine ignorant fury
+against Him who hath for love's dear sake alone created thee.
+Control thy soul in patience!--surely thou art afflicted by thine
+own vain and false imaginings, which for a time contort and darken
+the clear light of truth. Why dost thou thus disquiet thyself
+concerning the end of life, seeing that verily it hath NO end? ...
+and that what we men call death is not a conclusion but merely a
+new beginning? Waste not thy pity on these skeleton forms,--the
+empty dwellings of martial spirits long since fled, . . as well weep
+over fallen husks of corn from which the blossoms have sprung
+right joyously upward! This world is but our roadside hostelry,
+wherein we heaven-bound sojourners tarry for one brief, restless
+night,--why regret the loss of the poor refreshment offered thee
+here, when there are a thousand better feasts awaiting thee
+elsewhere on thy way? Come,--let me lead thee hence, . . this place
+is known as the Passage of the Tombs,--and communicates with the
+Inner Court of the Sacred Temple,--and if, as I fear, thou art a
+stray fugitive from the accursed Lysia's band of lovers, thou
+mayest be tracked hither and quickly slain. Come,--I will show
+thee a secret labyrinth by which thou canst gain the embankment of
+the river, and from thence betake thyself speedily home, . . if thou
+hast a home..." here he paused, and a keen, questioning glance
+flashed in his dark eyes. "But,--notwithstanding thy fluency of
+speech and fashion of attire, methinks thou hast the lost and
+solitary air of one who is a stranger in the city of Al-Kyris?"
+
+Theos sighed.
+
+"A stranger I am indeed!" he said drearily--"A stranger to my very
+self and all my former belongings! Ask me no questions, good
+father, for, as I live, I cannot answer them! I am oppressed by a
+nameless and mysterious suffering, . . my brain is darkened,--my
+thoughts but half-formed and never wholly uttered, and I,--I who
+once deemed human intelligence and reason all-supreme, all-clear,
+all-absolute, am now compelled to use that reason reasonlessly,
+and to work with that intelligence in helpless ignorance as to
+what end my mental toil shall serve! Woeful and strange it is!--
+yet true; . . I am as a broken straw in a whirlwind,--or the pale
+ghost of my own identity groping for things forgotten in a land of
+shadows; . . I know not whence I came, nor whither I go! Nay, do
+not fear me,--I am not mad: I am conscious of my life, my
+strength, and physical well-being,--and though I may speak wildly,
+I harbor no ill-intent toward any man--my quarrel is with God
+alone!"
+
+He paused,--then resumed in calmer accents,--"You judge rightly,
+reverend sir,--I am a stranger in Al-Kyris. I entered the city-
+gates this morning when the sun was high,--and ere noon I found
+courteous welcome and princely shelter,--I am the guest of the
+poet Sah-luma."
+
+The old man looked at him half compassionately.
+
+"Ah, Sah-luma is thine host?" he said with a touch of melancholy
+surprise in his tone--"Then wherefore art thou here? ... here in
+this dark abode where none may linger and escape with life? ...
+how earnest thou within the bounds of Lysid's fatal pleasaunce!
+... Has the Laureate's friendship thus misguided thee?"
+
+Theos hesitated before replying. He was again moved by that
+curious instinctive dread of hearing Sah-luma's name associated
+with any sort of reproach,--and his voice had a somewhat defiant
+ring as he answered:
+
+"Nay, surely I am neither child nor woman that I should weakly
+yield to guidance or misleading! Some trifling matter of free-will
+remains to me in spite of mine affliction,--and that I have supped
+with Sah-luma at the Palace of the High Priestess, has been as
+much my choice as his example. Who among men would turn aside from
+high feasting and mirthful company? ... not I, believe me! ... and
+Sah-luma's desires herein were but the reflex of mine own. We came
+together through the woodland, and parted but a moment since..."
+
+He stopped abruptly, startled by a sudden clash as of steel and
+the tramp-tramp of approaching feet. His aged companion caught him
+by the arm...
+
+"Hush!" he whispered.. "Not a word more.. not a breath! ... or thy
+life must pay the penalty! Quick,--follow me close! ... step
+softly! ... there is a hiding-place near at hand where we may
+couch unseen till these dread visitants pass by."
+
+Moving stealthily and with anxious precaution, he led the way to a
+niche hollowed deeply out in the thickness of the wall, and
+turning his lamp aside so that not the faintest glimmer of it
+could be perceived, he took Theos by the hand, and drew him into
+what seemed to be a huge cavernous recess, utterly dark and icy
+cold.
+
+Here, crouching low in the furthest gloom, they both waited
+silently,--Theos ignorant as to the cause of the sudden alarm, and
+wondering vaguely what strange new circumstance was about to
+happen. The measured tramp-tramp of feet came nearer and nearer,
+and in another moment the flare of smoking torches illumined the
+vaulted passage, casting many a ruddy flicker and flash on the
+ivory-gleaming whiteness of the vast skeleton army that stood with
+such grim and pallid patience as though waiting for a marching
+signal.
+
+Presently there appeared a number of half-naked men, carrying
+short axes stained with blood,--coarse, savage, cruel-looking
+brutes all, whose lowering faces bore the marks of a thousand
+unrepented crimes,--these were followed by four tall personages
+clad in flowing white robes and closely masked,--and finally there
+came a band of black slaves clothed in vivid scarlet, dragging
+between them two writhing, bleeding creatures,--one a man, the
+other a girl in her earliest youth, both convulsed by the evident
+last agonies of death.
+
+Arrived at the centre of that part of the vault where the skeleton
+crowd was thickest, this horrible cortege halted, while one of the
+masked personages undid from his girdle a large bunch of keys. And
+now Theos, watching everything with dreadful interest from the
+obscure corner where he was, thanks to his unknown friend,
+successfully concealed, perceived for the first time a low, iron
+door, heavily barred, and surmounted by sharp spikes as long as
+drawn daggers. When this dreary portal was, with many a jarring
+groan and clang, slowly opened, such an awful cry broke from the
+lips of the tortured man as might have wrung compassion from the
+most hardened tyrant. Wresting himself fiercely out of the grasp
+of the slaves who held him, he struggled to his feet, while the
+blood poured from the cruel wounds that were inflicted all over
+his body, and raising his manacled hands aloft he cried..
+
+"Mercy! ... mercy! ... not for me, but for her! ... for her, my
+love, my life, my tenderest little one! ... What is her crime, ye
+fiends? ... why do ye deem love a sin and passion a dishonor? ...
+Shall there be no more heart-longings because ye are cold? ...
+Spare her! ... she is so young, so fond, so innocent of all
+reproach save one, the shame of loving me! Spare her! ... or, if
+ye will not spare, slay her at once! ... now!--now, with swift
+compassionate sword, . . but cast her not alive into yon hideous
+serpent's den! ... not alive! ... ah no, no,--ye gods have pity!
+..."
+
+Here his voice broke and a sudden light passed over his agonized
+countenance. Gazing steadfastly at the girl, whose beautiful,
+white body now lay motionless on the cold stone, with a cloud of
+fair hair falling veil-like over it, his eyes seemed to strain
+themselves out of their sockets in the intensity of his eager
+regard, when all at once he gave vent to a wild peal of delirious
+laughter and exclaimed..
+
+"Dead.. dead! ... Thanks be to the merciless gods for this one
+gift of grace at the last! Dead.. dead! ... O the blessed favor
+and freedom of death! ... Sweetheart, they can torture thee no
+more.. no more! ... Ah, devils that ye are!" and his voice grown
+frantically loud, pierced the gloomy arches with terrible
+resonance, as he saw the red-garmented slaves vainly endeavoring
+to rouse, with ferocious blows and thrusts, new life in the fair,
+stiffening corpse before them.. "This time ye are baffled! ...
+Baffled!--and I live to see your vanquishment! Give her to me!"
+and he stretched out his trembling arms ... "Give her...she is
+dead--and ye cannot offer to Nagaya any lifeless thing! I will
+weave her a shroud of her own gold hair--I will bury her softly
+away in the darkness--I will sing to her as I used to sing in the
+silent summer evenings, when we fancied our secret of forbidden
+love unknown,--and with my lips on hers, I will pray.. pray for
+the pardon of passion grown stronger...than...life! ..."
+
+He ceased, and swaying forward, fell, . . a shiver ran through his
+limbs...one deep, gasping sigh...and all was over. The band of
+torturers gathered round the body, uttering fierce oaths and
+exclamations of dismay.
+
+"Both dead!" said one of the individuals in white.. "'Tis a most
+fatal augury!"
+
+"Fatal indeed!" said another, and turning to the men with the
+blood stained axes, he added angrily--"Ye were too swift and
+lavish of your weapons--ye should have let these criminals suffer
+slowly inch by inch, and yet have left them life enough wherewith
+to linger on in anguish many hours."
+
+The wretches thus addressed looked sullen and humiliated, and
+approaching the two corpses, would have brutally inflicted fresh
+wounds on them, had not the seeming chief of the party interfered.
+
+"Let be.. let be!" he said austerely--"Ye cannot cause the dead to
+feel, . . would that it were possible! Then might the glorious and
+god like thirst of vengeance in our great High Priestess be
+somewhat more appeased in this matter. For the unlawful communion
+of love between a vestal virgin and an anointed priest cannot be
+too utterly abhorred and condemned,--and these twain, who thus did
+foully violate their vows, have perished far too easily. The
+sanctity of the Temple has been outraged, . . Lysia will not be
+satisfied, . . and how shall we pacify her righteous wrath,
+concerning this too tranquil death of the undeserving and impure?"
+
+Drawing all together in a close group they held a whispered
+consultation, and finally, appearing to have come to some sort of
+decision, they took up the dead bodies one after another, and
+flung them carelessly into the dark aperture lately unclosed. As
+they did this, a stealthy, rustling sound was heard, as of some
+great creature moving to and fro in the far interior, but they
+soon locked and barred the iron portal once more, and then took
+their departure rather hurriedly, leaving the vault by the way
+Theos had entered it--namely, up the stone stairway that led into
+Lysia's palace-gardens. As the last echo of their retreating steps
+died away and the last glimmer of their lurid torches vanished,
+Theos sprang out from his hiding-place,--his venerable companion
+slowly followed.
+
+"Oh, God! Can such things be!" he cried loudly, reckless of all
+possible risk for himself as his voice rang penetratingly through
+the deep silence--"Were these brute-murderers actual men?--or but
+the wandering, grim shadows of some long past crime? ... Nay,--
+surely I do but dream!--and ghouls and demons born out of
+nightmare-sleep do vex my troubled spirit! Justice! ... justice
+for the innocent! ... Is there none in all Al-Kyris?"
+
+"None!" replied the old man who stood beside him, lamp in hand,
+fixing his dark, melancholy eyes upon him as he spoke--"None! ...
+neither in Al-Kyris nor in any other great city on the peopled
+earth! Justice? ... I who am named Zuriel the Mystic, because of
+my tireless searching into things that are hidden from the
+unstudious and unthinking,--I know that Justice is an idle name,--
+an empty braggart-word forever on the mouths of kings and judges,
+but never in their hearts! Moreover,--what is guilt? ... What is
+innocence? Both must be defined according to the law of the realm
+wherein we dwell,--and from that law there can be no appeal. These
+men we lately saw were the chief priests and executioners of the
+Sacred Temple,--they have done no wrong--they have simply
+fulfilled their duty. The culprits slain deserved their fate,--
+they loved where loving was forbidden,--torture and death was the
+strictly ordained punishment, and herein was justice,--justice as
+portioned out by the Penal Code of the High Court of Council."
+
+Theos heard, and gave an expressive gesture of loathing and
+contempt.
+
+"O narrow jurisdiction! ... O short-sighted, false equity!" he
+exclaimed passionately. "Are there different laws for high and
+low? ... Must the weak and defenceless be condemned to death for
+the self-same sin committed openly by their more powerful brethren
+who yet escape scot-free? What of the High Priestess then? ... If
+these poor lover-victims merited their doom, why is not Lysia
+slain? ... Is not SHE a willingly violated vestal? ... doth SHE
+not count her lovers by the score? ... are not her vows long since
+broken? ... is not her life a life of wanton luxury and open
+shame? ... Why doth the Law, beholding these things, remain in her
+case dumb and ineffectual?"
+
+"Hush, hush, my son!" said the aged Zuriel anxiously--"These stone
+walls hear thee far too loudly,--who knows but they may echo forth
+thy words to unsuspected listeners! Peace--peace! ... Lysia is as
+much Queen, as Zephoranim is King of Al-Kyris; and surely thou
+knowest that the sins of tyrants are accounted virtues, so long as
+they retain their ruling powers? The public voice pronounces Lysia
+chaste, and Zephoranim faithful; who then shall dare to disprove
+the verdict?--'Tis the same in all countries, near and far,--the
+law serves the strong, while professing to defend the weak. The
+rich man gains his cause,--the beggar loses it,--how can it be
+otherwise, while lust of gold prevails? Gold is the moving-force
+of this our era,--without it kings and ministers are impotent, and
+armies starve, . . with it, all things can be accomplished even to
+the concealment of the foulest crimes. Come, come! ..." and he
+laid one hand kindly on Theos's arm, "Thou hast a generous and
+fiery spirit, but thou shouldst never have been born into this
+planet if thou seekest such a thing as Justice! No man will ever
+deal true justice to his fellow man on earth, unless perhaps in
+ages to come, when the old creeds are swept away for a new, and a
+grander, wider, purer form of faith is accepted by the people. For
+religion in Al-Kyris to-day is a hollow mockery,--a sham, kept up
+partly from fear,--partly from motives of policy,--but every
+thinker is an atheist at heart, . . our splendid civilization is
+tottering towards its fall, . . and should the fore-doomed
+destruction of this city come to pass, vast ages of progress,
+discovery, and invention will be swept away as though they had
+never been!"
+
+He paused and sighed,--then continued sorrowfully--"There is,
+there must be something wrong in the mechanism of life,--some
+little hitch that stops the even wheels,--some curious perpetual
+mischance that crosses us at every turn,--but I doubt not all is
+for the best, and will prove most truly so hereafter!"
+
+"Hereafter!" echoes Theos bitterly ... "Thinkest thou that even
+God, repenting of the evil He hath done, will ever be able to
+compensate us by any future bliss, for all the needless anguish of
+the Present?"
+
+Zuriel looked at him with a strange, almost spectral expression of
+mingled pity, fear, and misgiving, but he offered no reply to this
+home-thrust of a question. In grave silence and with slow,
+majestic tread he began to lead the way along through the dismal
+labyrinth of black, winding arches, holding his blue lamp aloft as
+he went, the better to lighten the dense gloom.
+
+Theos followed him, silent also, and wrapped in stern, and
+mournful musings of his own, . . musings through which faint threads
+of pale recollection connected with his past glimmered hazily from
+time to time, perplexing rather than enlightening his bewildered
+brain.
+
+Presently he found himself in a low, narrow vestibule illumined by
+the bright yet soft radiance of a suspended Star,--and here,
+coming close up with his guide and observing his dress and manner
+more attentively, he suddenly perceived a shining SOMETHING which
+the old man wore hanging from his neck and which flashed against
+the sable hue of his garment like a wandering moonbeam.
+
+Stopping abruptly, he examined this ornament with straining,
+wistful gaze, . . and slowly, very slowly, recognized its fashion of
+construction,--it was a plain silver Cross--nothing more. Yet at
+sight of the sacred, strange, yet familiar Symbol, a chord seemed
+to snap in his brain,--tears rushed to his tired eyes, and with a
+sharp cry he fell on his knees, grasping his companion's robe
+wildly, as a drowning man grasps at a floating spar,--while the
+venerable Zuriel, startled at his action, stared down upon him in
+evident amazement and terror.
+
+"Rescue! ... rescue!" he cried, ... "O thou blessed among men!--
+thou dost wear the Sign of Eternal Safety! ... the Sign of the
+Way, the Truth, and the Life! ... 'without the Way, there is no
+going, without the Truth there is no knowing, without the Life
+there is no living'! Now do I know thee for a saint in Al-Kyris,--
+for thou dost openly avow thyself a follower of the Divine Faith
+that fools despise, and selfish souls repudiate, . . ah, I do
+beseech thee, thou good and holy man, absolve me of my sin of
+Unbelief! Teach me! ... help me! ... and I will hear thy counsels
+with the meekness of a listening child! ..See you, I kneel! ... I
+pray! ... I, even I, am humiliated to the very dust of shame! I
+have no pride, . . I seek no glory, ... I do entreat, even as I once
+rejected the blessing of the Cross, whereby I shall regain my lost
+love,--my despised pardon,--my vanished peace!"
+
+And, with pathetic earnestness, he raised his hands toward the
+silver emblem, and touched it tenderly, reverently, ... then as
+though unworthy, he bent his head low, and waited eagerly for a
+Name, . . a Name that he himself could not remember, . . a Name
+suggested by the Cross, but not declared. If that Name were once
+spoken in the form of a benediction, he felt instinctively that he
+would straightway be released from the mysterious spell of misery
+that bound his intelligence in such a grievous thrall. But not a
+word of consolation did his companion utter, . . on the contrary, he
+seemed agitated by the strangest surprise and alarm.
+
+"Now may all the gods in Heaven defend thee, thou unhappy,
+desperate, distracted soul!" he said in trembling, affrighted
+accents. "Thou dost implore the blessing of a Faith unknown! ... a
+Mystery predicted but not yet fulfilled...a Creed that shall not
+be declared to men for full FIVE THOUSAND YEARS!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE CRIMSON RIVER.
+
+
+At these unexpected words Theos sprang wildly to his feet. An
+awful darkness seemed to close in upon him,--and a chaotic
+confusion of memories began to whirl and drift through his mind
+like flotsam and jetsam tossed upon a storm-swept sea. The aged
+and shadowy-looking Zuriel stood motionless, watching him with
+something of timid pity and mild patience.
+
+"FIVE THOUSAND YEARS!" he muttered hoarsely, pressing his hands
+into his aching brows, while his eyes again fixed themselves
+yearningly on the Cross.. "Five thousand years before. ... before
+WHAT?"
+
+He caught the old man's arm, and in spite of himself, a laugh,
+wild, discordant, and out of all keeping with his inward emotions,
+broke from his parched lips,--"Thou doting fool!" he cried almost
+furiously,--"Why dost thou mock me then with this false image of a
+hope unrealized? ... Who gave thee leave to add more fuel to my
+flame of torment? ... What means this symbol to thine eyes?
+Speak.. speak! What admonition does it hold for thee? ... what
+promise? ... what menace? ... what warning? ... what love? ...
+Speak.. speak! O, shall I force confession from thy throat, or
+must I die unsatisfied and slain by speechless longing! What didst
+thou say? ... FIVE THOUSAND YEARS? ... Nay, by the gods, thou
+liest!"--and he pointed excitedly to the sacred Emblem,--"I tell
+thee that Holy Sign is as familiar to my suffering soul as the
+chiming of bells at sunset! ... as well known to my sight as the
+unfolding of flowers in the fields of spring! ... What shall be
+done or said of it, in. five thousand years, that has not already
+been said and done?"
+
+Zuriel regarded him more compassionately than ever, with a
+penetrating, mournful expression in his serious dark eyes.
+
+"Alas, alas, my son! thou art most grievously distraught!" he said
+in troubled tones. "Thy words but prove the dark disorder of thy
+wits,--may Heaven soon heal thee of thy mental wound! Restrain thy
+wild and wandering fancies? ... for surely thou canst not be
+familiar, as thou sayest with this silver Symbol, seeing that it
+is but the Talisman [Footnote: The Cross was held in singular
+veneration in the Temple of Serapis, and by many tribes in the
+East, ages before the coming of Christ] or Badge of the Mystic
+Brethren of Al-Kyris, and has no signification whatsoever save for
+the Elect. It was designed some twenty years ago by the inspired
+Chief of our Order, Khosrul, and such as are still his faithful
+disciples wear it as a record and constant reminder of his famous
+Prophecy."
+
+Theos heard, and a dull apathy stole over him,--his recent
+excitement died out under a chilling weight of vague yet bitter
+disappointment.
+
+"And this Prophecy?" he asked listlessly.. "What is its nature and
+whom doth it concern?"
+
+"Nay, in very truth it is a strange and marvellous thing!" replied
+Zuriel, his calm voice thrilling with a mellow touch of fervor..
+"Khosrul, 'tis said, has heard the angels whispering in Heaven,
+and his attentive ears have caught the echo of their distant
+speech.
+
+"Thus spiritually instructed, he doth powerfully predict Salvation
+for the human race,--and doth announce, that in five thousand
+years or more, a God shall be moved by wondrous mercy to descend
+from Heaven, and take the form of Man, wherein, unknown, despised,
+rejected, he will live our life from commencement to finish,
+teaching, praying, and sanctifying by His Divine Presence the
+whole sin-burdened Earth. This done, He will consent to suffer a
+most cruel death, . . and the manner of His death will be that He
+shall hang, nailed hands and feet to a Cross, as though He were a
+common criminal, . . His holy brows shall be bound about with
+thorns,--and after hours of agony He, innocent of every sin, shall
+perish miserably--friendless, unpitied, and alone. But afterward,
+... and mark you! this is the chiefest glory of all! ... He will
+rise again triumphant from the grave to prove his God-head, and to
+convince Mankind beyond all doubt an question, that there is
+indeed an immortal Hereafter,--an actual, free Eternity of Life,
+compared with which this our transient existence is a mere brief
+breathing-space of pause and probation, . . and then for evermore
+His sacred Name shall dominate and civilize the world..."
+
+"What Name?".. interrupted Theos, with eager abruptness ... "Canst
+thou pronounce it?"
+
+Zuriel shook his head.
+
+"Not I, my son"--he answered gravely.. "Not even Khosrul can
+penetrate thus far! The Name of Him who is to come, is hidden deep
+among God's unfathomed silences! It should suffice thee that thou
+knowest now the sum and substance of the Prophecy. Would I might
+live to see the days when all shall be fulfilled! ... but alas, my
+remaining years are few upon the earth, and Heaven's time is not
+ours!"
+
+He sighed,--and resumed his slow pacing onwards,--Theos walked
+beside him as a man may walk in sleep, uncertainly and with
+unseeing eyes, his heart beating loudly, and a sick sense of
+suffocation in his throat. What did it all mean? ... Had his life
+gone back in some strange way? ... or had he merely DREAMED of a
+former existence different to this one? He remembered now what
+Sah-luma had told him respecting Khosrul's "new" theory of a
+future religion,--a theory that to him had seemed so old, so old!
+--so utterly exhausted and worn threadbare! In what a cruel problem
+was he hopelessly involved!--what a useless, perplexed, confused
+being he had become! ... he who would once to have staked his life
+on the unflinching strength and capabilities of human reason!
+After a pause, . .
+
+"Forgive me!" he said in a low tone, and speaking with some
+effort.. "forgive me and have patience with my laggard
+comprehension, . . I am perplexed at heart and slow of thought; wilt
+thou assure me faithfully, that this God-Man thou speakest of is
+not yet born on earth?"
+
+The faintest shadow of a wondering smile flickered over the old
+man's wrinkled countenance, like the reflection of a passing
+taper-flame on a faded picture.
+
+"My son, my son!" he murmured with compassionate tolerance--"Have
+I not told thee that five thousand years and more must pass away
+ere the prediction be accomplished? ... I marvel that so plain a
+truth should thus disquiet thee! Now, by my soul, thou lookest
+pallid as the dead! ... Come, let us hasten on more rapidly,--thy
+fainting spirits will revive in fresher air."
+
+He hurried his pace as he spoke, and glided along with such a
+curious, stealthy noiselessness that by and by Theos began
+dubiously to wonder whether after all he were a real personage or
+a phantom? He noticed that his own figure seemed to possess much
+more substantiality and distinctness of outline than that of this
+mysterious Zuriel, whose very garments resembled floating cloud
+rather than actual, woven fabric. Was his companion then a fitting
+Spectre? ...
+
+He smiled at the absurdity of the idea, and to change the drift of
+his own foolish fancies he asked suddenly,--"Concerning this
+wondrous city of Al-Kyris...is it of very ancient days, and long
+lineage?"
+
+"The annals of its recorded history reach over a period of twelve
+thousand years"--replied Zuriel, . . "But 'tis the present fashion
+to count from the Deification of Nagaya or the Snake,--and,
+according to this, we are now in the nine hundred and eighty-ninth
+year of so-called Grace and Knowledge,--rather say Dishonor and
+Crime! ... for a crueler, more bloodthirsty creed than the worship
+of Nagaya never debased a people! Who shall number up the innocent
+victims that have been sacrificed in the great Temple of the
+Sacred Python!--and even on this very day which has just dawned,
+another holocaust is to be offered on the Veiled Shrine,--or so it
+hath been publicly proclaimed throughout the city,--and the crowd
+will flock to see a virgin's blood spilt on the accursed altars
+where Lysia, in all the potency of triumphant wickedness,
+presides. But if the auguries of the stars prevail, 'twill be for
+the last time!" Here he paused and looked fixedly at Theos. "Thou
+dost return straightway to Sah-luma ... is it not so?"
+
+Theos bent his head in assent.
+
+"Art thou true friend, or mere flatterer to that spoilt child of
+fair fame and fortune?"
+
+"Friend!"--cried Theos with eager enthusiasm, ... "I would give my
+life to save his!"
+
+"Aye, verily? ... is it so?" ... and Zuriel's melancholy eyes
+dwelt upon him with a strange and sombre wistfulness, ... "Then,
+as thou art a man, persuade him out of evil into good! ...
+rouse him to noble shame and nobler penitence for all those faults
+which mar his poet-genus and deprive it of immortal worth! ...
+urge him to depart from Al-Kyris while there is yet time ere the
+bolt of destruction falls! ... and, ... mark you well this final
+warning! ... bid him to-day avoid the Temple, and beware the
+King!"--
+
+As he said this he stopped and extinguished the lamp he carried.
+There was no longer any need of it, for a broad patch of gray
+light fell through an aperture in the wall, showing a few rough,
+broken steps that led upwards,--and pointing to these he bade the
+bewildered Theos a kindly farewell.
+
+"Thou wilt find Sah-luma's palace easily,"--he said--"Not a child
+in the streets but knows the way thither. Guard thy friend and be
+thyself also on guard against coming disaster,--and if thou art
+not yet resolved to die, escape from the city ere to-night's sun-
+setting. Soothe thy distempered fancies with thoughts of God, and
+cease not to pray for thy soul's salvation! Peace be with thee!"--
+
+He raised his hands with an expressive gesture of benediction, and
+turning round abruptly disappeared. Where had he gone? ... how had
+he vanished? ... It was impossible to tell! ... he seemed to have
+melted away like a mist into utter nothingness! Profoundly
+perplexed, Theos ascended the steps before him, his mind anxiously
+revolving all the strange adventures of the night, while a dim
+sense of some unspeakable, coming calamity brooded darkly upon
+him.
+
+The solemn admonitions he had just heard affected him deeply, for
+the reason that they appeared to apply so specially to Sah-luma,--
+and the idea that any evil fate was in store for the bright,
+beautiful creature, whom he had, oddly enough, learned to love
+more than himself, moved him to an almost womanish apprehension.
+In case of pressing necessity, could he exercise any authority
+over the capricious movements of the wilful Laureate, whose
+egotism was so absolute, whose imperious ways were so charming,
+whose commands were never questioned?
+
+He doubted it! ... for Sah-luma was accustomed to follow the lead
+of his own immediate pleasure, in reckless scorn of consequences,
+--and it was not likely he would listen to the persuasions or
+exhortations, however friendly, of any one presuming to run
+counter to his wishes.
+
+Again and again Theos asked himself--"If Sah-luma of his own
+accord, and despite all warning, deliberately rushed into deadly
+peril, could I, even loving him as I do, rescue him?"--And as he
+pondered on this, a strange answer shaped itself unbidden in his
+brain--an answer that seemed as though it were spoken aloud by
+some interior voice.. "No,--no!--ten thousand times no! You could
+not save him any more than you could save yourself from the
+results of your own misdoing! If you voluntarily choose evil, not
+all the forces in the world can lift you into good,--if you
+voluntarily choose danger, not all the gods can bring you into
+safety! FREE WILL is the divine condition attached to human life,
+and each man by thought, word, and deed, determines his own fate,
+and decides his own future!"
+
+He sighed despondingly, ... a curious, vague contrition stirred
+within him, ... he felt as though HE were in some mysterious way
+to blame for all his poet-friend's short-comings!
+
+In a few minutes he found himself on the broad marble embankment,
+close to the very spot from whence he had first beheld the
+beautiful High Priestess sailing slowly by in all her golden pomp
+and splendor, and as he thought of her now, a shudder, half of
+aversion, half of desire, quivered through him, flushing his brows
+with the warm uprising blood that yet burned rebelliously at the
+remembrance of her witching, perfect loveliness!
+
+Here too he had met Sah-luma, . . ah Heaven!--how many things had
+happened since then! ... how much he had seen and heard! ...
+Enough, at any rate, to convince him, that the men and women of
+Al-Kyris were more or less the same as those of other great cities
+he seemed to have known in far-off, half-forgotten days,--that
+they plotted against each other, deceived each other, accused each
+other falsely, murdered each other, and were fools, traitors, and
+egotists generally, after the customary fashion of human pigmies,
+--that they set up a Sham to serve as Religion, Gold being their
+only god,--that the rich wantoned in splendid luxury, and wilfully
+neglected the poor,--that the King was a showy profligate, ruled
+by a treacherous courtesan, just like many other famous Kings and
+Princes, who, because of their stalwart, martial bearing, and a
+certain surface good-nature, manage to conceal their vices from
+the too lenient eyes of the subjects they mislead,--and that
+finally all things were evidently tending toward some great
+convulsion and upheaval possibly arising from discontent and
+dissension among the citizens themselves,--or, likelier still,
+from the sudden invasion of a foreign foe,--for any more terrific
+termination of events did not just then suggest itself to his
+imagination.
+
+Absorbed in thought, he walked some paces along the embankment,
+before he perceived that a number of people were already assembled
+there,--men, women, and children, who, crowding eagerly together
+to the very edge of the parapet, appeared to be anxiously watching
+the waters below.
+
+What unusual sight attracted them? ... and why were they all so
+silent as though struck dumb by some unutterable dismay? One or
+two, raising their heads, turned their pale, alarmed faces toward
+Theos as he approached, their eyes seeming to mutely inquire his
+opinion, concerning the alarming phenomenon which held them thus
+spellbound and fear-stricken.
+
+He made his way quickly to where they stood, and looking where
+they looked, uttered a sharp, involuntary exclamation, ... the
+river, the clear, rippling river was RED AS BLOOD. Beneath the
+slowly breaking light of dawn, that streaked the heavens with
+delicate lines of silver-gray and daffodil, the whole visible
+length and breadth of the heaving waters shone with a darkly
+flickering crimson hue, deeper than the lustre of the deepest
+ruby, flowing sluggishly the while as though clogged with some
+thick and weedy slime.
+
+As the sky brightened gradually into a pale, ethereal blue, so the
+tide became ruddier and more pronounced in color,--and presently,
+as though seized by a resistless panic, the group of staring,
+terrified bystanders broke up suddenly, and rushed away in various
+directions, covering their faces as they fled and uttering loud
+cries of lamentation and despair.
+
+Theos alone remained behind, . . resting his folded arms on the
+sculptured balustrade, he gazed down, down into those crimson
+depths till their strange tint dazzled and confused his sight,--
+looking up for relief to the eastern horizon where the sun was
+just bursting out in full splendor from a pavilion of violet
+cloud, the red reflection was still before his eyes, so much so,
+that the very air seemed flushed with spreading fire.
+
+And then like the sound of a tocsin ringing in his ears, the words
+of the Prophet Khosrul, as pronounced in the presence of the King,
+recurred to his memory with new and suggestive force. "BLOOD--
+BLOOD! 'TIS A SCARLET SEA WHEREIN LIKE A BROKEN AND EMPTY SHIP AL-
+KYRIS FOUNDERS,--FOUNDERS NEVER TO RISE AGAIN!"
+
+Still painfully oppressed by an increasing sense of some swift-
+approaching disaster, his thoughts once more reverted anxiously to
+Sah-luma. He must be warned,--yes!--even if he disdained all
+warning! Yet, . . warn him against what? "BID HIM AVOID THE TEMPLE
+AND BEWARE THE KING!"
+
+So had said Zuriel the Mystic,--but to the laurelled favorite of
+the monarch, and idol of the people, such an admonition would seem
+more than absurd! It was useless to talk to him about the
+prophecies of Khosrul,--he had heard them all, and laughed them to
+scorn.
+
+"How can I"--then mused Theos disconsolately,--"How can I make him
+believe that some undeclared evil threatens him, when he is at the
+very pinnacle of fame and fortune with all Al-Kyris at his feet?
+... He would never listen to me, ... nor would any persuasions of
+mine induce him to leave the city where his name is so glorious
+and his renown so firmly established. Of Lysia's treachery I may
+perhaps convince him, ... yet even in this attempt I may fail, and
+incur his hatred for my pains! If I had only myself to consider!
+... "--And here his reflections suddenly took a strange, unbidden
+turn. If he had only himself to consider! ... well, what then! Was
+it not just within the bounds of probability that, under the same
+circumstances, he might be precisely as self-willed and as
+haughtily opinionated as the friend whose arrogance he deplored,
+yet could not alter?
+
+So pointed a suggestion was not exactly suited to his immediate
+humor, and he felt curiously vexed with himself for indulging in
+such a foolish association of ideas! The positions were entirely
+different, he argued, angrily addressing the troublesome inward
+monitor that every now and then tormented him,--there was no
+resemblance whatever between himself, the unknown, unfamed
+wanderer in a strange land, and the brilliant Sah-luma, chosen
+Poet Laureate of the realm!
+
+No resemblance, . . none at all! ... he reiterated over and over
+again in his own mind, . . except ... except, ... well! ... except
+in perhaps a few trifling touches of character and temper that
+were scarcely worth the noting! At this juncture, his
+uncomfortable reverie was interrupted by the sound of a harsh,
+metallic voice close behind him.
+
+"What fools there are in the world!" said the voice in emphatic
+accents of supreme contempt--"What braying asses!--What earth-
+snouting swine! Saw you not yon crowd of whimpering idiots flying
+helter-skelter like chaff before the wind, weeping, wailing, and
+bemoaning their miserable little sins, scattering dust on their
+addled pates, and howling on their gods for mercy,--all forsooth!
+because for once in their unobserving lives they behold the river
+red instead of green! Ay me! 'tis a thing to laugh at, this crass,
+and brutish ignorance of the multitude,--no teaching will ever
+cleanse their minds from the cobwebs of vulgar superstition,--and
+I, in common with every wise and worthy sage of sound repute and
+knowledge, must needs waste all my scientific labors on a
+perpetually ungrateful public!"
+
+Turning hastily round Theos confronted the speaker,--a tall, spare
+man with a pale, clean-shaven, intellectual face, small, shrewd,
+speculative eyes, and very straight, neatly parted locks,--a man
+on whose every lineament was expressed a profound belief in
+himself, and an equally profound scorn for the opinions of any one
+who might possibly presume to disagree with him. He smiled
+condescendingly as he met Theos's half-surprised, half-inquiring
+look, and saluted him with a gravely pompous air, which however,
+was not without a saving touch of that indescribable, easy grace
+which seemed to distinguish the manners of all the inhabitants of
+Al-Kyris. Theos returned the salutation with equal gravity,
+whereupon the new-comer waving his hand majestically, continued:
+
+"You sir, I see, are young, . . and probably you are enrolled among
+the advanced students of one or other of our great collegiate
+institutions,--therefore the peculiar, though not at all unnatural
+tint of the river this morning, is of course no mystery to you,
+if, as I presume, you follow the Scientific Classes of Instruction
+in the Physiology of Nature, of Manifestation of Simple and
+Complex Motive Force, and the Perpetual Evolution of Atoms?"
+
+Theos smiled,--the grandiloquent manner of this self-important
+individual amused him.
+
+"Most worthy sir," he replied, "you form too favorable an opinion
+of my scholarly attainments! I am a stranger in Al-Kyris,--and
+know naught of its educational system, or the interior mechanism
+of its wondrous civilization! I come from far-off lands, where, if
+I remember rightly, much is taught and but little retained,--where
+petty pedagogues persist in dragging new generations of men
+through old and worn-out ruts of knowledge that future ages shall
+never have need of, . . and concerning even the progress of science,
+I confess to a certain incredulity, seeing that to my mind Science
+somewhat resembles a straight line drawn clear across country but
+leading, alas! to an ocean wherein all landmarks are lost and
+swallowed up in blankness. Over and over again the human race has
+trodden the same pathway of research,--over and over again has it
+stood bewildered and baffled on the shores of the same vast sea,--
+the most marvellous discoveries are after all mere child's play
+compared to the tremendous secrets that must remain forever
+unrevealed; and the poor and trifling comprehension of things that
+we, after a life-time of study, succeed in attaining, is only just
+sufficient to add to our already burdened existence the
+undesirable clogs of discontent and disappointed endeavor. We
+die,--in almost as much ignorance as we were born, . . and when we
+come face to face with the Last Dark Mystery, what shall our
+little wisdom profit us?"
+
+With his arms folded in an attitude of enforced patience and
+complacent superiority, the other listened.
+
+"Curious, . . curious!" he murmured in a mild sotto-voce,--"A would-
+be pessimist!--aye, aye,--'tis very greatly the fashion for young
+men in these days to assume the manner of elderly and exhausted
+cynics who have tried everything and approve of nothing! 'Tis a
+strange craze!--but, my good sir, let us keep to the subject at
+present under discussion. Like all unripe philosophers, you wander
+from the point. I did not ask you for your opinion concerning the
+uselessness or the efficiency of learning,--I merely sought to
+discover whether you, like the silly throng that lately scattered
+right and left of you, had any foolish forebodings respecting the
+transformed color of this river,--a color which, however seeming
+peculiar, arises, as all good scholars know, from causes that are
+perfectly simple and easily explainable."
+
+Theos hesitated,--his eyes wandered involuntarily to the flowing
+tide, which now with the fully risen sun seemed more than ever
+brilliant and lurid in its sanguinary hue.
+
+"Strange things have been said of late concerning Al-Kyris,--" he
+answered at last, slowly and after a thoughtful pause,--"Things
+that, though wild and vague, are not without certain dark presages
+and ominous suggestions. This crimson flood may be, as you say,
+the natural effect of purely natural causes,--yet, notwithstanding
+this, it seems to me a singular phenomenon--nay, even a weird and
+almost fatal augury?"
+
+His companion laughed--a gentle, careless laugh of amused disdain.
+
+"Phenomenon! ... augury! ..." he exclaimed shrugging his
+shoulders lightly ... "These words, my young friend, are terms
+that nowadays belong exclusively to the vocabulary of the
+uneducated masses; we,--and by WE, I mean scientists, and men of
+the highest culture,--have long ago rejected them as unmeaning and
+therefore unnecessary. Phenomenon is a particularly vile
+expression, serving merely to designate anything wonderful and
+uncommon,--whereas to the scientific eye, there is nothing left in
+the world that ought to excite so vulgar and barbarous an emotion
+as wonder, . . nothing so apparently rare that cannot be reduced at
+once from the ignorant exaggerations of enthusiasm to the sensible
+level of the commonplace? The so-called 'marvels' of nature have,
+thanks to the advancement of practical education, entirely ceased
+to affect by either surprise or admiration the carefully matured,
+mathematically adjusted, and technically balanced brain of the
+finished student or professor of Organic Evolution,--and as for
+the idea of 'auguries' or portents, nothing could well be more
+entirely at variance with our present system of progressive
+learning, whereby Human Reason is trained and taught to pulverize
+into indistinguishable atoms all supernatural propositions, and to
+gradually eradicate from the mind the absurd notion of a Deity or
+deities, whom it is necessary to propitiate in order to live well.
+Much time is of course required to elevate the multitude above all
+desire for a Religion,--but the seed has been sown, and the
+harvest will be reaped, and a glorious Era is fast approaching,
+when the free-thinking, free-speaking people of all nations shall
+govern themselves and rejoice in the grand and God-less Light of
+Universal Liberty?"
+
+Somewhat heated by the fervor of his declamatory utterance, he
+passed his hand among his straight locks, whether to cool his
+forehead, or to show off the numerous jewelled rings on his
+fingers, it was difficult to say, and continued more calmly:
+
+"No, young sir!--the color of this river,--a color which, I
+willingly admit, resembles the tint of flowing human blood,--has
+naught to do with foolish omens and forecasts of evil,--'tis
+simply caused by the influx of some foreign alluvial matter,
+probably washed down by storm from, the sides of the distant
+mountains whence these waters have their rising,--see you not how
+the tide is thick and heavy with an unfloatable cargo of red sand?
+Some sudden disturbance of the soil,--or a volcanic movement
+underneath the ocean,--or even a distant earthquake, . . any of
+these may be the reason."...
+
+"May be?--why not say MUST be," observed Theos half ironically,
+"since learning makes you sure!"
+
+His companion pressed the tips of his fingers delicately together,
+as though blandly deprecating this observation.
+
+"Nay, nay!--none of us, however wise, can say 'MUST BE'"--he
+argued suavely--"It is not,--strictly speaking,--possible in this
+world to pronounce an incontestable certainty."
+
+"Not even that two and two are four?" suggested Theos, smiling.
+
+"Not even that!"...replied the other with perfect gravity--
+"Inasmuch as in the kingdom of Hypharus, whose borders touch ours,
+the inhabitants, also highly civilized, do count their quantities
+by a totally different method; and to them two and two are NOT
+four, the numbers two and four not being included in their system
+of figures. Thus,--a Professor from the Colleges of Hypharus could
+obstinately deny what to us seems the plainest fact known to
+common-sense,--yet, were I to argue against him I should never
+persuade him out of his theory,--nor could he move me one jot from
+mine. And viewed from our differing standpoints, therefore, the
+first simple multiplication of numbers could never be proved
+correct beyond all question!"
+
+Theos glanced at him in wonder,--the man must be mad, he thought,
+since surely any one in his senses could see that two objects
+placed with other two must necessarily make four!
+
+"I confess you surprise me greatly, sir!"--he said, and, in spite
+of himself, a little quiver of laughter shook his voice.. "What I
+asked was by way of jest,--and I never thought to hear so simple a
+subject treated with so much profound and almost doubting
+seriousness! See!"--and he picked up four small stones from the
+roadway--"Count these one by one, . . how many have you? Surely even
+a professor from Hypharus could find no more, and no less than
+four?"
+
+Very deliberately, and with unruffled equanimity, the other took
+the pebbles in his hand, turned them over and over, and finally
+placed them in a row on the edge of the balustrade near which he
+stood.
+
+"There SEEM to be four, . ." he then observed placidly--"But I
+would not swear to it,--nor to anything else of which the
+actuality is only supported by the testimony of my own eyes and
+sense of touch."
+
+"Good heavens, man!" cried Theos, in amazement,--"But a moment
+since, you were praising the excellence of Reason, and the
+progressive system of learning that was to educate human beings
+into a contempt for the Supernatural and Spiritual, and yet almost
+in the same breath you tell me you cannot rely on the evidence of
+your own senses! Was there ever anything more utterly incoherent
+and irrational!"
+
+And he flung the pebbles into the redly flowing river with a
+gesture of irritation and impatience. The scientist,--if scientist
+he could be called,--gazed at him abstractedly, and stroked his
+well-shaven chin with a somewhat dejected air. Presently heaving a
+deep sigh, he said:
+
+"Alas, I have again betrayed myself! ... 'tis my fatal destiny!
+Always, by some unlooked-for mischance, I am compelled to avow
+what most I desire to conceal! Can you not understand, sir,"--and
+he laid his hand persuasively on Theos's arm,--"that a Theory may
+be one thing and one's own private opinion another? My Theory is
+my profession,--I live by it! Suppose I resigned it,--well, then I
+should also have to resign my present position in the Royal
+Institutional College,--my house, my servants, and my income. I
+advance the interests of pure Human Reason, because the Age has a
+tendency to place Reason as the first and highest attribute of
+Man,--and it would not pay me to pronounce my personal preference
+for the natural and vastly superior gift of Intellectual Instinct.
+I advise my scholars to become atheists, because I perceive they
+have a positive passion for Atheism, and it is not my business,
+nor would it be to my advantage to interfere with the declared
+predilections of my wealthiest patrons. Concerning my own ideas on
+these matters, they are absolutely NIL, ... I have no fixed
+principles,--because"--and his brows contracted in a puzzled line
+--"it is entirely out of my ability to fix anything! The whole
+world of manners and morals is in a state of perpetual ferment and
+consequent change,--equally restless and mutable is the world of
+Nature, for at any moment mountains may become plains, and plains
+mountains,--the dry land may be converted into oceans, and oceans
+into dry land, and so on forever. In this incessant shifting of
+the various particles that make up the Universe, how can you
+expect a man to hold fast to so unstable a thing as an idea! And,
+respecting the testimony offered by sight and sense, can YOU rely
+upon such slippery evidence?"
+
+Theos moved uneasily,--a slight shiver ran through his veins, and
+a momentary dizziness seized him, as of one who gazing down from
+some lofty mountain-peak sees naught below but the white,
+deceptive blankness of a mist that veils the deeper deathful
+chasms from his eyes. COULD he rely on sight and sense...DARED he
+take oath that these frail guides of his intelligence could never
+be deceived? ... Doubtfully he mused on this, while his companion
+continued:
+
+"For example, I look an arm's length into space, . . my eyes assure
+me that I behold nothing save empty air,--my touch corroborates
+the assertion of my eyes,--and yet, . . Science proves to me that
+every inch of that arm's length of supposed blank space is filled
+with thousands of minute living organisms that no human vision
+shall ever be able to note or examine! Wonder not, therefore, that
+I decline to express absolute confidence in any fact, however
+seemingly obvious, such as that two and two are four, and that I
+prefer to say the blood-red color of this river MAY be caused by
+an earth-tremor or a land-slip, rather than positively assert that
+it MUST be so; though I confess that, as far as my knowledge
+guides me, I incline to the belief that 'MUST be' is in this
+instance the correct term."
+
+He sighed again, and rubbed his nose perplexedly. Theos glanced at
+him curiously, uncertain whether to laugh at or pity him.
+
+"Then the upshot of all your learning, sir, . ." he said, . . "is
+that one can never be quite certain of anything?"
+
+"Exactly so!"--replied the pensive sage with a grave shake of his
+head,--"Judged by the very finest lines of metaphysical argument,
+you cannot really be sure whether you behold in me a Person or a
+Phantasm! You THINK you see me,--I THINK I see you,--but after all
+it is only an IMPRESSION mutually shared,--an impression which
+like many another, less distinct, may be entirely erroneous! Ah,
+my dear young sir!--education is advancing at a very rapid rate,
+and the art of close analysis is reaching such a pitch of
+perfection that I believe we shall soon be able logically to
+prove, not only that we do not actually exist, but moreover that
+we never have existed! ... And herein, as I consider, will be the
+final triumph of philosophy!"
+
+"A poor triumph!"--murmured Theos wearily. "What, in such a case,
+would become of all the nobler sentiments and passions of man,--
+love, hope, gratitude, duty, ambition?"
+
+"They would be precisely the same as before"--rejoined the other
+complacently--"Only we should have learned to accept them merely
+as the means whereby to sustain the IMPRESSION that we live,--an
+impression which would always be agreeable, however delusive!"
+
+Theos shrugged his shoulders. "You possess a peculiarly
+constituted mind, sir!"--he said--"And I congratulate you on the
+skill you display in following out a somewhat puzzling
+investigation to almost its last hand's-breadth of a conclusion,--
+but.. pardon me,--I should scarcely think the discussion of such
+debatable theories conducive to happiness!"
+
+"Happiness!".. and the scientist smiled scornfully,--"'Tis a
+fool's term, and designates a state of being that can only pertain
+to foolishness! Show me a perfectly happy man, and I will show you
+an ignorant witling, light-headed, hardhearted, and of a most
+powerfully good digestion! Many such there be now wantoning among
+us, and the head and chief of them all is perhaps the most popular
+numskull in Al-Kyris, . . the Poet,--bah! ... let us say the braying
+Jack-ass in office,--the laurelled Sah-luma!"
+
+Theos gave an indignant start,--the hot color flushed his brows, . .
+then he restrained himself by an effort.
+
+"Control the fashion of your speech, I pray you, sir!" he said,
+with excessive haughtiness--"The noble Laureate is my friend and
+host,--I suffer no man to use his name unworthily in my presence!"
+
+The sage drew back, and spread out his hands in a pacifying
+manner.
+
+'Oh, I crave your pardon, good stranger!"--he murmured, with a
+kind of apologetic satire in his acrid voice,--"I crave it most
+abjectly! Yet to somewhat excuse the hastiness of my words, I
+would explain that a contempt for poets and poetry is now
+universal among persons of profound enlightenment and practical
+knowledge..."
+
+"I am aware of it!" interrupted Theos swiftly and with passion--"I
+am aware that so-called 'wise' men, rooted in narrow prejudice,
+with a smattering of even narrower logic, presume, out of their
+immeasurable littleness, to decry and make mock of the truly
+great, who, thanks to God's unpurchasable gift of inspiration, can
+do without the study of books or the teaching of pedants,--who
+flare through the world flame-winged and full of song, like angels
+passing heavenward,--and whose voices, rich with music, not only
+sanctify the by-gone ages, but penetrate with echoing, undying
+sweetness the ages still to come! Contempt for poets!--Aye, 'tis
+common!--the petty, boastful pedagogues of surface learning ever
+look askance on these kings in exile, these emperors masked, these
+gods disguised! ... but humiliated, condemned, or rejected, they
+are still the supreme rulers of the human heart,--and a Love-Ode
+chanted in the Long-Ago by one such fire-lipped minstrel outlasts
+the history of many kingdoms!"
+
+He spoke with rapid, almost unconscious fervor, and as he ended
+raised one hand with an enthusiastic gesture toward the now
+brilliant sapphire sky and glowing sun. The scientist looked at
+him furtively and smiled,--a bland, expostulatory smile.
+
+"Oh, you are young!--you must be very young!" he said
+forbearingly.. "In a little time you will grow out of all this
+ill-judged fanaticism for an Art, the pursuance of which is really
+only wasted labor! Think of the absurdity of it!--what can be more
+foolish than the writing of verse to express or to encourage
+emotion in the human subject, when the great aim of education at
+the present day is to carefully eradicate emotion by degrees, till
+we succeed in completely suppressing it! An outburst of feeling is
+always vulgar,--the highest culture consists in being impassively
+equable of temperament, and absolutely indifferent to the attacks
+of either joy or sorrow. I should be inclined to ask you to
+consider this matter more seriously, and from the strictly common-
+sense point of view, did I not know that for you to undertake a
+course of useful meditation while you remain is Sah-luma's
+companionship would be impossible, . . quite impossible!
+Nevertheless our discourse has been so far interesting, that I
+shall be happy to meet you again and give you an opportunity for
+further converse should you desire it, . . ask for the Head
+Professor of Scientific Positivism, any day in the Strangers'
+Court of the Royal Institutional College, and I will at once
+receive you! My name is Mira-Khabur,--Professor Mira Khabur...at
+your service!"
+
+And laying one hand on his breast he bowed profoundly.
+
+"A Professor of Positivism who is himself never positive!"--
+observed Theos with a slight smile.
+
+"Ah pardon!" returned the other gravely--"On the contrary, I am
+always positive! ... of the UNpositiveness of Positivism!"
+
+And with this final vindication of his theories he made another
+stately obeisance and went his way. Theos looked after his tall,
+retreating figure half in sadness, half in scorn. This proudly
+incompetent, learned-ignorant Mira-Khabur was no uncommon
+character--surely there were many like him!
+
+Somewhere in the world,--somewhere in far lands of which the
+memory was now as indistinct as the outline of receding shores
+blurred by a falling mist, Theos seemed painfully to call to mind
+certain cold-blooded casuists he had known, who had attempted to
+explain away the mysteries of life and death by rule and line
+calculations, and who for no other reason than their
+mathematically argued denial of God's existence had gained for
+themselves a temporary, spurious celebrity. Yes! ... surely he had
+met such men, . . but WHERE? Realizing, with a sort of shock, that
+he was quite as much in the dark as ever with regard to any real
+cognizance of his former place of abode and the manner of life he
+must have led before he entered this bewildering city of Al-Kyris,
+he roused himself abruptly, and resolutely banishing the heavy
+thoughts that threatened to oppress his soul, he began without
+further delay to direct his steps towards Sah-luma's palace.
+
+He glanced once more at the river before leaving the embankment,--
+it was still blood red, and every now and then, between the
+sluggish ripples, multitudes of dead fish could be seen drifting
+along in shoals, and tangled in nets of slimy weed that at a
+little distance looked like the floating tresses of drowned women.
+
+It was an uncanny sight, and though it might certainly be as the
+wise Mira Khabur had stated, the purely natural effect of purely
+natural causes, still those natural causes were not as yet
+explained satisfactorily. An earthquake or land-slip would perhaps
+account sufficiently for everything,--but then an inquiring mind
+would desire to know WHERE the earthquake or land-slip occurred,--
+and also WHY these supposed far-off disturbances should thus
+curiously affect the river surrounding Al-Kyris? Answers to such
+questions as these were not forthcoming either from Professor
+Mira-Khabur or any other sagacious pundit,--and Theos was
+therefore still most illogically and unscientifically puzzled as
+well as superstitiously uneasy.
+
+Turning up a side street, he quickened his pace, in order to
+overtake a young vendor of wines whom he perceived sauntering
+along in front of him, balancing a flat tray, loaded with thin
+crystal flasks, on his head. How gloriously the sunshine quivered
+through those delicately tinted glass bottles, lighting up the
+glittering liquid contained within them!--why, they look more like
+soap-bubbles than anything else! ... and the boy who carried them
+moved with such a lazy, noiseless grace that he might have been
+taken for a dream-sylph rather than a human being!
+
+"Hola, my lad!" called Theos, running after him.. "Tell me,--is
+this the way to the palace of the King's Laureate?"
+
+The youth looked up,--what a beautiful creature he was, with his
+brilliant, dark eyes and dusky, warm complexion!
+
+"Why ask for the King's Laureate?" he demanded with a pretty
+scorn,--"The PEOPLE'S Sah-luma lives yonder!"--and he pointed to a
+mass of towering palms from whose close and graceful frondage a
+white dome rose glistening in the clear air,--"Our Poet's fame is
+not the outgrowth of a mere king's favor, 'tis the glad and
+willing tribute of the Nation's love and praise! A truce to
+monarchs!--they will soon be at a discount in Al-Kyris!"
+
+And with a flashing glance of defiance, and a saucy smile, he
+passed on, easily sauntering as before.
+
+"A budding republican!" though Theos amusedly, as he pursued his
+course in the direction indicated. "That is how the 'liberty,
+equality, fraternity' system always begins--first among street-
+boys who think they ought to be gentlemen,--then among shopkeepers
+who persuade themselves that they deserve to be peers,--then comes
+a time of topsey-turveydom and fierce contention and by and by
+everything gets shaken together again in the form of a Republic,
+wherein the street-boys and shopkeepers are not a whit better off
+than they were under a monarchy--they become neither peers nor
+gentlemen, but stay exactly in their original places, with the
+disadvantage of finding their trade decidedly damaged by the
+change that has occurred in the national economy! Strange that the
+inhabitants of this world should make such a fuss about resisting
+tyranny and oppression, when each particular individual man, by
+custom and usage, tyrannizes over and oppresses his fellow-man to
+an extent that would be simply impossible to the fiercest kings!"
+
+Thus meditating a few steps more brought him to the entrance of
+Sah-luma's princely abode,--the gates stood wide open, and a
+pleasant murmur of laughter and soft singing floated toward him
+across the splendid court where the great fountains were tossing
+up to the bright sky their straight, glistening columns of snowy
+spray. He listened,--and his heart leaped with an intense relief
+and joy,--Sah-luma, the beloved Sah-luma, was evidently at home
+and as yet unharmed,--these mirthful sounds betokened that all was
+well. The vague trouble and depression that had weighed upon his
+soul for hours now vanished completely, and hastening along, he
+sprang lightly up the marble stairs, and into the rainbow-colored,
+spacious hall, where the first person he saw was Zabastes the
+Critic.
+
+"Ah, good Zabastes!" he cried gayly,--"Where is thy master Sah-
+luma? Has he returned in safety?"
+
+"In safety?" croaked Zabastes with an accent of ironic surprise..
+"To be sure! ... Is he a baby in swaddling-clothes that he cannot
+be trusted out alone to take care of himself? In safety?--aye! I
+warrant you he is safe enough, and silly enough, and lazy enough
+to please any one of his idiot flatterers, . . moreover my
+'master!"--and he emphasized this word with indescribable
+bitterness--"hath slept as soundly as a swine, and hath duly
+bathed with the punctiliousness of a conceited swan, and being
+suitably combed, perfumed, attired, and throned as becomes his
+dainty puppetship, is now condescending to partake of vulgar food
+in the seclusion of his own apartment. Go thither and you shall
+find his verse-stringing Mightiness nobly enshrined as a god among
+a worshipping crowd of witless maidens,--he hath inquired for you
+many times, which is somewhat of a wonder, seeing that as a rule
+he concerns his mind with naught save himself! Furthermore, he is
+graciously pleased to be in a manner solicitous on behalf of the
+maiden Niphrata, who hath suddenly disappeared from the household,
+leaving no message to explain the cause of her evanishment. Hath
+seen her? ... No?"--and the old man thumped his stick petulantly
+on the floor as Theos shook his head in the negative--"'Tis the
+only feminine creature I ever had patience to speak with,--a
+modest wench and a gentle one, and were it not for her idolatrous
+adoration of Sah-luma, she would be fairly sensible withal. No
+matter!--she has gone; everything goes, even good women, and
+nothing lasts save folly, of which there shall surely never be an
+end!"
+
+Here apparently conscious that he had shown more feeling in
+speaking of Niphrata than was usual with him, he looked up
+impatiently and waved his staff toward Sah-luma's study; "In, in,
+boy! In, to, the Chief of poets and prince of egotists! He waits
+your service,--he is all agape and thirsty for more flattery and
+delicate cajolement, ... stuff him with praise, good youth! ...
+and who knows but a portion of his mantle may descend on YOU
+hereafter and make of YOU as conceited and pretty a bantling bard
+for the glory of proud posterity!"
+
+And chuckling audibly, he hobbled down a side passage, while
+Theos, half angry, half amused, crossed the hall quickly, and
+arrived at the door of the Laureate's private sanctum, where,
+gently drawing aside the silken draperies, he looked in for a
+moment without being himself perceived. What a picture he beheld!
+... How perfection every shade of color in every line of detail!
+Sah-luma, reclining in a quaintly carved ebony chair, was toying
+with the fruit and wine set out before him on an ivory and gold
+stand,--his dress, simpler than it had been on the previous
+evening, was of fine white linen gathered loosely about his
+classic figure,--he wore neither myrtle-wreath nor jewels,--the
+expression of his face was serious, even noble, and his attitude
+was one of languid grace and unstudied ease that became him
+infinitely well. The maidens of his household waited near him,--
+some of them held flowers,--one, kneeling at a small lyre, seemed
+just about to strike a few chords, when Sah-luma silenced her by a
+light gesture:
+
+"Peace, Zoralin!" he said softly.. "I cannot listen: thou hast not
+my Niphrata's tenderness!"
+
+Zoralin, a beautiful, dark girl, with hair as black as night, and
+eyes that looked as though they held suppressed yet ever burning
+fire, let her hands instantly drop from the instrument, and
+sighing, shrank back a little in abashed silence. At that moment
+Theos advanced,--and the Laureate sprang up delightedly:
+
+"Ah, at last, my friend!" he cried, enthusiastically clasping him
+by both hands,--"Where, in the name of all the gods, hast thou
+been roaming? How did we part?--by my soul I forget!--but no
+matter!--thou art here once more, and as I live, we will not
+separate again so easily! My noble Theos!" and he threw one arm
+affectionately around his neck--"I have missed thee more than I
+can tell these past few hours,--thou dost seem so sympathetically
+conjoined with me, that verily I think I am but half myself in
+thine absence! Come,--sit thee down and break thy fast! ... I
+almost feared thou hadst met with some mischance on thy way
+hither, and that I should have had to sally forth and rescue thee
+again even as I did yesternoon! Say, hast thou occupied thyself
+with so much friendly consideration on my behalf, as I have on
+thine?"
+
+He laughed gayly as he spoke,--and Theos, looking into his bright,
+beautiful face, was for a moment too deeply moved by his own
+strange inward emotions, to utter a word in reply. WHY did he love
+Sah-luma so ardently, he wondered? WHY was it that every smile on
+that proud mouth, every glance of those flashing eyes, possessed
+such singular, overwhelming fascination for him? He could not
+tell,--but he readily yielded to the magic influence of his
+friend's extraordinary attractiveness, and sitting down beside him
+in the azure light and soft fragrance of his regal apartment, he
+experienced a sudden sense of rest, satisfaction, and
+completeness, such as may be felt by a man AT ONE WITH HIMSELF,
+and with all the world!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+WASTED PASSION.
+
+
+The assembled maidens had retired modestly into the background,
+while the Laureate had thus joyously greeted his returned guest;
+but now, at a signal from their lord, they again advanced, and
+taking up the glittering dishes of fruit and the flasks of wine,
+proffered them in turn to Theos with much deferential grace and
+courtesy. He was by no means slow in responding to the humble
+attentions of these fair ones, . . there was a sort of deliciously
+dreamy enchantment in being waited upon by such exquisitely lovely
+creatures! The passing touch of their little white hands that
+supported the heavy golden salvers seemed to add new savor to the
+luscious fare,--the timorous fire of their downcast eyes, softly
+sparkling through the veil of their long lashes, gave extra warmth
+to the ambrosial wine,--and he could not refrain from occasionally
+whispering a tender flattery or delicate compliment in the ear of
+one or other of his sylph-like servitors, though they all appeared
+curiously unmoved by his choicely worded adulation. Now and then a
+pale, flickering blush or sudden smile brightened their faces, but
+for the most part they maintained a demure and serious demeanor,
+as though possessed by the very spirit of invincible reserve. With
+Sah-luma it was otherwise,--they hovered about him like
+butterflies round a rose,--a thousand wistful, passionate glances
+darted upon him, when he, unconscious or indifferent, apparently
+saw nothing,--many a deep, involuntary sigh was stifled quickly
+ere it could escape between the rosy lips whose duty it was to
+wreathe themselves with smiles, and Theos noticing these things
+thought:
+
+"Heavens! how this man is loved!--and yet ... he, out of all men,
+is perhaps the most ignorant of Love's true meaning!"
+
+Scarcely had this reflection entered his mind than he became
+bitterly angry with himself for having indulged in it. How
+recreant, how base an idea! ... how incompatible with the adoring
+homage he felt for his friend! What!--Sah-luma,--a Poet, whose
+songs of Love were so perfect, so wildly sweet and soul-
+entrancing--HE, to be ignorant of Love's true meaning? ... Oh,
+impossible!--and a burning flush of shame rose to Theos's brow,--
+shame that he could have entertained such a blasphemy against his
+Idol for a moment! Then that curious, vague, soft contrition he
+had before experienced stole over him once again--a sudden
+moisture filled his eyes,--and turning abruptly toward his host he
+held out his own just filled goblet:
+
+"Drink we the loving-cup together, Sah-luma!" he said, and his
+voice trembled a little with its own deep tenderness, . . "Pledge me
+thy faith as I do pledge thee mine! And for to-day at least let me
+enjoy thy boon companionship, . . who knows how soon we may be
+forced to part ... forever!" And he breathed the last word softly
+with a faint sigh.
+
+Sah-luma looked at him with an expressive glance of bright
+surprise.
+
+"Part?" he exclaimed joyously--"Nay, not we, my friend! ... Not
+till we find each other tiresome, . . not till we prove that our
+spirits, like over-mettlesome steeds, do chafe and fret one
+another too rudely in the harness of custom, . . wherefore then, and
+then only, 'twill be time to break loose at a gallop, and seek
+each one a wider pasture-land! Meanwhile, here's to thee!"--and
+bending his handsome head he readily drank a deep draught of the
+proffered wine.. "May all the gods hold fast our bond of
+friendship!"
+
+And with a graceful salute he returned the jewelled cup half-
+empty. Theos at once drained off what yet remained within it, and
+then, leaning more confidentially over the Laureate's chair, he
+whispered:
+
+"Hast thou in very truth forgotten thy rashness of last night,
+Sah-luma? Surely thou must guess how unquiet I have been
+concerning thee! Tell me, . . was thy hot pursuit in vain? ... or..
+didst thou discover the King?"
+
+"Peace!" and a quick frown darkened the smooth beauty of Sah-
+luma's face as he grasped Theos's arm hard to warn him into
+silence,--then forcing a smile he answered in the same low tone..
+"'Twas not the King, . . it could not be! Thou wert mistaken ..."
+
+"Nay but," persisted Theos gently--"convince me of mine error!
+Didst thou overtake and steadily confront yon armed and muffled
+stranger?"
+
+"Not I!"--and Sah-luma shrugged his shoulders petulantly--"Sleep
+fell upon me suddenly when I left thee,--and methinks I must have
+wandered home like a shadow in a dream! Was I not drunk last
+night?--Aye!--and so in all likelihood wert thou! ... little could
+we be trusted to recognize either King or clown!"--He laughed,--
+then added--"Nevertheless I tell thee once again 'twas not the
+King, . . His Majesty hath too much at stake, to risk so dangerous a
+pleasantry!"
+
+Theos heard, but he was dissatisfied and ill at ease, . . Sah-luma's
+careless contentment increased his own disquietude. Just then a
+curious-looking personage entered the apartment,--a gray-haired,
+dwarfish negro, who carried slung across his back a large bundle,
+consisting of several neatly rolled-up pieces of linen, one of
+which he presently detached from the rest and set down before the
+Laureate, who in return gave him a silver coin, at the same time
+asking jestingly:
+
+"Is the news worth paying for to-day, Zibya?--or is it the same
+ill-written, clumsy chronicle of trumpery, common-place events?"
+
+Zibya, slipping the coin he had received into a wide leathern
+pouch which hung from his girdle, appeared to meditate a moment,--
+then he replied:
+
+"If the truth must be told, most illustrious, there is nothing
+whatever to interest the minds of the cultured. The cheap scribes
+of the Daily Circular cater chiefly for the mob, and do all in
+their power to foster morbid qualities of disposition and
+murderous tendencies among the lower orders; hence though there is
+nothing in the news-sheet pertaining to Literature or the Fine
+Arts, there is much concerning the sudden death of the young
+sculptor Nir-jalis, whose body was found flung on the banks of the
+river this morning."
+
+Theos started, . . Sah-luma listened with placid indifference. "'Tis
+a case of self-slaughter"--pursued Zibya chattily.. "or so say the
+wise writers who are supposed to know everything, . . self-slaughter
+committed during a state of temporary insanity! Well, well! I
+myself would have had a different opinion."
+
+"And a sagacious one no doubt!" interrupted Sah-luma coldly, and
+with a dangerous flash as of steel in his eyes.. "But.. be
+advised, good Zibya! ... give thine opinion no utterance!"
+
+The old negro shrank back nervously, making numerous apologetic
+gestures, and waited in abashed silence till the Laureate's
+features regained their wonted soft serenity. Then he ventured to
+speak again,--though not without a little hesitation.
+
+"Concerning the topics of the hour..." he murmured timorously..
+"My lord is perhaps not aware that the river itself is a subject
+of much excited discussion,--the water having changed to a
+marvellous blood-color during the night, which singular
+circumstance hath caused a great panic among the populace. Even
+now, as I passed by the embankment, the crowd there was thick as a
+hive of swarming bees!"
+
+He paused, but Sah-luma made no remark, and he continued more
+glibly, "Also, to-day's 'Circular' contains the full statement of
+the King's reward for the capture of the Prophet Khosrul, and the
+formal Programme of the Sacrificial Ceremonial announced to take
+place this evening in the Temple of Nagaya. All is set forth in
+the fine words of the petty public scribes, who needs must make as
+much as possible out of little,--and there is likewise a so-called
+facsimile of the King's signature, which will naturally be of
+supreme interest to the vulgar. Furthermore it is proclaimed that
+a grand Combat of wild beasts in the Royal Arena will follow
+immediately after the Service in the Temple is concluded,--
+methinks none will go to bed early, seeing there is so full a list
+of amusements!"
+
+He paused again, somewhat out of breath,--and Sah-luma meanwhile
+unrolled the linen scroll he had purchased, which measured about
+twenty-four inches in length and twenty in width. Carefully ruled
+black and red lines divided it into nearly the same number of
+columns as those on the page of an ordinary newspaper, and it was
+covered with close writing, here and there embellished by bold,
+profusely ornamented headings. One of these, "Death of the
+Sculptor, Nir-jalis," seemed to burn into Theos's brain like
+letters of fire,--how was it, he wondered, that the body of that
+unfortunate victim had been found on the shore of the river, when
+he himself had seen it loaded with iron weights, and cast into the
+lake that formed part of Lysia's fatal garden? Presently Sah-luma
+passed the scroll to him with a smile, saying lightly:
+
+"There, my friend, is a specimen of the true mob-literature! ...
+written to-day, forgotten to-morrow! 'Tis a droll thing to
+meditate upon, the ephemeral nature of all this pouring-out of
+unnecessary words and stale stock-phrases!--and, wouldst thou
+believe it, Theos! each little paid scribe that adds his poor
+quota to this ill-assorted trash deems himself wiser and greater
+far than any poet or philosopher dead or living! Why, in this very
+news-sheet I have seen the immortal works of the divine Hyspiros
+so hacked by the blunt knives of ignorant and vulgar criticism
+that, by my faith! ... were it not for contempt, one would be
+disposed to nail the hands of such trumpery scribblers to a post,
+and scourge their bare backs with thorny rods to cure them of
+their insolence! Nay, even my fool Zabastes hath found place in
+these narrow columns, to write his carping diatribes against me,--
+me, the King's Laureate! ... As I live, his cumbersome diction
+hath caused me infinite mirth, and I have laughed at his crabbed
+and feeble wit till my sides have ached most potently! Now get
+thee gone, fellow!--thou and thy news!"--and he nodded a good-
+humored dismissal to the deferential Zibya, who with his woolly
+gray head very much on one side stood listening gravely and
+approvingly to all that was said,--" Yet stay! ... has gossip
+whispered thee the name of the poor virgin self-destined for this
+evening's sacrifice?"
+
+"No, my lord"--responded Zibya promptly--"'Tis veiled in deeper
+mystery than usual. I have inquired of many, but in vain,--and
+even the Chief Flamen of the Outside Court of the Temple, always
+drunk and garrulous as he is, can tell me naught of the holy
+victim's title or parentage. "Tis a passing fair wench!' said he,
+with a chuckle.. 'That is all I know concerning her ... a passing
+fair wench!' Ah!" and Zibya rolled up the whites of his eyes and
+sighed in a comically contemplative manner.. "If ever a Flamen
+deserved expulsion from his office, it is surely yon ancient,
+crafty, carnal-minded soul! ... so keen a glance for a woman's
+beauty is not a needful qualification for a servant of the Snake
+Divine! Methinks we have fallen upon evil days! ... maybe the
+crazed Prophet is right after all, and things are coming to an
+end!"
+
+"Like thy discourse, I hope, Zibya!" observed Sah-luma, yawning
+and flinging himself lazily back on his velvet couch,--"Get hence,
+and serve thy customers with their cheap news, . . depend upon it,
+some of them are cursing thee mightily for thy delay! And if thou
+shouldst chance to meet the singing-maiden of my household,
+Niphrata, bid her make haste homeward,--she hath been absent since
+the break of morn,--too long for my contentment. Maybe I did
+unwisely to give the child her freedom,--as slave she would not
+have presumed to gad abroad thus wantonly, without her lord's
+permission. Say, if thou seest her, that I am wrathful,--the
+thought of mine anger will be as a swift wing to waft her hither
+like a trembling dove,--afraid, all penitent, and eager for my
+pardon! Remember! ... be sure thou tell her of my deep
+displeasure!"
+
+Zibya bowed profoundly, his outspread hands almost touching the
+floor in the servility of his obeisance, and backed out of the
+room as humbly as though he were leaving the presence of royalty.
+When he had gone, Theos looked up from the news-scroll he was
+perusing:
+
+"Is it not strange Niphrata should have left thee thus, Sah-
+luma?".. he said with a touch of anxiety in his tone ... "Maybe"..
+and he hesitated, conscious of a strange, unbidden remorse that
+suddenly and without any apparent reason overwhelmed his
+conscience.. "Maybe she was not happy?"...
+
+"Not happy!" ejaculated Sah-luma amazedly, "Not happy with ME? ...
+not happy in MY house,--protected by MY patronage? Where then, if
+not here, could she find happiness?"
+
+And his beautiful flashing eyes betokened his entire and naive
+astonishment at the mere supposition. Theos smiled involuntarily..
+how, charming, after all was Sah-luma's sublime egotism!--how
+almost child-like was his confidence in himself and his own
+ability to engender joy! All at once the young girl Zoralin
+spoke,--her accents were low and timorous:
+
+"May it please my lord Sah-luma to hear me..." she said and
+paused.
+
+"Thy lord Sah-luma hears thee with pleasure, Zoralin," replied the
+Laureate gently. "Thou dost speak more sweetly than many a bird
+doth sing!"
+
+A rich, warm blush crimsoned the maiden's cheeks at these dulcet
+words,--she drew a quick, uneasy breath, and then went on,--
+
+"I love Niphrata!" she murmured in a soft tone of touching
+tenderness, . . "And I have watched her often when she deemed
+herself unseen, . . she has, methinks, shed many tears for sake of
+some deep, heart-buried sorrow! We have lived as sisters, sharing
+the same room, and the same couch of sleep, but alas! in spite of
+all my lord's most constant kindly favor, Niphrata is not happy,
+..and.. and I have sometimes thought--" here her mellow voice sank
+into a nervous indistinctness--"that it may be because she loves
+my lord Sah-luma far too well!"
+
+And as she said this she looked up with a sudden affright in her
+dark, lovely eyes, as though she were alarmed at her own
+presumption. Sah-luma met her troubled gaze calmly and with a
+bright smile of complacent vanity.
+
+"And dost thou plead for thine absent friend, Zoralin?" ... he
+asked with just sufficient satire in his utterance to render it
+almost cruel.. "Am I to blame for the foolish fancies of all the
+amorous maidens in Al-Kyris? ... Many there be who love me, . .
+well,--what then?--Must I love many in return? Nay! Not so! the
+Poet is the worshiper of Ideal Beauty, and for him the brief
+passions of mortal men and women serve as mere pastime to while
+away an hour! But.. by my faith, thou hast gained wondrous
+boldness in thy speech to prate so glibly of the heart's emotion,
+--what knowest THOU concerning such things.. thou, who hast counted
+scarcely fifteen summers! ... hast thou caught contagion from
+Niphrata, and art thou too, sick of love?"
+
+Oh, the dazzling smile with which he accompanied this poignant
+question! ... the pitiless, burning ardor he managed to convey into
+the sleeping brilliancy of his soft, poetic eyes! ... the
+beautiful languor of his attitude, as leaning his head back easily
+on one arm, he turned upon the shrinking girl a look that seemed
+intended to pierce into the very inmost recesses of her soul! The
+roseate color faded from her cheeks, . . white as a marble image she
+stood, her breath coming between her lips in quick, frightened
+gasps...
+
+"My lord! ..." she stammered ... "I ..." Here her voice failed her,
+and suddenly covering her face with her hands, she broke into a
+passion of weeping. Sah-luma's delicate brows darkened into a
+close frown,--and he waved his hand with a petulant gesture of
+impatience.
+
+"Ye gods! what fools are women!" he said wearily. "Ever hovering
+uncertainly on a narrow verge between silly smiles and sillier
+tears! As I live, they are most uncomfortable play-fellows!--and
+dwelling with them long would drive all the inspiration out of
+man, no matter how nobly he were gifted! Ye butterflies--ye little
+fluttering souls!" and beginning to laugh as readily as he had
+frowned, he addressed the other maidens, who, though they did not
+dare to move or speak, were evidently affected by the grief of
+their companion--"Go hence all!-and take this sensitive baby,
+Zoralin, into your charge, and console her for her fancied
+troubles--'tis a mere frenzy of feminine weakness, and will pass
+like an April shower. But, ... by the Sacred Veil!--if I saw much
+of woman's weeping, I would discard forever woman's company, and
+dwell in peaceful hermit fashion alone among the treetops! ... so
+heed the warning, pretty ones! ... Let me witness none of your
+tears if ye are wise,--or else say farewell to Sah-luma, and seek
+some less easy and less pleasing service!"
+
+With this injunction he signed to them all to depart,--whereupon
+the awed and trembling girls noiselessly surrounded the still
+convulsively sobbing Zoralin, and gently leading her away, they
+quickly withdrew, each one making a profound obeisance to their
+imperious master ere leaving his presence. When they had finally
+disappeared Sah-luma heaved a sigh of relief.
+
+"Can anything equal the perverseness of these frivolous feminine
+toys!" he murmured pettishly, turning his head round toward Theos
+as he spoke--"Was ever a more foolish child than Zoralin? ... Just
+as I would fain have consoled her for her pricking heartache, she
+must needs pour out a torrent of tear-drops to change my humor and
+quench her own delight! 'Tis the most irksome inconsistency!"
+
+Theos glanced at him with a vague emotion of wonder and self-
+reproachful sadness.
+
+"Nay, wouldst thou indeed have consoled her, Sah-luma?" he
+inquired gravely, "How?"
+
+"How?" and Sah-luma laughed musically.. "My simple friend, dost
+thou ask me such a babe's question?"... He sprang from his couch,
+and standing erect, pushed his clustering dark hair off his wide,
+bold brows. . "Am I disfigured, aged, lame, or crooked-limbed? ...
+Cannot these arms embrace?--these lips engender kisses?--these
+eyes wax amorous? ... and shall not one brief hour of love with me
+console the weariest maid that ever pined for passion? ... Now, by
+my faith, how solemn is thy countenance! ... Art thou an
+anchorite, good Theos, and wouldst thou have me scourge my flesh
+and groan, because the gods have given me youth and vigorous
+manhood?"
+
+He drew himself up with an inimitable gesture of pride,--his
+attitude was statuesque and noble,--and Theos looked at him as he
+would have looked at a fine picture, with a sense of critically
+satisfied admiration.
+
+"Most assuredly I am no anchorite, Sah-luma!" he said smiling
+slightly, yet with a touch of sorrow in his voice. "But methinks
+the consolement thou wouldst offer to enamoured maids is far more
+dangerous than lasting! Thy love to them means ruin,--thy embraces
+shame,--thy unthinking passion death! What!--wilt thou be a
+spendthrift of desire?--wilt thou drain the fond souls of women as
+a bee drains the sweetness of flowers?--wilt thou, being honey-
+cloyed, behold them droop and wither around thee, and wilt thou
+leave them utterly destroyed and desolate? Hast thou no vestige of
+a heart, my friend? a poet-heart, to feel the misery of the world?
+..the patient grief of all-appealing Nature, commingled with the
+dreadful, yet majestic silence of an unknown God? ... Oh, surely,
+thou hast this supremest gift of genius, . . this loving, enduring,
+faithful, sympathetic HEART! ... for without it, how shall thy
+fame be held long in remembrance? ... how shall thy muse-grown
+laurels escape decay? Tell me! ..." and leaning forward he caught
+his friend's hand in his eagerness.. "Thou art not made of
+stone, . . thou art human, . . thou art not exempt from mortal
+suffering ..."
+
+"Not exempt--no!" interposed Sah-luma thoughtfully ... "But, as
+yet,--I have never really suffered!"
+
+"Never really suffered!".. Theos dropped the hand he held, and an
+invisible barrier seemed to rise slowly up between him and his
+beautiful companion. Never really suffered! ... then he was no
+true poet after all, if he was ignorant of sorrow! If he could not
+spiritually enter into the pathos of speechless griefs and unshed
+tears,--if he could not absorb into his own being the prayers and
+plaints of all Creation, and utter them aloud in burning and
+immortal language, his calling was in vain, his election futile!
+This thought smote Theos with the strength of a sudden blow,--he
+sat silent, and weighed with a dreary feeling of disappointment to
+which he was unable to give any fitting expression.
+
+"I have never really suffered ..." repeated Sah-luma slowly: . .
+"But--I have IMAGINED suffering! That is enough for me! The
+passions, the tortures, the despairs of imagination are greater
+far than the seeming REAL, petty afflictions with which human
+beings daily perplex themselves; indeed, I have often wondered..
+"here his eyes grew more earnest and reflective ..." whether this
+busy working of the brain called 'Imagination' may not perhaps be
+a special phase or supreme effort of MEMORY, and that therefore we
+do not IMAGINE so much as we remember. For instance,--if we have
+ever lived before, our present recollection may, in certain
+exalted states of the mind, serve to bring back the shadow-
+pictures of things long gone by, . . good or evil deeds, . . scenes of
+love and strife, . . ethereal and divine events, in which we have
+possibly enacted each our different parts as unwittingly as we
+enact them here!".. He sighed and seemed somewhat troubled, but
+presently continued in a lighter tone.. "Yet, after all, it is not
+necessary for the poet to personally experience the emotions
+whereof he writes. The divine Hyspiros depicts murderers, cowards,
+and slaves in his sublime Tragedies,--but thinkest thou it was
+essential for him to become a murderer, coward, and slave himself
+in order to delineate these characters? And I ... I write of
+Love,--love spiritual, love eternal,--love fitted for the angels I
+have dreamt of--but not for such animals as men,--and what matters
+it that I know naught of such love, . . unless perchance I knew it
+years ago in some far-off fairer sphere! ... For me the only charm
+of worth in woman is beauty! ... Beauty! ... to its entrancing
+sway my senses all make swift surrender ..."
+
+"Oh, too swift and too degrading a surrender!" interrupted Theos
+suddenly with reproachful vehemence ... "Thy words do madden
+patience!--Better a thousand times that thou shouldst perish, Sah-
+lama, now in the full plenitude of thy poet-glory, than thus
+confess thyself a prey to thine own passions,--a credulous victim
+of Lysia's treachery!"
+
+For one second the Laureate stood amazed, . . the next, he sprang
+upon his guest and grasping him fiercely by the throat.
+
+"Treachery?" he muttered with white lips.. "Treachery? ... Darest
+thou speak of treachery and Lysia in the same breath? ... O thou
+rash fool! dost thou blaspheme my lady's name and yet not fear to
+die?"
+
+And his lithe brown fingers tightened their clutch. But Theos
+cared nothing for his own life,--some inward excitation of feeling
+kept him resolute and perfectly controlled.
+
+"Kill me, Sah-luma!" he gasped--"Kill me, friend whom I love! ...
+death will be easy at thy hands! Deprive me of my sad existence, . .
+'tis better so, than that _I_ should have slain THEE last night at
+Lysia's bidding!"
+
+At this, Sah-luma suddenly released his hold and started backward
+with a sharp cry of anguish, . . his face was pale, and his
+beautiful eyes grew strained and piteous.
+
+"Slain ME! ... Me! ... at Lysia's bidding!" he murmured wildly..
+"O ye gods, the world grows dark! is the sun quenched in heaven?
+... At Lysia's bidding! ..Nay, . . by my soul, my sight is dimmed!
+... I see naught but flaring red in the air, . . Why! ..." and he
+laughed discordantly.. "thou poor Theos, thou shalt use no
+dagger's point,--for lo! ... I am dead already! ... Thy words have
+killed me! Go, . . tell her how well her cruel mission hath sped,--
+my very soul is slain...at her bidding! Hasten to her, wilt
+thou!".. and his accents trembled with pathetic plaintiveness! ...
+"Say I am gone! ... lost! drawn into a night of everlasting
+blackness like a taper blown swiftly out by the wind, . . tell her
+that Sah-luma,--the poet Sah-luma, the foolish-credulous Sah-luma
+who loved her so madly is no more!"
+
+His voice broke, . . his head drooped, . . while Theos, whose every
+nerve throbbed in responsive sympathy with the passion of his
+despair, strove to think of some word of comfort, that like
+soothing balm might temper the bitterness of his chafed and
+wounded spirit, but could find none. For it was a case in which
+the truth must be told, . . and truth is always hard to bear if it
+destroys, or attempts to destroy, any one of our cherished self-
+delusions!
+
+"My friend, my friend!" he said presently with gentle
+earnestness,--"Control this fury of thy heart! ... Why such
+unmanly sorrow for one who is not worthy of thee?"
+
+Sah-luma looked up,--his black, silky lashes were wet with tears.
+
+"Not worthy! ... Oh, the old poor consolation!" he exclaimed,
+quickly dashing the drops from his eyes, . . "Not worthy?--No! ...
+what mortal woman IS ever worthy of a poet's love?--Not one in all
+the world! Nevertheless, worthy or unworthy, true or treacherous,
+naught can make Lysia otherwise than fair! Fair beyond all
+fairness! ... and I--I was sole possessor of her beauty!--for me
+her eyes warmed into stars of fire,--for me her kisses ripened in
+their pearl and ruby nest, . . all--all for me!--and now! ... "He
+flung himself desolately on his couch, and fixed his wistful gaze
+on his companion's grave, pained countenance,--till all at once a
+hopeful light flashed across his features, . . a light that seemed
+to shine through him like an inwardly kindled flame.
+
+"Ah! what a querulous fool am I!" he cried, joyously,--so joyously
+that Theos knew not whether to be glad or sorry at his sudden and
+capricious change of mood.. "why should I thus bemoan myself for
+fancied wrong?--Good, noble Theos, thou hast been misled!--My
+Lysia's words were but to try thy mettle! ... to test thee to the
+core, and prove thee truly faithful as Sah-luma's friend! She bade
+thee slay me! ... Even so!--but hadst thou rashly undertaken such
+a deed, thine own life would have paid the forfeit! Now I begin to
+understand it all--'tis plain!"--and his face grew brighter and
+brighter, as he cheated himself into the pleasing idea his own
+fancy had suggested.. "She tried thee,--she tempted thee, . . she
+found thee true and incorruptible.. Ah! 'twas a jest, my friend!"
+--and entirely recovering from his depression, he clapped his hand
+heartily on Theos's shoulder--"'Twas all a jest!--and she the fair
+inquisitor will herself prove it so ere long, and make merry with
+our ill-omened fears! Why, I can laugh now at mine own
+despondency!--come, look thou also more cheerily, gentle Theos,--
+and pardon these uncivil fingers that so nearly gripped thee into
+silence!"--and he laughed--"Thou art the best and kindest of loyal
+comrades, and I will so assure Lysia of thy merit, that she shall
+institute no more torture-trials upon thy frank and trusting
+nature. Heigho!"--and stretching out his arms lazily, he heaved a
+sigh of tranquil satisfaction--"Methought I was wounded into
+death! but 'twas the mere fancied prick of an arrow after all, and
+I am well again! What, art thou still melancholy! ... still
+sombre! ... Nay, surely thou wilt not be a veritable kill-joy!"
+
+Theos stood mute and sorely perplexed. He saw at once how useless
+it was now to try and convince Sah luma of any danger threatening
+him through the instigation of the woman he loved,--he would never
+believe it! And yet ... something must be done to put him on his
+guard. Taking up the scroll of the public news, where the account
+of the finding of the body of Nir-jalis was written with all that
+exaggerated attention to repulsive details which seems to be a
+special gift of the cheap re-porters, Theos pointed to it.
+
+"His was a cruel end!"--he said in a low, uncertain voice,--"Sah-
+luma, canst thou expect mercy from a woman who has once been so
+merciless?"
+
+"Bah!" returned the Laureate lightly. "Who and what was Nir-jalis?
+A hewer of stone images--a no-body!--he will not be missed!
+Besides, he is only one of many who have perished thus."
+
+"Only one of many!" ejaculated Theos with a shudder of aversion..
+"And yet, . . O thou most reckless and misguided soul! ... thou dost
+love this wanton murderess!"
+
+A warm flush tinted Sah-luma's olive skin,--his hands clenched and
+unclenched slowly as though he held some struggling, prisoned
+thing, and raising his head he looked at his companion full and
+steady with a singularly solemn and reproving expression in his
+luminous eyes.
+
+"Hast THOU not loved her also?" he demanded, a faint, serious
+smile curving his lips as he spoke, . . "If only for the space of
+some few passing moments, was not thy soul ravished, thy heart
+enslaved, thy manhood conquered by her spell? ... Aye! ... Thou
+dost shrink at that!" And his smile deepened as Theos, suddenly
+conscience-stricken, avoided his friend's too-scrutinizing gaze..
+"Blame ME not, therefore, for THINE OWN weakness!"
+
+He paused.. then went on slowly with a meditative air.. "I love
+her, ... yes!--as a man must always love the woman that baffles
+him, ... the woman whose moods are complex and fluctuating as the
+winds on the sea,--and whose humor sways between the softness of
+the dove and the fierceness of the tiger. Nothing is more fatally
+fascinating to the masculine sense than such a creature,--more
+especially if to this temperament is united rare physical grace,
+combined with keen intellectual power. 'Tis vain to struggle
+against the irresistible witchery exercised over us by the
+commingling of beauty and ferocity,--we see it in the wild animals
+of the forest and the high-soaring birds of the air,--and we like
+nothing better than to hunt it, capture it, tame it.. or.. kill
+it--as suits our pleasure!"
+
+He paused again,--and again smiled, . . a grave, reluctant, doubting
+smile such as seemed to Theos oddly familiar, suggesting to his
+bewildered fancy that he must have seen it before, ON HIS OWN
+FACE, reflected in a mirror!
+
+"Even thus do I love Lysia!" continued Sah-luma--"She perplexes
+me, . . she opposes her will to mine, ... the very irritation and
+ferment into which I am thrown by her presence adds fire to my
+genius, . . and but for the spur of this never-satiated passion, who
+knows whether I should sing so well!"
+
+He was silent for a little space--then he resumed in a more
+ordinary tone:
+
+"The wretched Nir-jalis, whose fate thou dost so persistently
+deplore, deserved his end for his presumption, ... didst thou not
+hear his insolent insinuation concerning the King?"
+
+"I heard it--yes!" replied Theos--"And I saw no harm in the manner
+of his utterance."
+
+"No harm!" exclaimed Sah-luma excitedly--"No harm! Nay, but I
+forget! ... thou art a stranger in Al-Kyris, and therefore thou
+art ignorant of the last words spoken by the Sacred Oracle some
+hundred years or more ago. They are these:
+
+     "'When the High Priestess
+      Is the King's mistress
+      Then fall Al-Kyris!'
+
+'Tis absolute doggerel, and senseless withal,--nevertheless, it
+has caused the enactment of a Law, which is to the effect that the
+reigning monarch of Al-Kyris shall never, under any sort of
+pretext, confer with the High Priestess of the Temple on any
+business whatsoever,--and that, furthermore, he shall never be
+permitted to look upon her face except at times of public service
+and state ceremonials. Now dost thou not at once perceive how vile
+were the suggestions of Nir-jalis, . . and also how foolish was thy
+fancy last night with regard to the armed masquerader thou didst
+see in Lysia's garden?"
+
+Theos made no reply, but sat absorbed in his own reflections. He
+began now to understand much that had before seemed doubtful and
+mysterious,--no wonder, he thought, that Zephoranim's fury against
+the audacious Khosrul had been so excessive! For had not the
+crazed Prophet called Lysia an "unvirgined virgin and Queen-
+Courtesan"? ... and, according to Sah-luma's present explanation,
+nothing more dire and offensive in the way of open blasphemy could
+be uttered! Yet the question still remained--, was Khosrul right
+or wrong? This was a problem which Theos longed to investigate and
+yet recoiled from,--instinctively he felt that upon its answer
+hung the fate of Al-Kyris,--and also, what just then seemed more
+precious than anything else,--the life of Sah-luma. He could not
+decide with himself WHY this was so,--he simply accepted his own
+inward assurance that so it was. Presently he inquired:
+
+"How comes it, Sah-luma, that the corpse of Nir-jalis was found on
+the shores of the river? Did we not see it weighted with iron and
+laid elsewhere ... ?"
+
+"O simpleton!" laughed Sah-luma--"Thinkest thou Lysia's lake of
+lilies is a common grave for criminals? The body of Nir-jalis sank
+therein, 'tis true, . . but was there no after-means of lifting it
+from thence, and placing it where best such carrion should be
+found? Hath not the High Priestess of Nagaya slaves enough to work
+her will? ... Verily thou dost trouble thyself overmuch concerning
+these trivial every-day occurences,--I marvel at thee!--Hundreds
+have drained the Silver Nectar gladly for so fair a woman's sake,
+--hundreds will drain it gladly still for the mere privilege of
+living some brief days in the presence of such peerless beauty!
+... But,--speaking of the river--didst thou remark it on thy way
+hither?"
+
+"Aye!" responded Theos dreamily--"'Twas red as blood"!"
+
+"Strange!" and Sah-luma looked thoughtful for an instant, then
+rousing himself, said lightly, "'Tis from some simple cause, no
+doubt--yet 'twill create a silly panic in the city--and all the
+fanatics for Khosrul's new creed will creep forth, shouting afresh
+their prognostications of death and doom. By my faith, 'twill be a
+most desperate howling! ... and I'll not walk abroad till the
+terror hath abated. Moreover, I have work to do,--some lately
+budded thoughts of mine have ripened into glorious conclusion,--
+and Zabastes hath orders presently to attend me that he may take
+my lines down from mine own dictation. Thou shalt hear a most
+choice legend of love an thou wilt listen--" here he laid his hand
+affectionately on Theos's shoulder--"a legend set about, methinks,
+with wondrous jewels of poetic splendor! ... 'tis a rare privilege
+I offer thee, my friend, for as a rule Zabastes is my only
+auditor,--but I would swear thou art no plagiarist, and wouldst
+not dishonor thine own intelligence so far as to filch pearls of
+fancy from another minstrel! As well steal my garments as my
+thoughts!--for verily the thoughts are the garments of the poet's
+soul,--and the common thief of things petty and material is no
+whit more contemptible than he who robs an author of ideas wherein
+to deck the bareness of his own poor wit! Come, place thyself at
+ease upon this cushioned couch, and give me thy attention, ... I
+feel the fervor rising within me, ... I will summon Zabastes, ...
+" Here he pulled a small silken cord which at once set a clanging
+bell echoing loudly through the palace, ... "And thou shalt
+freely hear, and freely judge, the last offspring of my fertile
+genius,--my lyrical romance 'Nourhalma!'" Theos started violently,
+... he had the greatest difficulty to restrain the anguished cry
+that arose to his lips. "Nourhalma!" O memory! ... slow-filtering,
+reluctant memory! ... why, why was his brain thus tortured with
+these conflicting pang, of piteous recollection! Little by little,
+like sharp deep stabs of nervous suffering, there came back to him
+a few faint, fragmentary suggestions which gradually formed
+themselves into a distinct and comprehensive certainty, . .
+"Nourhalma" was the title of HIS OWN POEM,--the poem HE had
+written, surely not so very long ago, among the mountains of the
+Pass of Dariel!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+"NOURHALMA."
+
+
+His first emotion on making this new mental rediscovery was, as it
+had been before in the King's audience-hall, one of absolute
+TERROR, ... feverish, mad terror which for a few moments possessed
+him so utterly that, turning away, he buried his aching head among
+the cushion where he reclined, in order to hide from his
+companion's eyes any outward sign that might betray his desperate
+misery. Clenching his hands convulsively, he silently, and with
+all his strength, combated the awful horror of himself that grew
+up spectrally within him,--the dreadful, distracting uncertainty
+of his own identity that again confused his brain and paralyzed
+his reason.
+
+At last, he thought wildly, at last he knew the meaning of Hell!
+... the frightful spiritual torment of a baffled intelligence set
+adrift among the wrecks and shadows of things that had formerly
+been its pride and glory! What was any physical suffering compared
+to such a frenzy of mind-agony? Nothing! ... less than nothing!
+This was the everlasting thirst and fire spoken of so vaguely by
+prophets and preachers,--the thirst and fire of the Soul's
+unquenchable longing to unravel the dismal tangle of its own
+bygone deeds, . . the striving forever in vain to steadfastly
+establish the wavering mystery of its own existence!
+
+"O God! ... God!--what hast Thou made of me!" he groaned inwardly,
+as he endeavored to calm the tempest of his unutterable despair,--
+"Who am I? ... Who WAS I in that far Past which, like the pale
+spirit of a murdered friend, haunts me so indistinctly yet so
+threateningly! Surely the gift of Poesy was mine! ... surely I too
+could weave the harmony of words and thoughts into a sweet and
+fitting music, . . how comes it then that all Sah-luma's work is but
+the reflex of my own? O woeful, strange, and bitter enigma! ...
+when shall it be unraveled? 'Nourhalma!' 'Twas the name of what I
+deemed my masterpiece! ... O silly masterpiece, if it prove thus
+easy of imitation! ... Yet stay.. let me be patient! ... titles
+are often copied unconsciously by different authors in different
+lands, . . and it may chance that Sah-luma's poem is after all his
+own,--not mine. Not mine, as were the ballads and the love-ode he
+chanted to the King last night! ... O Destiny! ... inscrutable,
+pitiless Destiny! ... rescue my tortured soul from chaos! ...
+declare unto me who,--WHO is the plagiarist and thief of Song..
+MYSELF or SAH-LUMA?"
+
+The more he perplexed his mind with such questions, the deeper
+grew the darkness of the inexplicable dilemma, to which a fresh
+obscurity was now added in his suddenly distinct and distressful
+remembrance of the "Pass of Dariel." Where was this place, he
+wondered wearily?--When had he seen it? whom had he met there?--
+and how had he come to Al-Kyris from thence? No answer could his
+vexed brain shape to these demands, . . he recollected the "Pass of
+Dariel" just as he recollected the "Field of Ardath"--without the
+least idea as to what connection existed between them and his own
+personal adventures. Presently controlling himself, he raised his
+head and ventured to look up,--Sah-luma stood beside him, his fine
+face expressive of an amiable solicitude.
+
+"Was the sunshine too strong, my friend, that thou didst thus bury
+thine eyes in thy pillow?" he inquired ... "Pardon my discourteous
+lack of consideration for thy comfort! ... I love the sun myself
+so well that methinks I could meet his burning rays at full noon-
+day and yet take pleasure in the warmth of such a golden smile!
+But thou perchance art unaccustomed to the light of Eastern
+lands,--wherefore thy brows must not be permitted to ache on,
+uncared for. See!--I have lowered the awnings, . . they give a
+pleasant shade,--and in very truth, the heat to-day is greater far
+than ordinary; one would think the gods had kindled some new fire
+in heaven!"
+
+And as he spoke he took up a long palm-leaf fan and waved it to
+and fro with an exquisitely graceful movement of wrist and arm,
+while Theos gazing at him in mute admiration, forgot his own
+griefs for the time in the subtle, strange, and absorbing spell
+exercised upon him by his host's irresistible influence. Just
+then, too, Sah-luma appeared handsomer than ever in the half-
+subdued tints of radiance that flickered through the lowered pale-
+blue silken awnings: the effect of the room thus shadowed was as
+of a soft azure mountain mist lit sideways by the sun,--a mist
+through which the white-garmented, symmetrical figure of the
+Laureate stood forth in curiously brilliant outlines, as though
+every curve of supple shoulder and proud throat was traced with a
+pencil of pure light. Scarcely a breath of air made its way
+through the wide-open casements--the gentle dashing noise of the
+fountains in the court alone disturbed the deep, warm stillness of
+the morning, or the occasional sweeping rustle of peacocks' plumes
+as these stately birds strutted majestically up and down, up and
+down, on the marble terrace outside.
+
+Soothed by the luxurious peace of his surroundings, the delirium
+of Theos's bewildering affliction gradually abated,--his tempest-
+tossed mind regained to a certain extent its equilibrium,--and
+falling into easy converse with his fascinating companion, he was
+soon himself again,--that is, as much himself as his peculiar
+condition permitted him to be. Yet he was not altogether free from
+a certain eager and decidedly painful suspense with regard to the
+"Nourhalma" problem,--and he was conscious of what he in his own
+opinion considered an absurd and unnecessary degree of excitement,
+when the door of the apartment presently opened to admit Zabastes,
+who entered, carrying several sheets of papyrus and other material
+for writing.
+
+The old Critic's countenance was expressively glum and ironical,--
+he, however, was compelled, like all the other paid servants of
+the household, to make a low and respectful obeisance as soon as
+he found himself in Sah-luma's presence,--an act of homage which,
+he performed awkwardly, and with evident ill-will. His master
+nodded condescendingly in response to his reluctant salute, and
+signed to him to take his place at a richly carved writing-table
+adorned with the climbing figures of winged cupids exquisitely
+wrought in ivory. He obeyed, shuffling thither uneasily, and
+sniffing the rose-fragrant air as he went like an ill-conditioned
+cur scenting a foe,--and seating himself in a high-backed chair,
+he arranged his garments fussily about him, rolled up his long
+embroidered sleeves to the elbow, and spread his writing
+implements all over the desk in front of him with much mock-solemn
+ostentation. Then, rubbing his lean hands together, he gave a
+stealthy glance of covert derision round at Sah-luma and Theos,--a
+glance which Theos saw and in his heart resented, but which Sah-
+luma, absorbed in his own reflections, apparently failed to
+notice.
+
+"All is in readiness, my lord!" he announced in his disagreeable
+croaking tones,--"Here are the clean and harmless slips of river-
+reed waiting to be soiled and spotted with my lord's indelible
+thoughts,--here also are the innocent quills of the white heron,
+as yet unstained by colored writing-fluid whether black, red,
+gold, silver, or purple! Mark you, most illustrious bard, the
+touching helplessness and purity of these meek servants of a
+scribbler's fancy! ... Blank papyrus and empty quills! Bethink you
+seriously whether it were not better to leave them thus
+unblemished, the simple products of unfaulty Nature, than use them
+to indite the wondrous things of my lord's imagination, whereof,
+all wondrous though they seem, no man shall ever be the wiser!"
+
+And he chuckled, stroking his stubbly gray beard the while with a
+blandly suggestive, yet malign look directed at Sah-luma, who met
+it with a slight, cold smile of faintly amused contempt.
+
+"Peace, fool!" he said,--"That barbarous tongue of thine is like
+the imperfect clapper of a broken bell that strikes forth harsh
+and undesired sounds suggesting nothing! Thy present duty is to
+hear, and not to speak,--therefore listen discerningly and write
+with exactitude, so shall thy poor blank scrolls of reed grow rich
+with gems, . . gems of high poesy that the whole world shall hoard
+and cherish miser-like when the poet who created their bright
+splendor is no more!"
+
+He sighed--a short, troubled sigh,--and stood for a moment silent
+in an attitude of pensive thought. Theos watched him yearningly,--
+waiting in almost breathless suspense till he should dictate aloud
+the first line of his poem. Zabastes meanwhile settled himself
+more comfortably in his chair, and taking up one of the long
+quills with which he was provided, dipped it in a reddish-purple
+liquid which at once stained its point to a deep roseate hue, so
+that when the light flickered upon it from time to time, it
+appeared as though it were tipped with fire. How intense the heat
+was, thought Theos!--as with one hand he pushed his clustering
+hair from his brow, not without noticing that his action was
+imitated almost at once by Sah-luma, who also seemed to feel the
+oppressiveness of the atmosphere. And what a blaze of blue
+pervaded the room! ... delicate ethereal blue as of shimmering
+lakes and summer skies melted together into one luminous radiance,
+... radiance that, while filmy, was yet perfectly transparent, and
+in which the Laureate's classic form appeared to be gloriously
+enveloped like that of some new descended god!
+
+Theos rubbed his eyes to cure them of their dazzled ache, . . what a
+marvellous scene it was to look upon, he mused! ... would he,--
+could he ever forget it? Ah no!--never, never! not till his dying
+day would he be able to obliterate it from his memory,--and who
+could tell whether even after death he might not still recall it!
+Just then Sah-luma raised his hand by way of signal to Zabastes, . .
+his face became earnest, pathetic, even grand in the fervent
+concentration of his thoughts, ... he was about to begin his
+dictation, ... now ... now! ... and Theos leaned forward
+nervously, his heart beating with apprehensive expectation ...
+Hush! ... the delicious, suave melody of his friend's voice
+penetrated the silence like the sweet harmonic of a harp-string..
+
+"Write--" said he slowly.. "write first the title of my poem thus:
+'Nourhalma: A Love-Legend of the Past.'"
+
+There was a pause, during which the pen of Zabastes traveled
+quickly over the papyrus for a moment, then stopped. Theos, almost
+suffocated with anxiety, could hardly maintain even the appearance
+of calmness,--the title proclaimed, with its second appendage, was
+precisely the same as that of his own work--but this did not now
+affect him so much. What he waited for with such painfully
+strained attention was the first line of the poem. If it was his
+line he knew it already!--it ran thus:
+
+ "A central sorrow dwells in perfect joy!--"
+
+Scarcely had he repeated this to himself inwardly, than Sah-luma,
+with majestic grace and sweetness of utterance, dictated aloud:
+
+ "A central sorrow dwells in perfect joy!"
+
+"Ah GOD!"
+
+The sharp cry, half fierce, half despairing, broke from Theos's
+quivering lips in spite of all the efforts he made to control his
+agitation, and the Laureate turned toward him with a surprised and
+somewhat irritated movement that plainly evinced annoyance at the
+interruption.
+
+"Pardon, Sah-luma!" he murmured hastily. "'Twas a slight pang at
+the heart troubled me,--a mere nothing!--I take shame to myself to
+have cried out for such a pin's prick! Speak on!--thy first line
+is as soft as honey dew,--as suggestive as the light of dawn on
+sleeping flowers!"
+
+And, leaning dizzily back on his couch, he closed his eyes to shut
+in the hot and bitter tears that welled up rebelliously and
+threatened to fall, notwithstanding his endeavor to restrain them.
+His head throbbed and burned as though a chaplet of fiery thorns
+encircled it, instead of the once desired crown of Fame he had so
+fondly dreamed of winning!
+
+Fame? ... Alas! that bright, delusive vision had fled forever,--
+there were no glory-laurels left growing for him in the fields of
+poetic art and aspiration,--Sah-luma, the fortunate Sah-luma, had
+gathered and possessed them all! Taking everything into serious
+consideration, he came at last to the deeply mortifying conclusion
+that it must be himself who was the plagiarist,--the unconscious
+imitator of Sah-luma's ideas and methods, . . and the worst of it
+was that his imitation was so terribly EXACT!
+
+Oh, how heartily he despised himself for his poor and pitiful lack
+of originality! Down to the very depths of humiliation he sternly
+abased his complaining, struggling, wounded, and sorely resentful
+spirit, . . he then and there became the merciless executioner of
+his own claims to literary honor,--and deliberately crushing all
+his past ambition, mutinous discontent and uncompliant desires
+with a strong master-hand he lay quiet...as patiently unmoved as
+is a dead man to the wrongs inflicted on his memory...and forced
+himself to listen resignedly to every glowing line of his, . . no,
+not his, but Sah-luma's poem, . . the lovely, gracious, delicate,
+entrancing poem he remembered so well! And by and by, as each
+mellifluous stanza sounded softly on his ears, a strangely solemn
+tranquillity swept over him,--a most soothing halcyon calm, as
+though some passing angel's hand had touched his brow in
+benediction.
+
+He looked at Sah-luma, not enviously now but all admiringly,--it
+seemed to him that he had never heard a sweeter, tenderer music
+than the story of "Nourhalma" as recited by his friend. And so to
+that friend he silently awarded his own wished-for glory, praise,
+and everlasting fame!--that glory, praise, and fame which had
+formerly allured his fancy as being the best of all the world
+could offer, but which he now entirely and willingly relinquished
+in favor of this more deserving and dear comrade, whose superior
+genius he submissively acknowledged!
+
+There was a great quietness everywhere,--the rising and falling
+inflections of Sah-luma's soft, rich voice rather, deepened than
+disturbed the stillness,--the pen of Zabastes glided noiselessly
+over the slips of papyrus,--and the small sounds of the outer air,
+such as the monotonous hum of bees among the masses of lily-bloom
+that towered in white clusters between the festooned awnings, the
+thirsty twitterimg of birds hiding under the long palm leaves to
+shelter themselves from the heat, and the incessant splash of the
+fountains, ... all seemed to be, as it were, mere appendages to
+enhance the breathless hush of nature. Presently Sah-luma paused,
+--and Zabastes, heaving a sigh of relief, looked up from his
+writing, and laid down his pen.
+
+'The work is finished, most illustrious?" he demanded, a curious
+smile playing on his thin, satirical lips.
+
+"Finished?" echoed Sah-luma disdainfully--"Nay,--'tis but the end
+of the First Canto"
+
+The scribe gave vent to a dismal groan.
+
+"Ye gods!" he exclaimed--"Is there more to come of this bombastic
+ranting and vile torturing of phrases unheard of and altogether
+unnatural! O Sah-luma!--marvellous Sah-luma! twaddler Sah-luma!
+what a brain box is thine! ... How full of dislocated word-puzzles
+and similes gone mad! Now, as I live, expect no mercy from me this
+time!".. and he shook his head threateningly,--"For if the public
+news sheet will serve me as mine anvil, I will so pound thee in
+pieces with the sledge-hammer of my criticism, that, by the Ship
+of the Sun! ... for once Al-Kyns shall be moved to laughter at
+thee! Mark me, good tuner-up of tinkling foolishness! ... I will
+so choose out and handle thy feeblest lines that they shall seem
+but the doggerel of a street ballad monger! I will give so bald an
+epitome of this sickly love-tale that it shall appeal to all who
+read my commentary the veriest trash that ever poet penned! ...
+Moreover, I can most admirably misquote thee, and distort thy
+meanings with such excellent bitter jesting, that thou thyself
+shall scarcely recognize thine own production! By Nagaya's Shrine!
+what a feast 'twill be for my delectation!"--and he rubbed his
+hands gleefully--"With what a weight of withering analysis I can
+pulverize this idol of 'Nourhalma' into the dust and ashes of a
+common sense contempt!"
+
+While Zabastes thus spoke, Sah-luma had helped himself, by way of
+refreshment, to two ripe figs, in whose luscious crimson pulp his
+white teeth met, with all the enjoying zest of a child's healthy
+appetite. He now held up the rind and stalks of these devoured
+delicacies, and smiled.
+
+'Thus wilt thou swallow up my poem in thy glib clumsiness,
+Zabastes!" he said lightly--"And thus wilt them hold up the most
+tasteless portions of the whole for the judgment of the public!
+'Tis the manner of thy craft,--yet see!"--and with a dexterous
+movement of his arm he threw the fruit-peel through the window far
+out into the garden beyond--"There goes thy famous criticism!" and
+he laughed.. "And those that taste the fruit itself at first hand
+will not soon forget its flavor! Nevertheless I hope indeed that
+thou wilt strive to slaughter me with thy blunt paper sword! I do
+most mirthfully relish the one-sided combat, in which I stand in
+silence to receive thy blows, myself unhurt and tranquil as a
+marble god whom ruffians rail upon! Do I not pay thee to abuse me?
+... here, thou crusty soul!--drink and be content!"--And with a
+charming condescension he handed a full goblet of wine to his
+cantankerous Critic, who accepted it ungraciously, muttering in
+his beard the necessary words of thanks for his master's
+consideration,--then, turning to Theos, the Laureate continued:
+
+"And thou, my friend, what dost thou think of 'Nourhalma' so far?
+Hath it not a certain exquisite smoothness of rhythm like the
+ripple of a woodland stream clear-winding through the reeds? ...
+and is there not a tender witchery in the delineation of my
+maiden-heroine, so warmly fair, so wildly passionate? Methinks she
+doth resemble some rich flower of our tropic fields, blooming at
+sunset and dead at moonrise!"
+
+Theos waited a moment before replying. Truth to tell, he was
+inwardly overcome with shame to remember how wantonly he had
+copied the description of this same Nourhalma! ... and plaintively
+he wondered how he could have unconsciously committed so flagrant
+a theft! Summoning up all his self-possession, however, he
+answered bravely.
+
+"Thy work, Sah-luma, is worthy of thyself! ... need I say more?
+... Thou hast most aptly proved thy claim upon, the whole world's
+gratitude, ... such lofty thoughts, . . such noble discourse upon
+love,--such high philosophy, wherein the deepest, dearest dreams
+of life are grandly pictured in enduring colors,--these things are
+gifts to poor humanity whereby it MUST become enriched and proud!
+Thy name, bright soul, shall be as a quenchless star on the dark
+brows of melancholy Time, . . men gazing thereat shall wonder and
+adore,--and even _I_, the least among thy friends, may also win
+from thee a share of glory! For, simply to know thee,--to listen
+to thy heaven-inspired utterance, might bring the most renownless
+student some reflex of thine honor! Yes, thou art great, Sah-luma!
+... great as the greatest of earth's gifted sons of song!--and
+with all my heart I offer thee my homage, and pride myself upon
+the splendor of thy fame!"
+
+And as the eager, enthusiastic words came from his lips, he beheld
+Sah-luma's beautiful countenance brighten more and more, till it
+appeared mysteriously transfigured into a majestic Angel-face that
+for one brief moment startled him by the divine tenderness of its
+compassionate smile! This expression, however, was transitory,--it
+passed, and the dark eyes of the Laureate gleamed with a merely
+serene and affectionate complacency as he said:
+
+"I thank thee for thy praise, good Theos!--thou art indeed the
+friendliest of critics! Hadst thou THYSELF been the author of
+'Nourhalma' thou couldst not have spoken with more ardent feeling!
+Were Zabastes like thee, discerningly just and reasonable, he
+would be all unfit for his vocation,--for 'tis an odd circumstance
+that praise in the public news-sheet does a writer more harm than
+good, while ill-conditioned and malicious abuse doth very
+materially increase and strengthen his reputation. Yet, after all,
+there is a certain sense in the argument,--for if much eulogy be
+penned by the cheap scribes, the reading populace at once imagine
+these fellows have been bribed to give their over-zealous
+approval, or that they are close friends and banquet-comrades of
+the author whom they arduously uphold, . . whereas, on the contrary,
+if they indulge in bitter invective, flippant gibing, or clumsy
+satire, like my amiable Zabsastes here..." and he made an airy
+gesture toward the silent yet evidently chafing Critic, .."(and,
+mark you!-HE is not bribed, but merely paid fair wages to fulfil
+his chosen and professed calling)--why, thereupon the multitude
+exclaim--'What! this poet hath such enemies?--nay, then, how great
+a genius he must be!"--and forthwith they clamor for his work,
+which, if it speak not for itself, is then and only then to be
+deemed faulty, and meriting oblivion. 'Tis the People's verdict
+which alone gives fame."
+
+"And yet the people are often ignorant of what is noblest and best
+in literature!" observed Theos musingly.
+
+"Ignorant in some ways, yes!" agreed Sah-luma--"But in many
+others, no! They may be ignorant as to WHY they admire a certain
+thing, yet they admire it all the same, because their natural
+instinct leads them so to do. And this is the special gift which
+endows the uncultured masses with an occasional sweeping advantage
+over the cultured few,--the superiority of their INSTINCT. As in
+cases of political revolution for example,--while the finely
+educated orator is endeavoring by all the force of artful rhetoric
+to prove that all is in order and as it should be, the mob, moved
+by one tremendous impulse, discover for themselves that everything
+is wrong, and moreover that nothing will come right, unless they
+rise up and take authority, . . accordingly, down go the thrones and
+the colleges, the palaces, the temples, and the law-assemblies,
+all like so many toys before the resistless instinct of the
+people, who revolt at injustice, and who feel and know when they
+are injured, though they are not clever enough to explain WHERE
+their injury lies. And so, as they cannot talk about it
+coherently, any more than a lion struck by an arrow can give a
+learned dissertation on his wound, they act, . . and the heat and
+fury of their action upheaves dynasties! Again,--reverting to the
+question of taste and literature,--the mob, untaught and untrained
+in the subtilties of art, will applaud to the echo certain grand
+and convincing home-truths set forth in the plays of the divine
+Hyspiros,--simply because they instinctively FEEL them to be
+truths, no matter how far they themselves may be from acting up to
+the standard of morality therein contained. The more highly
+cultured will hear the same passages unmoved, because they, in the
+excess of artificially gained wisdom, have deadened their
+instincts so far, that while they listen to a truth pronounced,
+they already consider how best they can confute it, and prove the
+same a lie! Honest enthusiasm is impossible to the over-
+punctilious and pedantic scholar,--but on the other hand, I would
+have it plainly understood that a mere brief local popularity is
+not Fame, . . No! for the author who wins the first never secures
+the last. What I mean is, that a book or poem to be great, and
+keep its greatness hereafter, must be judged worthy by the natural
+instinct of PEOPLES. Their decision, I own, may be tardy,--their
+hesitation may be prolonged through a hundred or more years,--but
+their acceptance, whether it be declared in the author's life-time
+or ages after his death, must be considered final. I would add,
+moreover, that this world-wide decision has never yet been, and
+never will be, hastened by any amount of written criticism,--it is
+the responsive beat of the enormous Pulse of Life that thrills
+through all mankind, high and low, gentle and simple,--its great
+throbs are slow and solemnly measured,--yet if once it answers to
+a Poet's touch, that Poet's name is made glorious forever!"
+
+He spoke with a rush of earnestness and eloquence that was both
+persuasive and powerful, and he now stood silent and absorbed, his
+dreamy eyes resting meditatively on the massive bust of the
+immortal personage he called Hyspiros, which smiled out in serene,
+cold whiteness from the velvet-shadowed shrine it occupied. Theos
+watched him with fascinated and fraternal fondness, . . did ever man
+possess so dulcet a voice, he thought? ... so grave and rich and
+marvellously musical, yet thrilling with such heart-moving
+suggestions of mingled pride and plaintiveness?
+
+"Thou art a most alluring orator, Sah-luma!" he said suddenly--
+"Methinks I could listen to thee all day and never tire!"
+
+"I' faith, so could not I!" interposed Zabastes grimly. "For when
+a bard begins to gabble goose-like platitudes which merely concern
+his own vocation, the gods only know when he can be persuaded to
+stop! Nay, 'tis more irksome far than the recitation of his
+professional jingle--for to that there must in time come a
+merciful fitting end, but, as I live, if 'twas my custom to say
+prayers, I would pray to be delivered from the accursed volubility
+of a versifier's tongue! And perchance it will not be considered
+out of my line of duty if I venture to remind my most illustrious
+and renowned MASTER--" this with a withering sneer,--"that if he
+has any more remarkable nothings to dictate concerning this
+particularly inane creation of his fancy 'Nourhalma,' 'twill be
+well that we should proceed therewith, for the hours wax late and
+the sun veereth toward his House of Noon."
+
+And he spread out fresh slips of papyrus and again prepared his
+long quill.
+
+Sah-luma smiled, as one who is tolerant of the whims of a hired
+buffoon,--and, this time seating himself in his ebony chair, was
+about to commence dictating his Second Canto when Theos, yielding
+to his desire to speak aloud the idea that had just flashed across
+his brain said abruptly:
+
+"Has it ever seemed to thee, Sah-luma, as it now does to me, that
+there is a strange resemblance between thy imaginative description
+of the ideal 'Nourhalma,' and the actual charms and virtues of thy
+strayed singing-maid Niphrata?"
+
+Sah-luma looked up, thoroughly astonished, and laughed.
+
+"No!--Verily I have not traced, nor can I trace the smallest
+vestige of a similarity! Why, good Theos, there is none!--not the
+least in the world,--for this heroine of mine, Nourhalma, loves in
+vain, and sacrifices all, even her innocent and radiant life, for
+love, as thou wilt hear in the second half of the poem,--moreover
+she loves one who is utterly unworthy of her faithful tenderness.
+Now Niphrata is a child of delicate caprice ... she loves ME,--me,
+her lord,--and methinks I am not negligent or undeserving of her
+devotion! ... again, she has no strength of spirit,--her timorous
+blood would freeze at the mere thought of death,--she is more
+prone to play with flowers and sing for pure delight of heart than
+perish for the sake of love! 'Tis an unequal simile, my friend!--
+as well compare a fiery planet with a twinkling dewdrop, as draw a
+parallel between the heroic ideal maid 'Nourhalma'--and my
+fluttering singing-bird, Niphrata!"
+
+Theos sighed involuntarily,--but forcing a smile, let the subject
+drop and held his peace, while Sah-luma, taking up the thread of
+his poetical narrative, went on reciting. When the story began to
+ripen toward its conclusion he grew more animated, ... rising, he
+paced the room as he declaimed the splendid lines that now rolled
+gloriously one upon another like deep-mouthed billows thundering
+on the shore,--his gestures were all indicative of the fervor of
+his inward ecstasy,--his eyes flashed,--his features glowed with
+that serene, proud light of conscious power and triumph that rests
+on the calm, wide brows of the sculptured Apollo,--and Theos,
+leaning one arm in a half-sitting posture, contemplated him with a
+curious sensation of wistful eagerness and passionate pain, such
+as might be felt by some forgotten artist mysteriously permitted
+to come out of his grave and wander back to earth, there to see
+his once-rejected pictures hung in places of honor among the
+world's chief treasures.
+
+A strange throb of melancholy satisfaction stirred his pulses as
+he reflected that he might now, without any self-conceit, at least
+ADMIRE the poem!--since he had decided that was no longer his, but
+another's, he was free to bestow on it as much as he would of
+unstinting praise! For it was very fine,--there could be no doubt
+of that, whatever Zabastes might say to the contrary,--and it was
+not only fine, but intensely, humanly pathetic, seeming to strike
+a chord of passion such as had never before been sounded,--a chord
+to which the world would be COMPELLED to listen,--yes,--COMPELLED!
+thought Theos exultingly,--as Sah-luma drew nearer and nearer the
+close of his dictation ... The deep quiet all around was so heavy
+as to be almost uncomfortable in its oppressiveness,--it exercised
+a sort of strain upon the nerves ...
+
+Hark! what was that? Through the hot and silent air swept a sullen
+surging noise as of the angry shouting of a vast multitude,--then
+came the fast and furious gallop of many horses,--and again that
+fierce, resentful roar of indignation, swelling up as it seemed
+from thousands of throats. Moved, all three at once, by the same
+instinctive desire to know what was going on, Theos, Sah-luma, and
+Zabastes sprang from their different places in the room, and
+hurried out on the marble terrace, dashing aside the silken
+awnings as they went in order the better to see the open glimpses
+of the city thoroughfares that lay below. Theos, leaning far out
+over the western half of the balustrade, was able to command a
+distant view of the great Square in which the huge white granite
+Obelisk occupied so prominent a position, and, fixing his eyes
+attentively on this spot, saw that it was filled to overflowing
+with a dense mass of people, whose white-raimented forms, pressed
+together in countless numbers, swayed restlessly to and fro like
+the rising waves of a stormy sea.
+
+Lifted above this troubled throng, one tall, dark figure was
+distinctly outlined against the dazzling face of the Obelisk--a
+figure that appeared to be standing on the back of the colossal
+Lion that lay couchant beneath. And as Theos strained his sight to
+distinguish the details of the scene more accurately, he suddenly
+beheld a glittering regiment of mounted men in armor, charging
+straightly and with cruelly determined speed, right into the
+centre of the crowd, apparently regardless of all havoc to life
+and limb that might ensue. Involuntarily he uttered an exclamation
+of horror at what seemed to him so wanton and brutal an act, when
+just then Sah-luma caught him eagerly by the arm,--Sah-luma, whose
+soft, oval countenance was brilliant with excitement, and in whose
+eyes gleamed a mingled expression of mirth and ferocity.
+
+"Come, come, my friend!" he said hastily--"Yonder is a sight worth
+seeing! 'Tis the mad Khosrul who is thus entrenched and fortified
+by the mob,--as I live, that sweeping gallop of His Majesty's
+Royal Guards is magnificent! They will seize the Prophet this time
+without fail! Aye, if they slay a thousand of the populace in the
+performance of their duty! Come!--let us hasten to the scene of
+action--'twill be a struggle I would not miss for all the world!"
+
+He sprang down the steps of the loggia, accompanied by Theos, who
+was equally excited,--when all at once Zabastes, thrusting out his
+head through a screen of vine-leaves, cried after them:
+
+"Sah-luma!--Most illustrious! What of the poem? It is not
+finished!"
+
+"No matter!" returned Sah-luma--"'Twill be finished hereafter!"
+
+And he hastened on, Theos treading close in his footsteps and
+thinking as he went of the new enigma thus proposed to puzzle
+afresh the weary workings of his mind. HIS poem of Nourhalma--
+or rather the poem he had fancied was his--had been entirely
+completed down to the last line; now Sah-luma's was left "TO BE
+FINISHED HEREAFTER."
+
+Strange that he should find a pale glimmering of consolation in
+this!--a feeble hope that perhaps after all, at some future time,
+he might be able to produce a few, a very few lines of noble verse
+that should be deemed purely original! ... enough perchance, to
+endow him with a faint, far halo of diminished glory such as
+plodding students occasionally win, by following humbly yet
+ardently ... even as he now followed Sah-luma ... in the paths of
+excellence marked out by greater men!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+THE FALL OF THE OBELISK.
+
+
+In less time than he could have imagined possible, he found
+himself in the densely crowded Square, buffeting and struggling
+against an angry and rebellious mob, who half resentful and half
+terrified, had evidently set themselves to resist the determined
+charge made by the mounted soldiery into their midst. For once
+Sah-luma's appearance created no diversion,--he was pushed and
+knocked about as unceremoniously as if he were the commonest
+citizen of them all, He seemed carelessly surprised at this, but
+nevertheless took his hustling very good humoredly, and, keeping
+his shoulders well squared forced his way with Theos by slow
+degrees through the serried ranks of people, many of whom, roused
+to a sort of frenzy threw themselves in front of the advancing
+horses of the guard, and seizing the reins held on to these like
+grim death, reckless of all danger.
+
+As yet no weapons were used either by the soldiers or the
+populace,--the former seemed for the present contented to simply
+ride down those who impeded their progress,--and that they had
+done so in terrible earnest was plainly evident from the numbers
+of wounded creatures that lay scattered about on every side in an
+apparently half dying condition. Yet there was surely a strange
+insensibility to suffering among them all, inasmuch as in spite of
+the contention and confusion there were no violent shrieks of
+either pain or fury,--no exclamations of rage or despair,--no
+sound whatever indeed, save a steady, sullen, monotonous snarl of
+opposition, above which the resonant voice of the Prophet Khosrul
+rang out like a silver clarion.
+
+"O people doomed and made desolate!" he cried.. "O nation once
+mighty, brought low to the dust of destruction! Hear me, ye strong
+men and fair women!--and you, ye poor little children who never
+again shall see the sun rise on the thousand domes of Al-Kyris!
+Lift up the burden of bitter lamentation!--lift it up to the
+Heaven of Heavens, the Throne of the All-Seeing Glory, the Giver
+of Law, the Destroyer of Evil! Weep! ... weep for your sins and
+the sins of your sons and your daughters--cast off the jewels of
+pride,--rend the fine raiment, ... let your tears be abundant as
+the rain and dew! Kneel down and cry aloud on the great and
+terrible Unknown God--the God ye have denied and wronged,--the
+Founder of worlds, who doth hold in His Hand the Sun as a torch,
+and scattereth stars with the fire of His breath! Mourn and bend
+ye all beneath the iron stroke of Destiny!--for know ye not how
+fierce a thing has come upon Al-Kyris? ... a thing that lips
+cannot utter nor words define,--a thing more horrible than strange
+sounds in thick darkness,--more deadly than the lightning when it
+leaps from Heaven with intent to slay! O City stately beyond all
+cities! Thy marble palaces are already ringed round with a river
+of blood!--the temples of thy knowledge wherein thy wise men have
+studied to exceed all wisdom, begin to totter to their fall,--thou
+shalt be swept away even as a light heap of ashes, and what shall
+all thy learning avail thee in that brief and fearful end! Hear
+me, O people of Al-Kyris!--Hear me and cease to strive among
+yourselves, ... resist not thus desperately the King's armed
+minions, for to them I also speak and say,--Lo! the time
+approaches when a stronger hand than that of the mighty Zephoranim
+shall take me prisoner and bear me hence where most I long to go!
+Peace, I command you! ... in the Name of that God whose truth I do
+proclaim ... Peace!"
+
+As he uttered the last word an instantaneous hush fell upon the
+crowd,--every head was turned toward his grand, gaunt, almost
+spectral figure; and even the mounted soldiery reined up their
+plunging, chafing steeds and remained motionless as though
+suddenly fixed to the ground by some powerful magnetic spell.
+Theos and Sah-luma took immediate advantage of this lull in the
+conflict, to try and secure for themselves a better point of
+vantage, though there was much difficulty in pressing through the
+closely packed throng, inasmuch as not a man moved to give them
+passage-room.
+
+Presently, however, Sah-luma managed to reach the nearest one of
+the two great fountains, which adorned either side of the Obelisk,
+and, springing as lightly as a bird on its marble edge, he stood
+erect there, his picturesque form presenting itself to the view
+like a fine statue set against the background of sun-tinted
+foaming water that dashed high above him and sprinkled his
+garments with drops of sparkling spray. Theos at once joined him,
+and the two friends, holding each other fast by the arm, gazed
+down on the silent, mighty multitude around them,--a huge
+concourse of the citizens of Al-Kyris, who, strange as this part
+of their behavior seemed, still paid no heed to the presence of
+their Laureate, but with pale, rapt faces and anxious, frightened
+eyes, riveted their attention entirely on the sombre, black-
+garmented Prophet whose thin ghostly arms, outstretched above
+them, appeared to mutely invoke in their behalf some special
+miracle of mercy.
+
+"See you not".. whispered Sah-luma to his companion,--"how yon
+aged fool wears upon his breast the Symbol of his own Prophecy?
+'Tis the maddest freak to thus display his death-warrant!--Only a
+month ago the King issued a decree, warning all those whom it
+might concern, that any one of his born subjects presuming to
+carry the sign of Khosrul's newly invented Faith should surely
+die! And that the crazed reprobate carries it himself makes no
+exemption from the rule!"
+
+Theos shuddered. His eyes were misty, but he could very well see
+the Emblem to which Sah-luma alluded,--it was the Cross again! ...
+the same sacred Prefigurement of things "to come," according to
+the perplexing explanation given by the Mystic Zuriel whom he had
+met in the Passage of the Tombs, though to his own mind it
+conveyed no such meaning. What was it then? ... if not a Prototype
+of the future, was it a Record of the Past? He dared not pursue
+this question,--it seemed to send his brain reeling on the verge
+of madness! He made no answer to Sah-luma's remark,--but fixed his
+gaze wistfully on the tall, melancholy Shape that like a black
+shadow darkened the whiteness of the Obelisk,--and his sense of
+hearing became acute almost to painfulness when once more
+Khosrul's deep vibrating tones peeled solemnly through the heavy
+air.
+
+"God speaks to Al-Kyris!" and as the Prophet enunciated these
+words with majestic emphasis a visible thrill ran through the
+hushed assemblage.. "God saith: Get thee up, O thou City of
+Pleasure, from thy couch of sweet wantonness,--get thee up, gird
+thee with fire, and flee into the desert of forgotten things! For
+thou art become a blot on the fairness of My world, and a shame to
+the brightness of My Heaven!--thy rulers are corrupt,--thy
+teachers are proud of heart and narrow in judgment,--thy young men
+and maidens go astray and follow each after their own vain
+opinions,--in thy great temples and holy places Falsehood abides,
+and Vice holds court in thy glorious palaces. Wherefore because
+thou hast neither sought nor served Me, and because thou hast set
+up gold as thy god, and a multitude of riches as thy chief good,
+lo! now mine eyes have grown weary of beholding thee, and I will
+descend upon thee suddenly and destroy thee, even as a hill of
+sand is destroyed by the whirlwind,--and thou shalt be known in
+the land of My creatures no more! Woe to thee that thou hast taken
+pride in thy wisdom and learning, for therein lies thy much
+wickedness! If thou wert truly wise thou wouldst have found Me,--
+if thou wert nobly learned thou wouldst have understood My laws,--
+but thou art proved altogether gross, foolish, and incapable,--and
+the studies whereof thou hast boasted, the writings of thy wise
+men, the charts of sea and land, the maps of thy chief
+astronomers, the engraved tablets of learning, in gold, in silver,
+in ivory, in stone, thy chronicles of battle and conquest, the
+documents of thine explorers in far countries, the engines of
+thine invention whereby thou dost press the lightning into thy
+service, and make the air respond to the messages of thy kings and
+councillors,--all these shall be thrust away into an everlasting
+silence, and no man hereafter shall be able to declare that such
+things have ever been!"
+
+Here the speaker paused,--and Theos, surveying the vast listening
+crowds, fancied they looked like an audience of moveless ghosts
+rather than human beings,--so still, so pallid, so grave were
+they, one and all. Khosrul continued in softer, more melancholy
+accents, that, while plaintive, were still singularly impressive.
+
+"O my ill-fated, my beloved fellow-countrymen!" he exclaimed,
+extending his arms with a vehemently pleading gesture as though in
+the excess of emotion he would have drawn all the people to his
+heart.--"Ye unhappy ones? ... have I not given ye warning? Have I
+not bidden ye beware of this great evil which should come to
+pass?--Evil for which there is no remedy,--none,--neither in the
+earth, nor the sea, nor the invisible comforts of the air! ... for
+God hath spoken, and who shall contradict the thunder of His
+voice! Behold the end is at hand of all the pleasant things of Al-
+Kyris,--the feasting and the musical assemblies, the cymbal-
+symphonies and the choir-dances, the labors of students and the
+triumphs of sages,--all these shall seem but the mockery of
+madness in the swift-descending night of overwhelming destruction!
+Woe is me that ye would not listen when I called, but turned every
+man to his own devices and the following after idols? Nay now,
+what will ye do in extremity?--Will ye chant hymns to the Sun? Lo,
+he is deaf and blind for all his golden glory, and is but a taper
+set in the window of the sky, to be extinguished at God's good
+pleasure! Will ye supplicate Nagaya? O fools and desperate!--how
+shall a brute beast answer prayer!--Vain, vain is all beseeching,
+--shut forever are the doors of escape,--therefore cover yourselves
+with the garments of burial,--prepare each one his grave and rich
+funeral things,--gather together the rosemary and myrrh, the
+precious ointments and essences, the strings of gold and the
+jewelled talismans whereby ye think to fight against corruption,--
+and fall down, every man in his own wrought hollow in the ground,
+face turned to earth and die--for Death hath broken through the
+strong gates of Al-Kyris, and hath taken the City Magnificent
+captive unknowingly! Alas, alas! that ye would not follow whither
+I led,--that ye would not hearken to the Vision of the Future,
+dimly yet gloriously revealed! ... the Future! ... the Future!"
+...
+
+He broke off suddenly, and raising his eyes to the deep blue sky
+above him, seemed for a moment as though he were caught up in the
+cloud of some wondrous dream. Still the enormous throng of people
+stood hushed and motionless,--not a word, not a sound escaped
+them,--there was something positively appalling in such absolute
+immobility,--at least it appeared so to Theos, who could not
+understand this dispassionate behavior on the part of so large and
+lately excited a multitude. All at once a voice marvellously
+tender, clear, and pathetic trembled on the silence,--was it,
+could it be the voice of Khosrul? Yes! but so changed, so solemn,
+so infinitely sweet, that it might have been some gentle angel
+speaking:
+
+"Like a fountain of sweet water in the desert, or the rising of
+the moon in a gloomy midnight," he said slowly,--"Even so is the
+hope and promise of the Supremely Beloved! Through the veiling
+darkness of the coming ages His Light already shines upon my soul!
+O blessed Advent! ... O happy Future! ... O days when privileged
+Humanity shall bridge by Love the gulf between this world and
+Heaven! What shall be said of Him who cometh to redeem us, O my
+foreseeing spirit! What shall be told concerning His most
+marvellous Beauty? Even as a dove that for pity of its helpless
+younglings doth battle soft-breasted with a storm, even so shall
+He descend from out His glory sempiternal, and teach us how to
+conquer Sin and Death,--aye, even with the meekness of a little
+child He shall approach, and choose His dwelling here among us. O
+heavenly Child! O wisdom of God contained in innocence! ... happy
+the learning that shall learn from Thee!--noble the pride that
+shall humble itself before Thy gentleness! [Footnote: The idea of
+a Saviour who should be born as Man to redeem the world was
+prevalent among all nations and dates from the remotest ages.
+Coming down to what must be termed quite a modern period compared
+to that in which the city of Al-Kyris had its existence, we find
+that the Romans under Octavius Caesar were wont to exclaim at
+their sacred meetings, "The times FORETOLD BY THE SYBIL are
+arrived; may a new age soon restore that Saturn? SOON MAY THE
+CHILD BE BORN WHO SHALL BANISH THE AGE OF IRON?" Tacitus and
+Suetonius both mention the prophecies "in the sacred books of the
+priests" which declare that the "East shall be in commotion," and
+that "MEN FROM JUDEA" shall subject "everything to their
+dominion."] O Prince of Manhood and Divinity entwined! Thou shalt
+acquaint Thyself with human griefs, and patiently unravel the
+perplexities of human longings!--to prove Thy sacred sympathy with
+suffering, Thou shalt be content to suffer,--to explain the
+mystery of Death, Thou shalt even be content to die. O people of
+Al-Kyris, hear ye all the words that tell of this Wonderful,
+Inestimable King of Peace,--mine aged eyes do see Him now, far,
+far off in the rising mist of unformed future things!--the Cross--
+the Cross, on which His Man's pure Life dissolves itself in glory,
+stretches above me in spreading beams of light! ... Ah! 'tis a
+glittering pathway in the skies whereon men and the angels meet
+and know each other! He is the strong and perfect Spirit, that
+shall break loose from Death and declare the insignificance of the
+Grave,--He is the lingering Star in the East that shall rise and
+lighten all spiritual darkness--the unknown, unnamed Redeemer of
+the World, ... the Man-God Saviour that SHALL COME?"
+
+"SHALL come?" cried Theos, suddenly roused to the utmost pitch of
+frenzied excitement, and pronouncing each word with loud and
+involuntary vehemence ... "Nay! ... for He HAS come! HE DIED FOR
+US, AND ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD MORE THAN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED YEARS
+AGO!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A frightful silence followed,--a breathless cessation of even the
+faintest quiver of sound. The mighty mass of people, apparently
+moved by one accord, turned with swift, stealthy noiselessness
+toward the audacious speaker, ... thousands of glittering eyes
+were fixed upon him in solemnly inquiring wonderment, while he
+himself, now altogether dismayed at the effect of his own rash
+utterance, thought he had never experienced a more awful moment!
+For it was as though all the skeletons he had lately seen in the
+Passage of the Tombs had suddenly clothed themselves with spectral
+flesh and hair and the shadowy garments of men, and had advanced
+into broad daylight to surround him in their terrible lifeless
+ranks, and wrench from him the secret of an after-existence
+concerning which THEY were ignorant!
+
+How ghostly and drear seemed that dense crowd in this new light of
+his delirious fancy! A clammy dew broke out on his forehead,--he
+saw the blue skies, the huge buildings in the Square, the Obelisk,
+the fountains, the trees, all whirling round him in a wild dance
+of the dizziest distraction, ... when Sah-luma's rich voice close
+to his ear recalled his wandering senses:
+
+"Why, man, art thou drunk or mad?" and the Laureate's face
+expressed a kind of sarcastic astonishment,--"What a fool thou
+hast made of thyself, good comrade! ... By my soul, how shall thy
+condition be explained to these open-mouthed starers below! See
+how they gape upon thee! ... thou art most assuredly a noticeable
+spectacle! ... and yon maniac Prophet doth evidently judge thee as
+one of his craft, a fellow professional howler of marvels, else he
+would scarcely deign to fix his eyes so obstinately on thy
+countenance! Nay, verily thou dost outrival him in the strangeness
+of thy language! ... What moved thee to such frenzied utterance?
+Surely thou hast a stroke of the sun!--thy words were most
+absolutely devoid of reason! ... as senseless as the jabber of an
+idiot to his own shadow on the wall!"
+
+Theos was mute,--he had no defense to offer. The crowd still
+stared upon him,--and his heart beat fast with a mingled sense of
+fear and pride--fear of his present surroundings,--pride that he
+had spoken out his conviction boldly, reckless of all
+consequences. And this pride was a most curious thing to analyze,
+because it did not so much consist in the fact of his having
+openly confessed his inward thought, as that he felt he had gained
+some special victory in thus ACKNOWLEDGING HIS BELIEF IN THE
+POSITIVE EXISTENCE OF THE "Saviour" who formed the subject of
+Khosrul's prophecy. Full of a singular sort of self-congratulation
+which yet had nothing to do with selfishness, he became so
+absorbed in his own reflections that he started like a man
+brusquely aroused from sleep when the Prophet's strong grave voice
+apostrophized him personally over the heads of the throng:
+
+"Who and what art thou, that dost speak of the FUTURE as though it
+were the PAST? Hast thou held converse with the Angels, and is
+Past and Future ONE with thee in the dream of the departing
+Present? Answer me, thou stranger to the city of Al-Kyris! ... Has
+God taught THEE the way to Everlasting Life?"
+
+Again that awful silence made itself felt like a deadly chill on
+the sunlit air,--the quiet, patient crowds seemed waiting in
+hushed suspense for some reply which should be as a flash of
+spiritual enlightenment to leap from one to the other with
+kindling heat and radiance, and vivify them all into a new and
+happier existence. But now, when Theos most strongly desired to
+speak, he remained dumb as stone! ... vainly he struggled against
+and contended with the invisible, mysterious, and relentless
+despotism that smote him on the mouth as it were, and deprived him
+of all power of utterance, ... his tongue was stiff and frozen,
+... his very lips were sealed! Trembling violently, he gazed
+beseechingly at Sah-luma, who held his arm in a firm and friendly
+grasp, and who, apparently quickly perceiving that he was
+distressed and embarrassed, undertook himself to furnish forth
+what he evidently considered a fitting response to Khosrul's
+adjuration.
+
+"Most venerable Seer!" he cried mockingly, his bright face radiant
+with mirth and his dark eyes flashing a careless contempt as he
+spoke--"Thou art as short-sighted as thine own auguries if thou
+canst not at once comprehend the drift of my friend's humor! He
+hath caught the infection of thy fanatic eloquence, and, like
+thee, knows naught of what he says: moreover he hath good wine and
+sunlight mingled in his blood, whereby he hath been doubtless
+moved to play a jest upon thee. I pray thee heed him not! He is as
+free to declare thy Prophecy is of the PAST, as thou art to insist
+on its being of the FUTURE,--in both ways 'tis a most foolish
+fallacy! Nevertheless, continue thy entertaining discourse, Sir
+Graybeard! . . . and if thou must needs address thyself to any one
+soul in particular, why let it be me,--for though, thanks to mine
+own excellent good sense, I have no faith in angels nor crosses,
+nor everlasting life, nor any of the strange riddles wherewith
+thou seekest to perplex and bewilder the brains of the ignorant,
+still am I Laureate of the realm, and ready to hold argument with
+thee,--yea!--until such time as these dumfounded soldiers and
+citizens of Al-Kyris shall remember their duty sufficiently to
+seize and take thee captive in the King's great name!"
+
+As he ceased a deep sigh ran, like the first sound of a rising
+wind among trees, through the heretofore motionless multitude,--a
+faint, dawning, yet doubtful smile reflected itself on their
+faces,--and the old familiar shout broke feebly from their lips:
+
+"Hail, Sah-luma! Let us hear Sah-luma!"
+
+Sah-luma looked down upon them all in airy derision.
+
+"O fickle, terror-stricken fools!" he exclaimed--"O thankless and
+disloyal people! What!--ye WILL see me now? ... ye WILL hear me?
+... Aye! but who shall answer for your obedience to my words! Nay,
+is it possible that I, your country's chosen Chief Minstrel,
+should have stood so long among ye disregarded! How comes it your
+dull eyes and ears were fixed so fast upon yon dotard miscreant
+whose days are numbered? Methought t'was but Sah-luma's voice that
+could persuade ye to assemble thus in such locust-like swarms..
+since when have the Poet and the People of Al-Kyris ceased to be
+as one?"
+
+A vague, muttering sound answered him, whether of shame or
+dissatisfaction it was difficult to tell. Khosrul's vibrating
+accent struck sharply across that muffled murmur.
+
+"The Poet and the People of Al-Kyris are further asunder than
+light and darkness!" he cried vehemently--"For the Poet has been
+false to his high vocation, and the People trust in him no more!"
+
+There was an instant's hush, ... a hush as it seemed of grieved
+acquiescence on the part of the populace,--and during that brief
+pause Theos's heart gave a fierce bound against his ribs as though
+some one had suddenly shot at him with a poisoned arrow. He
+glanced quickly at Sah-luma,--but Sah-luma stood calmly unmoved,
+his handsome head thrown back, a cynical smile on his lips and his
+eyes darker than ever with an intensity of unutterable scorn.
+
+"Sah-luma! ... Sah-luma!" and the piercing, reproachful voice of
+the Prophet penetrated every part of the spacious square like a
+sonorous bell ringing over a still landscape: "O divine Spirit of
+Song pent up in gross clay, was ever mortal more gifted than thou!
+In thee was kindled the white fire of Heaven,--to thee were
+confided the memories of vanished worlds, . . for thee God bade His
+Nature wear a thousand shapes of varied meaning,--the sun, the
+moon, the stars were appointed as thy servants,--for thou wert
+born POET, the mystically chosen Teacher and Consoler of Mankind!
+What hast thou done, Sah-luma, . . what hast thou done with the
+treasures bestowed upon thee by the all-endowing Angels? ... How
+hast thou used the talisman of thy genius? To comfort the
+afflicted? ... to dethrone and destroy the oppressor? ... to
+uphold the cause of Justice? ... to rouse the noblest instincts of
+thy race? ... to elevate and purify the world? ... Alas, alas!--
+thou hast made Thyself the idol of thy muse, and thou being but
+perishable, thy fame shall perish with thee! Thou hast drowsed
+away thy manhood in the lap of vice, . . thou hast slept and dreamed
+when thou should have been awake and vigilant! Not I, but THOU
+shouldst have warned the people of their coming doom! ... not I,
+but THOU shouldst have marked the threatening signs of the
+pregnant hour,--not I, but THOU shouldst have perceived the first
+faint glimmer of God's future scheme of glad salvation,--not I,
+but THOU shouldst have taught and pleaded, and swayed by thy
+matchless sceptre of sweet song, the passions of thy countrymen!
+Hadst thou been true to that first flame of Thought within thee, O
+Sah-luma, how thy glory would have dwarfed the power of kings!
+Empires might have fallen, cities decayed, and nations been
+absorbed in ruin,--and yet thy clear-convincing voice, rendered
+imperishable by its faithfulness should have sounded forth in
+triumph above the foundering wrecks of Time! O Poet unworthy of
+thy calling! ... How thou hast wantoned with the sacred Muse! ...
+how thou hast led her stainless feet into the mire of sensual
+hypocrisies, and decked her with the trumpery gew-gaws of a
+meaningless fair speech!--How thou hast caught her by the virginal
+hair and made her chastity the screen for all thine own
+licentiousness! ... Thou shouldst have humbly sought her
+benediction,--thou shouldst have handled her with gentle reverence
+and patient ardor,--from her wise lips thou shouldst have learned
+how best to PRACTICE those virtues whose praise thou didst
+evasively proclaim, ... thou shouldst have shrined her, throned
+her, worshiped her, and served her, . . yea! ... even as a sinful man
+may serve an Angel who loves him!"
+
+Ah, what a strange, cold thrill ran through Theos as he heard
+these last words! 'As a sinful man may serve an Angel who loves
+him!' How happy the man thus loved! ... how fortunate the sinner
+thus permitted to serve! ... WHO WAS HE? ... Could there be any
+one so marvellously privileged? He wondered dimly,--and a dull,
+aching pain throbbed heavily in his brows. It was a very singular
+thing too, that he should find himself strongly and personally
+affected by Khosrul's address to Sah-luma, yet such was the case,
+... so much so, indeed, that he accepted all the Prophet's
+reproaches as though they applied solely TO HIS OWN PAST LIFE! He
+could not understand his emotion, ... nevertheless he kept on
+dreamily regretting that things WERE as Khosrul had said, ... that
+he had NOT fulfilled his vocation,--and that he had neither been
+humble enough nor devout enough nor unselfish enough to deserve
+the high and imperial name of POET.
+
+Round and round like a flying mote this troublesome idea circled
+in his brain, ... he must do better in future, he resolved,
+supposing that any future remained to Him in which to work, . . HE
+MUST REDEEM THE PAST! ... Here he roused his mental faculties with
+a start and forced himself to realize that it was SAH-LUMA to whom
+the Prophet spoke, . . Sah-luma, ONLY Sah-luma,--not himself!
+
+Then straightway he became indignant on his friend's behalf,--why
+should Sah-luma be blamed? ... Sah-luma was a glorious poet!--a
+master-singer of singers! ... his fume must and should endure
+forever! ... Thus thinking, he regained his composure by degrees,
+and strove to assume the same air of easy indifference as that
+exhibited by his companion, when again Khosrul's declamatory tones
+thundered forth with an absoluteness of emphasis that was both
+startling and convincing:
+
+"Hear me, Sah-luma, Chief Minstrel of Al-Kyris!--hear me, thou who
+hast willfully wasted the golden moments of never-returning time!
+THOU ART MARKED OUT FOR DEATH!--death sudden and fierce as the
+leap of the desert panther on its prey! ... death that shall come
+to thee through the traitorous speech of the evil woman whose
+beauty has sapped thy strength and rendered thy glory inglorious!...
+death that for thee, alas! shall be mournful and utter oblivion!
+Naught shall it avail to thee that thy musical weaving of words
+hath been graven seven times over, on tablets of stone and agate
+and ivory, of gold and white silex and porphyry, and the
+unbreakable rose-adamant,--none of these shall suffice to keep thy
+name in remembrance,--for what cannot be broken shall be melted
+with flame, and what cannot be erased shall be buried miles deep
+in the bosom of earth, whence it never again shall be lifted into
+the light of day! Aye! thou shalt be FORGOTTEN!--forgotten as
+though thou hadst never sung,--other poets shall chant in the
+world, yet maybe none so well as thou!--other laurel and myrtle
+wreaths shall be given by countries and kings to bards unworthy,
+of whom none perchance shall have thy sweetness! ... but thou,--
+thou the most grandly gifted, gift-squandering Poet the world has
+ever known, shalt be cast among the dust of unremembered nothings,
+and the name of Sah-luma shall carry no meaning to any man born in
+the coming here-after! For thou hast cherished within Thyself the
+poison that withers thee, ... the deadly poison of Doubt, the
+Denial of God's existence, ... the accursed blankness of Disbelief
+in the things of the Life Eternal! ... wherefore, thy spirit is
+that of one lost and rebellious,--whose best works are futile,--
+whose days are void of example,--and whose carelessly grasped
+torch of song shall be suddenly snatched from thy hand and
+extinguished in darkness! God pardon thee, dying Poet! ... God
+give thy parting soul a chance of penance and of sweet redemption!
+... God comfort thee in that drear Land of Shadow whither thou art
+bound! ... God bring thee forth again from Chaos to a nobler Future!
+... Sin-burdened as thou art, my blessing follows thee in thy last
+agony! Sah-luma! ... FALLEN ANGEL, SELF-EXILED FROM THY PEERS! ...
+FAREWELL!"
+
+The effect of these strange words was so extraordinarily
+impressive, that for one instant the astonished and evidently
+affrighted crowds pressed round Sah-luma eagerly, staring at him
+in morbid fear and wonder, as though they expected him to drop
+dead before them in immediate fulfillment of the Prophet's solemn
+valediction. Theos, oppressed by an inward sickening sense of
+terror, also regarded him with close and anxious solicitude, but
+was almost reassured at the first glance.
+
+Never was a greater opposition offered to Khosrul's gloomy
+prognostications, than that contained in the handsome Laureate's
+aspect at that moment,--his supple, graceful figure alert with
+life, . . his glowing face flushed by the sun, and touched with that
+faintly amused look of serene scorn, . . his glorious eyes,
+brilliant as jewels under their drooping amorous lids, and the
+regal poise of his splendid shoulders and throat, as he lifted his
+head a little more haughtily than usual, and glanced indifferently
+down from his foothold on the edge of the fountain at the
+upturned, questioning faces of the throng, ... all even to the
+careless balance and ease of his attitude, betokened his perfect
+condition of health, and the entire satisfaction he had in the
+consciousness of his own strength and beauty.
+
+He seemed about to speak, and raised his hand with the graceful
+yet commanding gesture of one accustomed to the art of elegant
+rhetoric, ... when suddenly his expression changed, . . shrugging
+his shoulders lightly as who should say.. "Here comes the
+conclusion of the matter,--no time for further argument"--he
+silently pointed across the Square, while a smile dazzling yet
+cruel played on his delicately parted lips, . . a smile, the covert
+meaning of which was soon explained. For all at once a brazen roar
+of trumpets split the silence into torn and discordant echoes,--
+the crowd turned swiftly, and seeing who it was that approached,
+rushed hither and thither in the wildest confusion, making as
+though they would have fled, . . and in less than a minute, a
+gleaming cohort of mounted and armed spearmen galloped furiously
+into the thick of the melee.
+
+Following these came a superb car drawn by six jet-black horses
+that plunged and pranced through the multitude with no more heed
+than if these groups of living beings had been mere sheafs of
+corn, . . a car flashing from end to end with gold and precious
+stones, in which towered the erect, massive form of Zephoranim,
+the King. His dark face was ablaze with wrath, ... tightly
+grasping the reins of his reckless steeds, he drew himself
+haughtily upright and turned his rolling, fierce black eyes
+indignantly from side to side on the scared people, as he drove
+through their retreating ranks, smiting down and mangling with the
+sharp spikes of his tall chariot-wheels men, women, and children
+without care or remorse, till he forced his terrible passage
+straight to the foot of the Obelisk. There he came to an abrupt
+standstill, and, lifting high his strong hand and brawny arm
+glittering with jewels, he cried:
+
+"Soldiers! Seize yon traitorous rebel! Ten thousand pieces of gold
+for the capture of Khosrul!"
+
+There was an instant of hesitation, ... not one of the populace
+stirred to obey the order. Then suddenly, as though released by
+their monarch's command from some mesmeric spell, the before
+inactive mounted guards started into action, cantered sharply
+forward and surrounded the Obelisk, while the armed spearsmen
+closed together and made a swift advance upon the venerable figure
+that stood alone and defenseless, tranquilly awaiting their
+approach. But there was evidently some unknown and mysterious
+force pent up within the Prophet's feeble frame, for when the
+soldiers were just about an arm's length from him, they seemed all
+at once troubled and irresolute, and turned their looks away, as
+though fearing to gaze too steadfastly upon that grand, thought-
+furrowed countenance in which the eyes, made young by inward
+fervor, blazed forth with unearthly lustre beneath a silvery halo
+of tossed white hair. Zephoranim perceived this touch of
+indecision on the part of his men, and his black brows contracted
+in an ominous frown.
+
+"Halt!" he shouted fiercely, apparently to make it seem to the mob
+that the pause in the action of the soldiery was in compliance
+with his own behest, . . "Halt! ... Bind him, and bring him
+hither, . . I myself will slay him!"
+
+"Halt!" echoed a voice, discordantly sharp and wild.. "Halt thou
+also, great Zephoranim! for Death bars thy further progress!"
+
+And Khosrul, manifestly possessed by some superhuman access of
+frenzy, leaped from his position on the back of the stone Lion,
+and slipping agilely through the ranks of the startled spearmen
+and guards, who were all unprepared for the suddenness and
+rapidity of his movements, he sprang boldly on the edge of the
+Royal chariot, and there clung to the jewelled wheel, looking like
+a gaunt aerial spectre, an ambassador of coming ruin. The King,
+speechless with amazement and fury, dragged at his huge sword till
+he wrenched it out of its sheath, . . raising it, he whirled it
+round his head so that it gave a murderous hiss in the air, ...
+and yet.. was his strong arm paralyzed that he forbore to strike!
+
+"Zephoranim!" Khosrul, in terms that were piercing and dolorous as
+the whistling of the wind among hollow reeds,--"Zephoranim, THOU
+SHALT DIE TO-NIGHT! ART THOU READY? Art thou ready, proud King? ...
+ready to be made less than the lowest of the low? Hush! ... Hush!"
+and his aged face took upon itself a ghastly greenish pallor--
+"Hear you not the muttering of the thunder underground? There are
+strange powers at work! ... powers of the undug earth and
+unfathomed sea! ... hark how they tear at the stately foundations
+of Al-Kyris! ... Flame! flame! it is already kindled!--it shall
+enwrap thee with more closeness than thy coronation robe, O mighty
+Sovereign! ... with more gloating fondness than the serpent-
+twining arms of thy beloved! Listen, Zephoranim, listen!"
+
+Here he stretched out his skinny hand and pointed upwards,--his
+eyes grew fixed and glassy,--his throat rattled convulsively. At
+that moment the monarch, recovering his self-possession, once more
+lifted his sword with direct and deadly aim, but the Prophet,
+uttering a wild shriek, caught at his descending wrist and gripped
+it fast.
+
+"See.. See!" he exclaimed.. "Put up thy weapon! ... Thou shalt
+never need it where thou art summoned! ... Lo! how yon. blood-red
+letters blaze against the blue of heaven! ... There! ... there it
+comes!--Read.. read! 'tis written plain.. 'AL-KYRIS SHALL FALL,
+AND THE KING SHALL DIE!'.. Hist ... hist! ... Dumb oracles speak
+and dead voices find tongue! ... hark how they chant together the
+old forgotten warning:
+
+     'When the High Priestess
+      Is the King's mistress
+      Then fall Al-Kyris!'
+
+Fall Al-Kyris! ... Aye! ... the City of a thousand palaces shall
+fall to-night! ... TO-NIGHT! ... O night of desperate horror! ...
+and thou, O King, SHALT DIE!"
+
+And as he shrilled the last word on the air with terrific
+emphasis, he threw up his arms like a man suddenly shot, and
+reeling backward fell heavily on the ground,--a corpse.
+
+A great cry went up from the crowd, . . the King leaned eagerly out
+of his car.
+
+"Is the fool dead, or feigning death?" he demanded, addressing one
+of a group of soldiers standing near.
+
+The officer stooped and felt the motionless body.
+
+"O great King, live forever! He is dead!"
+
+Zephoranim hesitated. Cruelty and clemency struggled for the
+mastery in the varying expression of his frowning face, but
+cruelty conquered. Grasping his sword firmly, he bent still
+further forward out of his chariot, and with one swift, keen
+stroke, severed the lifeless Prophet's head from its trunk, and
+taking it up on, the point of his weapon, showed it to the
+multitude. A smothered, shuddering sigh that was half a groan
+rippled through the dense throng--a sound that evidently added
+fresh irritation to the already heated temper of the haughty
+sovereign. With a savage laugh, he tossed his piteous trophy on
+the pavement, where it lay in a pool of its own blood, the white
+hair about it stained ruddily, and the still open eyes upturned as
+though in dumb appeal to heaven. Then, without deigning to utter
+another word, or to bestow another look upon the surrounding crowd
+of his disconcerted subjects, he gathered up his coursers' reins
+and prepared to depart.
+
+Just then the sun went behind a cloud, and only a side-beam of
+radiance shot forth, pouring itself straight down on the royally
+attired figure of the monarch and the headless body of Khosrul,
+and at the same time bringing into sudden and prominent relief the
+silver Cross that glittered on the breast of the bleeding corpse,
+and that seemed to mysteriously offer itself as the Key to some
+unsolved Enigma. As if drawn by one strangely mutual attraction,
+all eyes, even those of Zephoranim himself, turned instinctively
+toward the flashing Emblem, which appeared to burn like living
+fire on that perished mass of stiffening clay, . . and there was a
+brief silence,--a pause, during which Theos, who had watched
+everything with curiously calm interest, such as may be felt by a
+spectator watching the progress of a finely acted tragedy, became
+conscious of the same singular sensation he had already several
+times experienced,--namely, THAT HE HAD WITNESSED THE WHOLE OF
+THIS SCENE BEFORE!
+
+he remembered it quite well,--particularly that apparently
+trifling incident of the sunlight happening to shine so
+brilliantly on the dead man and his cross while the rest of the
+vast assemblage were in comparative shadow. It was very odd! ...
+his memory was like a wonderful art-gallery in which some pictures
+were fresh of tint, while others were dim and faded, . . but this
+special "tableau" in the Square of Al-Kyris was very distinctly
+painted in brilliant and vivid colors on the sombre background of
+his past recollections, and he found the circumstance so
+remarkable that he was on the point of saying something to Sah-
+luma about it,--when the sun came out again in full splendor, and
+Zephoranim's spirited steeds started forward at a canter.
+
+The King, controlling them easily with one hand, extended the
+other majestically by way of formal salutation to his people, . .
+his tall, muscular form was displayed to the best advantage,--the
+narrow jewelled fillet that bound his rough dark locks emitted a
+myriad scintillations of light, . . his close-fitting coat-of-mail,
+woven from thousands of small links of gold, set off his massive
+chest and shoulders to perfection,--and as he moved along royally
+in his sumptuous car, the effect of his striking presence was
+such, that a complete change took place in the before sullen humor
+of the populace. For seeing him thus alive and well in direct
+opposition to Khosrul's ominous prediction,--even as Sah-luma also
+stood unharmed in spite of his having been apostrophized as a
+"dying" Poet,--the mob, always fickle and always dazzled by
+outward show, suddenly set up a deafening roar of cheering. The
+pallid hue of terror vanished from faces that had but lately
+looked spectrally thin with speechless dread, and crowds of
+servile petitioners and place-hunters began to press eagerly round
+their monarch's chariot, ... when all at once a woman in the
+throng gave a wild scream and rushed away shrieking "THE OBELISK!
+... THE OBELISK!"
+
+Every eye was instantly turned toward the stately pillar of white
+granite that sparkled in the sunlight like an immense carven
+jewel, ... great Heaven! ... It was tottering to and fro like the
+unsteadied mast of a ship at sea! ... One look sufficed,--and a
+frightful panic ensued--a horrible, brutish stampede of creatures
+without faith in anything human or divine save their own wretched
+personalities,--the King, infected by the general scare, urged his
+horses into furious gallop, and dashed through the cursing,
+swearing, howling throng like an embodied whirlwind,--and for a
+few seconds nothing seemed distinctly visible But a surging mass
+of infuriated humanity, fighting with itself for life.
+
+Theos alone remained singularly calm,--his sole consideration was
+for his friend Sah-luma, whom he entwined with one arm as he
+sprang down from the position they had hitherto occupied on the
+brink of the fountain, and made straight for the nearest of the
+six broad avenues that opened directly into the Square. Sah-luma
+looked pale, but was apparently unafraid,--he said nothing, and
+passively allowed himself to be piloted by Theos through the madly
+raging multitude, which, oddly enough, parted before them like
+mist before the wind, so that in a magically short interval they
+successfully reached a place of safety.
+
+And they reached it not a moment too soon. For the Obelisk was now
+plainly to be seen lurching forward at an angle of several
+degrees, . . strange muffled, roaring sounds were heard at its base,
+as though demons were digging up its foundations, . . then,
+seemingly shaken by underground tremors, it began to oscillate
+violently,--a terrific explosion was heard as of the bursting of a
+giant bomb,--and immediately afterward the majestic monolith
+toppled over and fell!--with the crash of a colossal cannonade
+that sent its thunderous reverberations through and through the
+length and breadth of the city! Hundreds of persons were killed
+and wounded,--many of the mounted guards and spearmen, who were
+striving to force a way of escape through the crowd, were struck
+down and crushed pell-mell with their horses as they rode,--the
+desperate people trampled each other to death in their frenzied
+efforts to reach the nearest outlet to the river embankment, . . but
+when once the Obelisk had actually fallen, all this turmoil was
+for an instant checked, and the gasping, torn, and bleeding
+survivors of the struggle stopped, as it were to take breath, and
+stared in blank dismay upon the strange ruin before them.
+
+Theos, still holding Sah-luma by the arm, with the protecting
+fondness of an elder brother guarding a younger, gazed also at the
+scene with quiet, sorrowfully wondering eyes. For it meant
+something to him he was sure, because it was so familiar,--yet he
+found it impossible to grasp the comprehension of that meaning! It
+was a singular spectacle enough; the lofty four-sided white
+pillar, that had so lately been a monumental glory of Al-Kyris,
+had split itself with the violence of its fall into two huge
+desolate-looking fragments, which now lay one on each side of the
+square, as though flung thither by a Titan's hand,--the great lion
+had been hurled from its position and overturned like a toy, while
+the shield it had supported between its paws had entirely
+disappeared in minutely scattered atoms, . . the fountains had
+altogether ceased playing. Now and then a thin, vaporous stream of
+smoke appeared to issue between the crannies of the pavement,--
+otherwise there was no visible sign of the mysterious force that
+had wrought so swift and sudden a work of destruction,--the sun
+shone brilliantly, and over all the havoc beamed the placid
+brightness of a cloudless summer sky!
+
+The most prominent object of all amid the general devastation, and
+the one that fascinated Theos more than the view of the destroyed
+monolith and the debased Lion, was the uninjured head of the
+Prophet Khosrul. There it lay, exactly between the sundered halves
+of the Obelisk, . . pale rays of light glimmered on its bloodstained
+silvery hair and open glazed eyes,--a solemn smile seemed graven
+on its waxen-pallid features. And at a little distance off, on the
+breast of the black-robed headless corpse that remained totally
+uncrushed in an open space by itself, among the surrounding heaps
+of slain and wounded, glistened the CROSS like a fiery gem, . . an
+all-significant talisman that, as he beheld it, filled Theos's
+heart with a feverish craving,--an inexplicable desire mingled
+with remorse far greater than any fear!
+
+Instinctively he drew Sah-luma away. ... away! ... still keeping
+his wistful gaze fixed on that uncomprehended, yet soul-recognized
+Symbol, till gradually the drooping branches of trees interrupted
+and shadowed the vista, and, as he moved further and further
+backward, closed their soft network of green foliage like the
+closing curtain on the strange but awfully remembered scene,
+shutting it out from his bewildered sight.. forever!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A GOLDEN TRESS.
+
+
+Once clear of the Square the two friends apparently became
+mutually conscious of the peril they had just escaped, . . and
+coming to a sudden standstill they looked at each other in blank,
+stupefied silence. Crowds of people streamed past them, wandering
+hither and thither in confused, cloudy masses,--some with groans
+and dire lamentations bearing away their dead and wounded,--others
+rushing frantically about, beating their breasts, tearing their
+hair, calling on the gods and lamenting Khosrul, while not a few
+muttered curses on the King. And ever and anon the name of
+"Lysia," coupled with heavy execrations, was hissed from mouth to
+mouth, which Theos, overhearing, began to foresee might serve as a
+likely cause for Sah-luma's taking offence and possibly resenting
+in his own person this public disparagement of the woman he
+loved,--therefore, without more ado he roused himself from his
+momentarily dazed condition, and urged his comrade on at a quick
+pace toward the safe shelter of his own palace, where at any rate
+he could be kept out of the reach of immediate harm.
+
+The twain walked side by side, exchanging scarcely a word,--Sah-
+luma seemed in a manner stunned by the violence of the late
+catastrophe, and Theos was too busy with his own thoughts to
+speak. On their way they were overtaken by the King's chariot,--it
+flew by with a glittering whirl and clatter, amid sweeping clouds
+of dust, through which the dark face of Zephoranim loomed out upon
+them like an almost palpable shadow. As it vanished Sah-luma
+stopped short, and stared at his companion in utter amazement.
+
+"By my soul!" he exclaimed indignantly.. "The whole world must he
+going mad! 'Tis the first time in all my days of Laureateship that
+Zephoranim hath failed to reverently salute me as he passed!"
+
+ And he looked far more perturbed than when the falling Obelisk
+had threatened him with imminent destruction.
+
+Theos caught his arm with a quick movement of vexed impatience.
+
+"Tush, man, no matter!" he said hastily--"What are Kings to thee?
+... thou who art an Emperor of Song? These little potentates that
+wield earth's sceptres are as fickle in their moods as the very
+mob they are supposed to govern, . . moreover, thou knowest
+Zephoranim hath had enough to-day to startle him out of all
+accustomed rules of courtesy. Be assured of it, his mind is like a
+ship at sea, storm-tossed and at the mercy of the winds,--thou
+canst not surely blame him, that for once after so strange a
+turbulence, and unwonted a disaster, he hath no eyes for thee
+whose sole sweet mission, is to minister to pleasure."
+
+"To minister to pleasure!".. echoed Sah-luma petulantly.. "Nay,
+have I done nothing more than this? Art thou already grown so
+disloyal a friend that thou wilt half repeat the jargon of yon
+dead fanatic Khosrul who dared to tell me I had served my Art
+unfittingly? Have I not ministered to grief as well as joy? To
+hours of pain and bitterness, as well as to long days of ease and
+amorous dreaming? ... Have I not..." here he paused and a warm
+flush crept through the olive pallor of his skin,--his eyes grew
+plaintive and wistful and he threw one arm round Theos's neck as
+he continued: "No I.. after all 'tis vain to deny it...I have
+hated grief,--I have loathed the very suggestion of care,--I have
+thrust sorrow out of my sight as a thing vile and unwelcome,--and
+I have chosen to sing to the world of rapture more than pain,--
+inasmuch as methinks Humanity suffers enough, without having its
+cureless anguish set to the music of a poet's rhythm to
+incessantly haunt and torture its already breaking heart."
+
+"Say rather to soothe and tranquillize"--murmured Theos, more to
+himself than to his friend--"For suppressed sorrow is hardest to
+endure, and when grief once finds apt utterance 'tis already half
+consoled! So should the world's great singers tenderly proclaim
+the world's most speechless miseries, and who knows but vexed
+Creation being thus relieved of pent-up woe may not take new heart
+of grace and comfort?"
+
+The words were spoken in a soft SOTTO-VOCE, and Sah-luma seemed
+not to hear. He leaned, however, very confidingly and
+affectionately against Theos's shoulder as he walked along, and
+appeared to have speedily forgotten his annoyance at the recent
+slighting conduct of the King.
+
+"I marvel at the downfall of the Obelisk!" he said presently ...
+"'Twas rooted full ten feet deep in solid earth, . . maybe the
+foundations were ill-fitted,--nevertheless, if history speaks
+truly, it hath stood unshaken for two thousand years! Strange that
+it should be now hurled forth thus desperately! ... I would I knew
+the hidden cause! Many, alas! have met their death to-day, . .
+pushed out of life in haste, . . all unprepared.. One wonders where
+such souls have fled! Something there is that troubles me, . .
+methinks I am more than half disposed to leave Al-Kyris for a
+time, and wander forth into a world of unknown things--"
+
+"With me!" cried Theos impetuously--"Come with me, Sah-luma! ...
+Come now, this very day! I too have been warned of evil.. evil
+undeclared, yet close at hand, ..let us escape from danger while
+time remains! ... Let us depart!"
+
+"Whither should we go?"...and Sah-luma, pausing in his walk, fixed
+his large, soft eyes full on his companion as he put the question.
+
+Theos was mute. Covered with confusion, he asked himself the same
+thing. "Whither should we go?" He had no knowledge of the country
+that lay outside Al-Kyris, . . he had no distinct remembrance of any
+other place than this in which he was. All his past existence was
+as blotted and blurred as a child's spoiled and discarded
+copybook, . . true, he retained two names in his thoughts,--namely
+"ARDATH" and "THE PASS OF DARIEL" but he was hopelessly ignorant
+as to what these meant or how he had become connected with them!
+He was roused from his distressful cogitation by Sah-luma's voice
+speaking again half gayly, half sadly:
+
+"Nay, nay, my friend! ... we cannot leave the City, we two alone
+and unguided, for beyond the gates is the desert wide and bare,
+with scarce a spring of cool water in many weary miles,--and
+beyond the desert is a forest, gloomy and tiger haunted, wherein
+the footsteps of man have seldom penetrated. To travel thus far we
+should need much preparation, . . many servants, many beasts of
+burden, and many months' provision.. moreover, 'tis a foolish,
+fancy crossed my mind at best,--for what should I, the Laureate of
+Al-Kyris, do in other lands? Besides, my departure would indeed be
+the desolation of the city,--well may Al-Kyris fall when Sah-luma
+no longer abides within it! Seawards the way lies open,--maybe, in
+days to come, we twain may take ship and sail hence for a brief
+sojourn to those distant western shores, whence thou, though thou
+sayest naught of them, must assuredly have come; I have often
+dreamed idly of a gray coast washed with dull rain and swathed in
+sweeping mists, where ever and anon the sun shines through,--a
+country cheerless, where a poet's fame like mine might ring the
+darkness of the skies with light, and stir the sleepy silence into
+song!"
+
+Still Theos said nothing,--there were hot tears in his throat that
+choked his utterance. He gazed up at the glowing sky above him,--
+it was a burning vault of cloudless blue in which the sun glared
+forth witheringly like a scorching mass of flame, . . Oh for the
+freshness of a "gray coast washed with dull rain and swathed in
+sweeping mists" ... such as Sah-luma spoke of! ... and what a
+strange sickening yearning suddenly filled his soul for the
+unforgotten sonorous dash of the sea! He drew a quick breath and
+pressed his friend's arm with unconscious fervor, . . why, why could
+he not take this dear companion away out of possible peril? ...
+away to those far lands dimly remembered, yet now so completely
+lost sight of, that they seemed to him but as a delusive mirage
+faintly discerned above the rising waters of Lethe! Sighing
+deeply, he controlled his emotion and forced himself to speak
+calmly though his voice trembled..
+
+"Not now then, but hereafter, thou'lt be my fellow-traveller, Sah-
+luma? ... 'twill be a joyous time when we, set free of present
+hindrance, may journey through a myriad glorious scenes together,
+sharing such new and mutual gladness that perchance we scarce
+shall miss the splendor of Al-Kyris left behind! Meanwhile I would
+that thou couldst promise me one thing,".. here he paused, but,
+seeing Sah-luma's inquiring look, went on in a low, eager tone!
+"Go not to the Temple to-night!--absent thyself from this
+Sacrifice, which, though it be the law of the realm, is
+nevertheless mere murderous barbarity,--and--inasmuch as the King
+is wrathful--I pray thee avoid his presence!"
+
+Sah-luma broke into a laugh.. "Now by my faith, good comrade, as
+well ask me for my head as demand such impossibilities! Absent
+myself from the temple to-night of all nights in the world, when
+owing to these late phenomenal occurrences in the city, every one
+who is of repute and personal distinction will be present to
+assist at the Service and offer petitions to the fabulous gods
+that haply their supposititious indignation may be averted? My
+friend, if only for the sake of custom I must be there, . .
+moreover, I should be liable to banishment from the realm for so
+specially marked a breach of religious discipline! And as for the
+King, he is my puppet; were he savage as a starving bear my voice
+could tame him,--and concerning his late churlishness 'twas no
+doubt mere heat of humor, and thou shalt see him sue to me for
+pardon as only monarchs can sue to the bards who keep them in
+their thrones! Knowest thou not that were I to string three
+stanzas of a fiery republican ditty, and set it floating on the
+lips of the people, that song would sing down Zephoranim from his
+royal estate more surely than the fury of an armed conqueror!
+Believe it!--WE, the poets, rule the nation, . . A rhyme has oft had
+power to kill a king!"
+
+Theos smiled at the proud boast, but made no reply, as by this
+time they had reached the Laureate's palace, and were ascending
+the steps that led into the entrance-hall. A young page advanced
+to meet them, and, dropping on one knee before his master, held
+out a small scroll tied across and across with what appeared to be
+a thick strand of amber-colored floss silk.
+
+"For the most illustrious Chief of Poets, Sah-luma" ... said the
+little lad, keeping his head bent humbly as he spoke ... "It was
+brought lately by one masked, who rode in haste and fear, and, ere
+he could be questioned, swift departed."
+
+Sah-luma took the missive carelessly, scarcely glancing at it, and
+crossed the hall toward his own apartment, Theos following him. On
+his way, however, he paused and turned round:
+
+"Has Niphrata yet come home?" he demanded of the page who still
+lingered.
+
+"No, my lord! ... naught hath been seen or heard concerning her."
+
+Sah-luma gave a petulant gesture of annoyance and passed on.
+Arrived in his study he seated himself, and allowed his eyes to
+rest more attentively on the packet just given him. As he looked
+he uttered a slight exclamation, . . Theos hastened to his side.
+"What has happened, Sah-luma? ... hast thou ill news?"
+
+"Ill news?--nay, of a truth I know not".. and the Laureate gazed
+up blankly into his friend's face.. "But this" ... and he touched
+the fair silken substance that tied the scroll he held, "this is
+Niphrata's hair!"
+
+"Niphrata's hair!".. Theos was too much surprised to do more than
+repeat the words mechanically, while a strange pang shot through
+his heart as of inward shame or sorrow.
+
+"Naught can deceive me in the color of that gold!" went on Sah-
+luma dreamily, as with careful, somewhat tremulous fingers, he
+gently loosened the twisted shining threads that were so
+delicately knotted together, and smoothing them out to their full
+length, displayed what was indeed a lovely tress of hair bright as
+woven sunlight with a rippling wave in it that, like the tendril
+of a vine caught and wound about his hand as though it were a fond
+and feeling thing.
+
+"See you not, Theos, how warm and soft and shuddering a curl it
+is? ... It clings to me as if it knew my touch!--as if it half
+remembered how many and many a time it had been drawn with its
+companions to my lips and kissed full tenderly! ... How sad and
+desolate it seems thus severed and alone!"
+
+He spoke gently, yet not without a touch of passion, and twined
+the fair tresses lingeringly round his fingers, ..then, with the
+air of one who is instinctively prepared for some unpleasing
+tidings, he opened the scroll and perused its contents in silence.
+As he read on, his face grew very grave, and full of pained and
+wondering regret.. quietly he passed the missive to Theos, who
+took it from his hand with a tremor of something like fear. The
+delicately traced characters with which it was covered floated for
+a moment in a faint blur before his eyes,--then they resolved
+themselves into legible shape and meaning, as follows:
+
+     "To the ever-worshiped and immortally renowned
+                      "Sah-luma.
+     "Poet-Laureate of the Kingdom of Al-Kyris.
+     "Blame me not, O my beloved Lord, that I have left thy
+dearest presence thus unwarnedly forever, staying no time to weary
+thee with my too fond and foolish tears and kisses of farewell! I
+owe to thee the gift of freedom, and while I thank thee for that
+gift, I do employ it now to serve me as a sacrifice to Love,--an
+immolation of myself upon the altars of my own desire! For thou
+knowest I have loved thee, O Sah-luma--not too well but most
+unwisely,--for what am I that thou shouldst stoop to cover my
+unworthiness with the royal purple of thy poet-passion? ... what
+could I ever be save the poor trembling slave-idolater, of whose
+endearments thou must needs most speedily tire! Nevertheless I
+cannot still this hunger of my heart,--this love that stings me
+more than it consoles,--and out of the very transport of my
+burning thoughts I have learned many and strange things,--things
+whereby I, a woman feebled and unlessoned, have grasped the
+glimmering foreknowledge of events to come,--events wherein I do
+perceive for thee, thou Chiefest among men, some dark and
+threatening disaster. When fore I have prayed unto the most high
+gods, that they will deign to accept me as thy hostage to
+misfortune, and set me as a bar between thy life and dawning
+peril, so that I, long valueless, may serve at least awhile to
+avert doom from thee who art unparagoned throughout the world!
+
+"Thus I go forth alone to brave and pacify the wrath of the
+Immortals,--call me not back nor weep for my departure, . . thou
+wilt not miss me long! To die for thee, Sah-luma, is better than
+to live for thee, . . for living I must needs be conquered by my sin
+of love and lose myself and thee,--but in the quiet Afterwards of
+Death, no passion shall have strength to mar the peaceful, patient
+waiting of my soul on thine! Farewell thou utmost heart of my weak
+heart! ..thou only life of my frail life! ... think of me
+sometimes if thou will, but only as of a flower thou didst gather
+once in some past half-forgotten spring-time.. a flower that, as
+it slowly withered, blessed the dear hand in whose warm clasp it
+died!                  "NIPHRATA."
+
+Tears rose to Theos's eyes as he finished reading these evidently
+unpremeditated pathetic words that suggested so much more than
+they actually declared. He silently returned the scroll to Sah-
+luma, who sat very still, thoughtfully stroking the long, bright
+curl that was twisted round his fingers like a glittering strand
+of spun glass,--and he felt all at once so unreasonably irritated
+with his friend, that he was even inclined to find fault with the
+very grace and beauty of his person, . . the mere indolence of his
+attitude was, for the moment, provoking.
+
+"Why art thou so unmoved?" he demanded almost sternly.
+
+"What hast thou done to Niphrata, to thus grieve her gentle spirit
+beyond remedy?"
+
+Sah-luma looked up, like a surprised child.
+
+"Done? ... Nay, what should I do? ... I have let her love me!"
+
+O sublime permission! ... he had "LET HER LOVE" him! ... He had
+condescendingly allowed her, as it were, to waste all the
+treasures of her soul upon him! Theos stared at him in vague
+amazement,--while he, apparently tired of his own reflections,
+continued with some impatience:
+
+"What more could she desire? ... I never barred her from my
+presence, ... nor checked the fervor of her greetings! I wore the
+flowers she chose,--I listened to the songs she sang, and when she
+looked more fair than ordinary I stinted not the warmth of my
+caresses. She was too meek and loving for my fancy ... no will
+save mine--no happiness save in my company,--no thought beyond my
+pleasure--one wearies of such a fond excess of sweetness!
+Nevertheless her sole delight was still to serve me,--could I
+debar her from that joy because I saw therein some danger for her
+peace? Slave as she was, I made her free--and lo! how capriciously
+she plays with her late-given liberty! 'Tis always the way with
+women,--no man shall ever learn how best to please them! She knew
+I loved her not as lovers love,--she knew my heart was elsewhere
+fixed and fated ... and if, notwithstanding this knowledge, she
+still chose to love me, then assuredly her grief is of her own
+creating! Methinks 'tis I who am most injured in this matter! ...
+all the day long I have tormented myself concerning the silly
+maiden's absence, while she, seized by some crazed idea of new
+adventure, has gone forth heedlessly, scarce knowing whither. Her
+letter is the exalted utterance of an overwrought, excited brain,
+--she has in all likelihood caught the contagion of superstitious
+alarm that seems just now to possess the whole city, and she knows
+naught of what she writes or what she means to do. To leave me
+forever, as she says, is out of her power,--for I will demand her
+back at the hands of Lysia or the King,--and no demand of mine has
+ever been refused. Moreover, with Lysia's aid, her hiding-place is
+soon and easily discovered!"
+
+"How?" asked Theos mechanically, still surveying the beautiful,
+calm features of the charming egotist whose nature seemed such a
+curious mixture of loftiness and littleness.. "She may have left
+the city!"
+
+"No one can leave the city without express permission,"--rejoined
+Sah-luma tranquilly--"Besides, . . didst thou not see the Black Disc
+last night in Lysia's palace?"
+
+Theos nodded assent. He at once remembered the strange revolving
+thing that had covered itself with brilliant letters at the
+approach of the High Priestess, and he waited somewhat eagerly to
+hear the meaning of so singular an object explained.
+
+"The Priest of the Temple of Nagaya,"--went on Sah-luma--"are the
+greatest scientists in the world, with the exception of the lately
+formed Circle of Mystics, who it must he confessed exceed them in
+certain new lines of discovery. But setting aside the Mystic
+School, which it behoves us not to speak of, seeing it is
+condemned by law,--there are no men living more subtly wise in
+matters pertaining to aerial force and light-phenomena, than the
+Servants of the Secret Doctrine of the Temple. All seeming-
+marvellous things are to them mere child's play,--and the miracles
+by which they keep the multitude in awe are not by any means
+vulgar, but most exquisitely scientific. As, for instance, at the
+great New Year Festival, called by us 'The Sailing-Forth of the
+Ship of the Sun,'--which takes place at the commencement of the
+Spring solstice, a fire is kindled on the summit of the highest
+tower, and a Ship of gold rises from the centre of the flames,
+carrying the body of a slain virgin eastwards, . . 'tis wondrously
+performed! ... and I, like others, have gaped upon the splendor of
+the scene half-credulous, and wholly dazzled! For the Ship doth
+rise aloft with excellent stateliness, plowing the air with as
+much celerity as sailing-vessels plow the seas; departing
+straightway from the watching eyes of thousands of spectators, it
+plunges deep, or so it seems, into the very heart of the rising
+Sun, which doth apparently absorb it in devouring flames of glory,
+for never again doth it return to earth, . . and none can solve the
+mystery of its vanishing! 'Tis a graceful piece of jugglery and
+perfectly accomplished, . . while as for Oracles [Footnote: The
+Phonograph was known and used for the utterance of Oracles by one
+Savan the Asmounian, a Priest-King of ancient Egypt.] that command
+and repeat their commands in every shade of tone, from mild to
+wrathful, there are only too many of these, . . moreover the secret
+of their manufacture is well known to all students of acoustic
+science. But concerning the Black Disc in Lysia's hall, it is a
+curiously elaborate piece of workmanship. It corresponds with an
+electric wheel in the Interior Chamber of the Temple, where all
+the priests and flamens meet and sum up the entire events of the
+day, both public and private, condensing the same into brief
+hieroglyphs. Setting their wheel in motion, they start a similar
+motion in the Disc, and the bright characters that flash upon it
+and disappear like quicksilver, are the reflection of the working
+electric wires which write what only Lysia is skilled to read.
+From sunset to midnight these messages keep coming without
+intermission,--and all the most carefully concealed affairs of Al-
+Kyris are discovered by the Temple Spies and conveyed to Lysia by
+this means. Whatever the news, it is repeated again and again on
+the Disc, till she, by rapidly turning it with a peculiar movement
+of her own, causes a small bell to ring in the Temple, which
+signifies to her informers that she has understood all their
+communications, and knows everything. Her inquisitorial system is
+searching and elaborate, . . there is no secret so carefully guarded
+that the Black Disc will not in time reveal!"
+
+Theos listened wonderingly and with a sense of repugnance and
+fear, ... he felt as though the beautiful Priestess, with her
+glittering robes and the dreadful jewelled Eye upon her breast,
+were just then entering the room stealthily and rustling hither
+and thither like a snake beneath covering leaves. She was an ever-
+present Temptation,--a bewildering snare and distracting evil,--
+was it not possible to shake her trail off the life of his friend-
+and also to pluck from out his own heart the poison-sting of her
+fatal, terrible fascination? A red mist swam before his eyes--his
+lips were dry and feverish,--his voice sounded hoarse and faint in
+his own ears when he forced himself to speak again.
+
+"So thou dost think that, wheresoever Niphrata hath strayed, Lysia
+can find her?" he said.
+
+"Assuredly!" returned Sah-luma with easy complacency--"I would
+swear that, even at this very moment, Lysia could restore her to
+my arms in safety."
+
+"Then why" ... suggested Theos anxiously--"why not go forth and
+seek her now?"
+
+"Nay, there is time!" ... and Sah-luma half closed his languid
+lids and stretched himself lazily. "I would not have the child
+imagine I vexed myself too greatly for her unkind departure, . . she
+must have space wherein to weep and repent her of her folly. She
+is the strangest maiden!" ... and he brushed his lips lightly
+against the golden curl he held,--She loves me, . . and yet repulses
+all attempted passion,--I remember" ... here his face grew more
+serious--"I remember one night in the beginning of summer,--the
+moon was round and high in heaven,--we were alone together in this
+room,--the lamps burned low,--and she.. Niphrata, . . sang to me.
+Her voice was full, and withal tremulous,--her form, bent to her
+ebony harp was soft and yielding as an iris stem, her eyes turned
+upon mine seemed wonderingly to question me as to the worth of
+love! ... or so I fancied. The worth of love! ... I would have
+taught it to her then in the rapture of an hour!--but seized with
+sudden foolish fear she fled, leaving me dissatisfied,
+indifferent, and weary! No matter! when she returns again her mood
+will alter, . . and though I love her not as she would fain be
+loved, I shall find means to make her happy."
+
+"Nay, but she speaks of dying".. said Theos quickly ... "Wilt thou
+constrain her back from death?"
+
+"My friend, all women speak of dying when they are love-wearied"
+... replied Sah-luma with a slight smile ... "Niphrata will not
+die, ... she is too young and fond of life, ... the world is as a
+garden wherein she has but lately entered, all ignorant of the
+pleasures that await her there. 'Tis an odd notion that she has of
+danger threatening me,--thou also, good Theos, art become full of
+omens,--and yet, . . there is naught of visible ill to trouble the
+fairness of the day."
+
+He stepped out as he spoke on the terrace and looked up at the
+intense calm of the lovely sky. Theos followed him, and stood
+leaning on the balustrade among the clambering vines, watching him
+with earnest, half-regretful half-adoring eyes. He, meanwhile,
+gathered a scarcely opened white rosebud and loosening the tress
+of Niphrata's hair from his fingers, allowed it to hang to its
+full rippling length,--then laying the flower against it, he
+appeared dreamily to admire the contrast between the snowy blossom
+and shining curl.
+
+"Many strange men there are in the world," he said softly--"lovers
+and fools who set priceless store on a rose and a lock of woman's
+hair! I have heard of some who, dying, have held such trifles as
+chiefest of all their worldly goods, and have implored that
+whereas their gold and household stuff can be bestowed freely on
+him who first comes to claim it, the faded flower and senseless
+tress may be laid on their hearts to comfort them in the cold and
+dreamless sleep from which they shall not wake again!" He sighed
+and his eyes darkened into deep and musing tenderness. "Poets there
+have been too and are, who would string many a canticle on this
+soft severed lock and gathered blossom,--and many a quaint conceit
+could I myself contrive concerning it, did I not feel more prone
+to tears to-day than minstrelsy. Canst thou believe it, Theos"--
+and he forced a laugh, though his lashes were wet, . . "I, the
+joyous Sah-luma, am for once most truly sad! ... this tress of
+hair doth seem to catch my spirit in a chain that binds me fast
+and draws me onward.. onward.. to some mournful end I may not dare
+to see!"
+
+And as he spoke he mechanically wound the golden curl round and
+about the stem of the rosebud in the fashion of a ribbon, and
+placed the two entwined together in his breast. Theos looked at
+him wistfully, but was silent, . . he himself was too full of dull
+and melancholy misgivings to be otherwise than sad also.
+Instinctively he drew closer to his friend's side, and thus they
+remained for some minutes, exchanging no words, and gazing
+dreamily out on the luxurious foliage of the trees and the wealth
+of bright blossoms that adorned the landscape before them.
+
+"Thou art confident Niphrata will return?" questioned Theos
+presently in a low tone.
+
+"She will return,".. rejoined Sah-luma quietly--"because she will
+do anything for love of me."
+
+"For love's sake she may die!" said Theos. Sah-luma smiled.
+
+"Not so, my friend! ... for love's sake she will live!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+THE PRIEST ZEL.
+
+
+As he uttered the last word the sound of an approaching light step
+disturbed the silence. It was one of the young girls of the
+household, . . a dark, haughty-looking beauty whom Theos remembered
+to have seen in the palace-hall when he first arrived, lying
+indolently among cushions, and playing with a tame bird which flew
+to and fro at her beckoning. She advanced now with an almost
+imperial stateliness,--her salute to Sah-luma was grateful, yet
+scarcely submissive,--while he, turning eagerly toward her, seemed
+gladdened and relieved at her appearance, his face assuming a
+gratified expression like that of a child who, having broken one
+toy, is easily consoled with another.
+
+"Welcome, Irenya!" he exclaimed gayly--"Thou art the very bitter-
+sweetness I desire. Thy naughty pout and coldly mutinous eyes are
+pleasing contrasts to the overlanguid heat and brightness of the
+day! What news hast thou, my sweet? ... Is there fresh havoc in
+the city? ... more deaths? ... more troublous tidings? ... nay,
+then hold thy peace, for thou art not a fit messenger of woe--
+thou'rt much too fair!"
+
+Irenya's red lips curled disdainfully, . . the "naughty pout" was
+plainly visible.
+
+"My lord is pleased to flatter his slave!" she said with a touch
+of scorn in her musical accents, . . "Certes, of ill news there is
+more than enough,--and evil rumors have never been lacking these
+many months, as my lord would have known, had he deigned to listen
+to the common talk of those who are not poets but merely sad and
+suffering men. Nevertheless, though I may think, I speak not at
+all of matters such as these,--and for my present errand 'tis but
+to say that a Priest of the Inner Temple waits without, desirous
+of instant speech with the most illustrious Sah-luma."
+
+"A Priest of the Inner Temple!" echoed the Laureate wonderingly, . .
+"By my faith, a most unwelcome visitor! ... What business can he
+have with me?"
+
+"Nay, that I know not"--responded Irenya calmly--"He hath come
+hither, so he bade me say, by command of The Absolute Authority."
+
+Sah-luma's face flushed and he looked annoyed. Then taking Theos
+by the arm he turned away from the terrace, and re-entered his
+apartment, where he flung himself full length on his couch,
+pillowing his handsome head against a fold of glossy leopard skin
+which formed a most becoming background for the soft, dark oval
+beauty of his features.
+
+"Sit thee down, my friend!" he said glancing smilingly at Theos,
+and signing to him to take possession of a luxurious lounge-chair
+near him.. "If we must needs receive this sanctified professor of
+many hypocrisies, we will do it with suitable indifference and
+ease. Wilt thou stay here with us, Irenya," he added, stretching
+out one arm and catching the maiden round the waist in spite of
+her attempted resistance.. "Or art thou in a froward mood, and
+wilt thou go thine own proud way without so much as a consoling
+kiss from Sah-luma?"
+
+Irenya looked full at him, a repressed anger blazing in her large
+black eyes.
+
+"Let my lord save his kisses for those who value them!" she said
+contemptuously, "'Twere pity he should waste them upon me, to whom
+they are unmeaning and therefore all unwelcome!"
+
+He laughed heartily, and instantly loosened her from his embrace.
+
+"Off, off with thee, sweet virtue! ... fairest prude!" he cried,
+still laughing.. "Live out thy life an thou wilt, empty of love or
+passion--count the years as they slip by, leaving thee each day
+less lovely and less fit for pleasure, ... grow old,--and on the
+brink of death, look back, poor child, and see the glory thou hast
+missed and left behind thee! ... the light of love and youth that,
+once departed, can dawn again no more!"
+
+And lifting himself slightly from his cushions he kissed his hand
+playfully to the girl, who, as though suddenly overcome by a sort
+of vague regret, still lingered, gazing at him, while a faint
+color crept through her cheeks like the deepening hue on the
+leaves of an opening rose. Sah-luma saw her hesitation, and his
+face grew yet more radiant with malicious mirth.
+
+"Hence.. hence, Irenya!" he exclaimed--"Escape temptation quickly
+while thou mayest! Support thy virgin pride in peace! ... thou
+shalt never say again Sah-luma's kisses are unwelcome! The Poet's
+touch shall never wrong or sanctify thy name!--thou art safe from
+me as pillared icicles in everlasting snow! Dear little one, be
+happy without love if that be possible! ... nevertheless take heed
+thou do not weakly clamor in the after-years for once rejected
+joy!--Now bid yon waiting Priest attend me,--tell him I can but
+spare a few brief moments audience."
+
+Irenya's head drooped,--Theos saw tears in her eyes,--but she
+managed to restrain them, and with something of a defiant air she
+made her formal obeisance and withdrew. She did not return again,
+but a page appeared instead, ushering in with ceremonious civility
+a tall personage, clad in flowing white robes and muffled up to
+the eyes in a mantle of silver tissue,--a majestic, mysterious,
+solemn-looking individual, who, pausing on the threshold of the
+apartment, described a circle in the air with a small staff he
+carried, and said in monotonous accents:
+
+"By the going-in and passing-out of the Sun through the Gates of
+the East and the Gates of the West,--by the Vulture of Gold and
+White Lotus and the countless virtues of Nagaya, may peace dwell
+in this house forever!"
+
+"Agreed to with all my heart!" responded Sah-luma, carelessly
+looking up from his couch but making no attempt to rise, . . "Peace
+is an excellent thing, most holy father!"
+
+"Excellent!" returned the Priest slowly advancing and undoing his
+mantle so that his face became fully visible,--"So truly excellent
+indeed, that at times it is needful to make war in order to insure
+it."
+
+He sat down, as he spoke, in a chair which was placed for him at
+Sah-luma's bidding by the page who had ushered him in, and he
+maintained a grave silence till that youthful servitor had
+departed. Theos meanwhile studied his countenance with some
+curiosity,--it was so strangely impassive, yet at the same time so
+full of distinctly marked intellectual power. The features were
+handsome but also singularly repulsive,--they were rendered in a
+certain degree dignified by a full, dark beard which, however,
+failed entirely to conceal the receding chin, and compressed,
+cruel mouth,--the eyes were keen and crafty and very clear,--the
+forehead was high and intelligent, and deeply furrowed with lines
+that seemed to be the result of much pondering over close and
+cunning calculation, rather than the marks of profound, unselfish,
+and ennobling thought. The page having left the room, Sah-luma
+began the conversation:
+
+"To what unexpected cause, most righteous sir, am I indebted for
+the honor of this present visit? Methinks I recognize the
+countenance of the famous Zel, the High-Priest of the Sacrificial
+Altar--if so, 'tis marvellous so great a man should venture forth
+alone and unattended, to the house of one who loves not priestly
+company, and who hath at best for all professors of religion a
+somewhat indifferent welcome!"
+
+The Priest smiled coldly.
+
+"Most rightly dost thou speak, Sah-luma"--he answered, his
+measured, metallic voice seeming to strike a wave of chilling
+discord through the air, "and most frankly hast thou thus declared
+one of thy many deficiencies! Atheist as thou art and to that
+manner born, thou art in very deed outside the pale of all
+religious teaching and consolement, . . nevertheless there is much
+gentle mercy shown thee by the Virgin Priestess of Nagaya".. here
+he solemnly bent his head and made the rapid sign of a Circle on
+his breast, . . "who, knowing thy great genius, doth ever strive
+with thoughtful zeal to draw thee closely within the saving Silver
+Veil! Yet it is possible that even her patience with thy sins may
+tire at last,--wherefore while there is time, offer due penance to
+the offended gods and humble thy stiff heart before the Holy Maid,
+lest she expel thee from her sight forever." He paused, . . a
+satirical, half-amused smile hovered round Sah-luma's delicate
+mouth--his eyes flashed.
+
+"All this is the mere common rhetoric of the Temple Craft"--he
+said indolently.. "Why not, good Zel, give plainer utterance to
+thine errand?--we know each other's follies well enough to spare
+formalities! Lysia has sent thee hither, . . what then? ... what
+says the beauteous Virgin to her willing slave?"
+
+An undertone of mockery rang through the languid silvery sweetness
+of his accents, and the Priest's dark brows knitted in an
+irritated frown.
+
+"Thou art over-flippant of speech, Sah-luma!" he observed
+austerely. "Take heed thou be not snared into misfortune by the
+glibness of thy tongue! Thou dost speak of the chaste Lysia with
+unseemly lightness.--learn to be reverent, and so shalt thou be
+wiser!"
+
+Sah-luma laughed and settled himself more easily on his couch,
+turning in such a manner as to look the stately Zel full in the
+face. They exchanged one glance, expressive as it seemed of some
+mutual secret understanding,--for the Priest coughed as though he
+were embarrassed, and stroked his beard deliberately with one hand
+in an endeavor to hide the strange smile that, despite his efforts
+to conceal it, visibly lightened his cold eyes to a sudden
+tigerish brilliancy.
+
+"The mission with which I am charged," he resumed presently,--"is
+to thee, Chief Laureate of the realm, and runs as followeth:
+Whereas thou hast of late avoided many days of public service in
+the Temple, so that those among the people who admire thee follow
+thine ill example, and absent themselves also with equal
+readiness,--the Priestess Undefiled, the noble Lysia, doth to-
+night command thy presence as a duty not to be foregone. Therefore
+come thou and take thy part in the Great Sacrifice, for these late
+tumults and disaster in the city, notably the perplexing downfall
+of the Obelisk, have caused all hearts to fail and sink for very
+fear. The river darkens in its crimson hue each hour by passing
+hour,--strange noises have been heard athwart the sky and in the
+deeper underground, . . and all these drear unwonted things are so
+many cogent reasons why we should in solemn unison implore the
+favor of Nagaya and the gods whereby further catastrophes may be
+perchance averted. Moreover for motives of most urgent state-
+policy it is advisable that all who hold place, dignity, and
+renown within the city should this night be seen as fervent
+supplicants before the Sacred Shrine,--so may much threatening
+rebellion be appeased, and order be restored out of impending
+confusion. Such is the message I am bidden to convey to thee,--
+furthermore I am required to bear back again to the High Priestess
+thy faithful promise that her orders shall be surely and entirely
+obeyed. Thou art not wont".. and a pale sneer flitted over his
+features.. "to set her mandate at defiance."
+
+Sah-luma bit his lips angrily, and folded his arms above his head
+with a lazy yet impatient movement.
+
+"Assuredly I shall be present at the Service," he said curtly..
+"There needed no such weighty summoning! 'Twas my intention to
+join the ranks of worshippers to-night, though for myself I have
+no faith in worship, . . the gods I ween are deaf, and care not a
+jot whether we mortals weep or sing. Nevertheless I shall look on
+with fitting gravity, and deport myself with due decorum
+throughout the ceremonious Ritual, though verily I tell thee,
+reverend Zel, 'tis tedious and monotonous at best, . . and
+concerning the poor maiden-sacrifice, it is a shuddering horror we
+could well dispense with."
+
+"I think not so,".. replied the Priest calmly. "Thou, who art well
+instructed in the capricious humors of men, must surely know how
+dearly the majority of them love the shedding of blood,--'tis a
+clamorous brute-instinct in them which must be satisfied. Better
+therefore that we, the anointed Priests, should slay one willing
+victim for the purposes of religion, than that they, the ignorant
+mob, should kill a thousand to gratify their lust of murder. An
+unresentful, all-loving Deity would be impossible of comprehension
+to a mutually hating and malignant race of beings,--all creeds
+must be accommodated to the dispositions of the million."
+
+"Pardon me..." suddenly interrupted Theos, "I am a stranger, and
+in a great measure ignorant of this city's customs, . . but I
+confess I am amazed to hear a Priest uphold so specious an
+argument! What! ... must divine Religion be dragged down from its
+pure throne to pander to the selfish passions of the multitude?
+... because men are vile, must a vile god be invented to suit
+their savage caprices? ... because men are so cruel, must the
+unseen Creator of things be delineated as even more barbarous than
+they, in order to give them some pietistical excuse for
+wickedness?--I ask these questions not out of wanton curiosity,
+but for the sake of instruction!"
+
+The haughty Zel turned upon him in severe astonishment.
+
+"Sir," he said--"Stranger undoubtedly thou art,--and so bold a
+manner of speech most truly savors of the utterly uneducated
+western barbarian! All wise and prudent governments have learned
+that a god fit for the adoration of men must be depicted as much
+like men as possible,--any absolutely superhuman attributes are
+unnecessary to the character of a useful deity, inasmuch as no man
+ever will, or ever can, understand the worth of superhuman
+qualities. Humanity is only capable of worshipping Self--thus, it
+is necessary, that when people are persuaded to pay honor to an
+elected Divinity, they should be well and comfortably assured in
+their own minds that they are but offering homage to an Image of
+Self placed before them in a deified or heroic form. This
+satisfies the natural idolatrous cravings of Egotism, and this is
+all that priests or teachers desire. Now in the worship of Nagaya,
+we have the natures of Man and Woman conjoined, . . the Snake is the
+emblem of male wisdom united with female subtilty--and the two
+essences, mingled in one, make as near an approach to what we may
+imagine the positive Divine capacity as can be devised on earth by
+earthly intelligences. If, on the other hand, such an absurd
+doctrine as that formulated in the fanatic madman Khosrul's
+'Prophecy' could be imagined as actually admitted, and proclaimed
+to the nations, it would have very few followers, and the
+sincerity of those few might well be open to doubt. For the Deity
+it speaks of is supposed to be an immortal God disguised as Man,--
+a God who voluntarily rejects and sets aside His own glory to
+serve and save His perishable creatures,--thus the root of that
+religion would consist in Self-abnegation, and Self-abnegation is,
+as experience proves, utterly impossible to the human being."
+
+"Why is it impossible?" asked Theos with a quiver of passionate
+earnestness in his voice,--"Are there none in all the world who
+would sacrifice their own interests to further another's welfare
+and happiness?"
+
+The Priest smiled,--a delicately derisive smile.
+
+"Certainly not!" he replied blandly.. "The very question strikes
+me as singularly foolish, inasmuch as we live in a planet where,
+if we do not serve ourselves and look after our own personal
+advantage, we may as well die the minute we are born, or, better
+still, never be born at all. There is no one living, . . at least
+not in the wide realm of Al-Kyris,--who would put himself to the
+smallest inconvenience for the sake of another, were that other
+his nearest and dearest blood-relation. And in matters of love and
+friendship, 'tis the same as in business,--each man eagerly
+pursues his own chance of enjoyment,--even when he loves, or
+fancies he loves, a woman, it is solely because her beauty or
+attractiveness gives HIM temporary pleasure, not because he has
+any tenderness or after-regard for the nature of HER feelings. How
+can it be otherwise? ... We elect friends that are useful to US
+personally,--we care little for THEIR intrinsic merit, and we only
+tolerate them as long as they happen to suit OUR taste. For
+generally, on the first occasion of a disagreement or difference
+of opinion, we shake ourselves free of them without either regret
+or remorse, and seek others who will be meek enough not to offer
+us any open contradiction. It is, and it must be always so: Self
+is the first person we are bound to consider, and all religions,
+if they are intended to last, must prudently recognize and
+silently acquiesce in this, the chief dogma of Man's
+constitution."
+
+Sah-luma laughed. "Excellently argued, most politic Zel!" he
+exclaimed.. "Yet methinks it is easy to worship Self without
+either consecrated altars or priestly assistance!"
+
+"Thou shouldst know better than any one with what facility such
+devotion can be practiced!" returned Zel ironically, rising as he
+spoke, and beginning to wrap his mantle round him preparatory to
+departure--"Thou hast a wider range of perpetual adoration than
+most men, seeing thou dost so fully estimate the value of thine
+own genius! Some heretics there are in the city, who say thy merit
+is but a trick of song shared by thee in common with the birds, . .
+who truly seem to take no pride in the particular sweetness of
+their unsyllabled language, . . but thou thyself art better
+instructed, and who shall blame thee for the veneration with which
+thou dost daily contemplate thine own intellectual powers? Not I,
+believe me!".. and his crafty eyes glittered mockingly, as he
+arranged his silver gauze muffler so that it entirely veiled the
+lower part of his features, . . "And though I do somewhat regret to
+learn that thou, among other noblemen of fashion, hast of late
+taken part in the atheistic discussions encouraged by the
+Positivist School of Thought, still, as a priest, my duty is not
+so much to reproach as to call thee to repentance. Therefore I
+inwardly rejoice to know thou wilt present thyself before the
+Shrine to-night, if only for the sake of custom ..."
+
+"'Only' for the sake of custom!" repeated Sah-luma amusedly--"Nay,
+good Zel, custom should be surely classified as an exceeding
+powerful god, inasmuch as it rules all things, from the cut of our
+clothes to the form of our creeds!"
+
+"True!" replied Zel imperturbably. "And he who despises custom
+becomes an alien from his kind,--a moral leper among the pure and
+clean."
+
+"Oh, say rather a lion among sheep, a giant among pigmies!"
+laughed the Laureate,--"For by my soul, a man who had the courage
+to scorn custom, and set the small hypocrisies of society at
+defiance, would be a glorious hero! a warrior of strange integrity
+whom it would be well worth travelling miles to see!"
+
+"Khosrul was such an one!" interposed Theos suddenly.
+
+"Tush, man! Khosrul was mad!" retorted Sah-luma.
+
+"Are not all men thought mad who speak the truth?" queried Theos
+gently.
+
+The priest Zel looked at him with proud and supercilious eyes.
+
+"Thou hast strange notions for one still young," he said ... "What
+art thou? ... a new disciple of the Mystics? ... or a student of
+the Positive Doctrines?"
+
+Theos met his gaze unflinchingly. "What am I?" he murmured sadly,
+and his voice trembled, ... "Reverend Priest, I am nothing! ...
+Great are the sufferings of men who have lost their wealth, their
+home, their friends, ... but I ... I have lost Myself! Were I
+anything ... could I ever hope to be anything, I would pray to be
+accepted a servant of the Cross, ... that far-off unknown Faith to
+which my tired spirit clings!"
+
+As he uttered these words, he raised his eyes, ... how dim and
+misty at the moment seemed the tall white figure of the majestic
+Zel! and in contrast to it, how brilliantly distinct Sah-luma's
+radiant face appeared, turned toward him in inquiring wonderment!
+... He felt a swooning dizziness upon him, but the sensation
+swiftly passed, and he saw the haughty Priest's dark brows bent
+upon him in a frown of ominous disapproval.
+
+"'Tis well thou art not a citizen of Al-Kyris"--he said
+scornfully--"To strangers we accord a certain license of opinion,
+--but if thou wert a native of these realms, thy speech would cost
+thee dear! As it is, I warn thee! ... dare not to make public
+mention of the Cross, the accursed Emblem of the dead Khosrul's
+idolatry, ... guard thy tongue heedfully!--and thou, Sah-luma if
+thou dost bring this rashling with thee to the Temple, thou must
+take upon thyself all measures for his safety. For in these days,
+some words are like firebrands, and he who casts them forth
+incautiously may kindle flames that only the forfeit of his life
+can quench."
+
+There was a quiver of suppressed fury in his tone, and Sah-luma
+lifted his lazy lids, and looked at him with an air of tranquil
+indifference.
+
+"Prithee, trouble not thyself, most eminent Zel!" he answered
+nonchalantly ... "I will answer for my friend's discretion! Thou
+dost mistake his temperament,--he is a budding poet, and utters
+many a disconnected thought which hath no meaning save to his own
+fancy-swarming brain,--he saw the frantic Khosrul die, and the
+picture hath impressed him for the moment--nothing more! I pledge
+my word for his demurest prudence at the Service to-night--I would
+not have him absent for the world, ... 'twere pity he should miss
+the splendor of a scene which doubtless hath been admirably
+contrived, by priestly art and skill, to play upon the passions of
+the multitude. Tell me, good Zel, what is the name of the self-
+offered Victim?"
+
+The Priest flashed a strangely malevolent glance at him.
+
+"'Tis not to be divulged," he replied curtly--"The virgin is no
+longer counted among the living ... she is as one already
+departed--the name she bore hath been erased from the city
+registers, and she wears instead the prouder title of 'Bride of
+the Sun and Nagaya.' Restrain thy curiosity until night hath
+fallen,--it may be that thou, who hast a wide acquaintance among
+fair maidens, wilt recognize her countenance."
+
+"Nay, I trust I know her not"--said Sah-luma carelessly--"For,
+though all women die for me when once their beauty fades, still am
+I loth to see them perish ere their prime.
+
+"Yet many are doomed to perish so"--rejoined the Priest
+impassively--"Men as well as women,--and methinks those who are
+best beloved of the gods are chosen first to die. Death is not
+difficult, ... but to live long enough for life to lose all savor,
+and love all charm, ... this is a bitterness that comes with years
+and cannot be consoled."
+
+And retreating slowly toward the door, he paused as he had
+previously done on the threshold.
+
+"Farewell, Sah-luma!" he said ... "Beware that nothing hinders
+thee from the fulfillment of thy promise! ... and let thy homage
+to the Holy Maid be reverent at the parting of the Silver Veil!"
+
+He waited, but Sah-luma made no answer--he therefore raised his
+staff and described a circle with it in the same solemn fashion
+that had distinguished his entrance.
+
+"By the coming-forth of the Moon through the ways of Darkness, . .
+by the shining of Stars, . . by the Sleeping Sun and the silence of
+Night, . . by the All-Seeing Eye of Raphon and the Wisdom of Nagaya
+may the protection of the gods abide in this house forever!"
+
+As he pronounced these words he noiselessly departed, without any
+salutation whatever to Sah-luma, who heaved a sigh of relief when
+he had gone, and, rising from his couch came and placed one hand
+affectionately on Theos's shoulder.
+
+"Thou foolish, yet dear comrade!" he murmured.. "What moves thee
+to blurt forth such strange and unwarrantable sayings? ... Why
+wouldst thou pray to be a servant of the Cross? ... or why, at any
+rate, if thou hast taken a fancy for the dead Khosrul's new
+doctrine, wert thou so rash as to proclaim thy sentiment to yon
+unprincipled, bloodthirsty Zel, who would not scruple to poison
+the King himself, if his Majesty gave sufficient cause of offence!
+Dost thou desire to be straightway slain?--Nay, I will not have
+thee run thus furiously into danger,--thou wilt be offered the
+Silver Nectar like Nir-jahs, and not even the intercession of my
+friendship would avail to save thee then!"
+
+Theos smiled rather sadly.
+
+"And thus would end for ever my mistakes and follies, . ." he
+answered softly.. "And I should perchance discover the small
+hidden secret of things--the little, simple unguessed clue, that
+would unravel the mystery and meaning of Existence! For can it be
+that the majestic marvel of created Nature is purposeless in its
+design?--that we are doomed to think thoughts which can never be
+realized?--to dream dreams that perish in the dreaming? ... to
+build up hopes without foundation? ... to call upon God when there
+is no God? ... to long for Heaven when there is no Heaven? ... Ah
+no, Sah-luma!--surely we are not the mere fools and dupes of Time,
+... surely there is some Eternal Beyond which is not
+Annihilation, . . some greater, vaster sphere of soul-development
+where we shall find all that we have missed on earth!"
+
+Sah-luma's face clouded, and a sigh escaped him.
+
+"I would my thoughts were similar to thine!" he said sorrowfully..
+"I would I could believe in an immortal destiny, ... but alas, my
+friend! there is no shadow of ground for such a happy faith,--none
+neither in sense nor science. I have reflected on it many a time
+till I have wearied myself with mournful musing, and the end of
+all my meditation has been a useless protest against the Great
+Inevitable, . . a clamor of disdain hurled at the huge, blind,
+indifferent Force that poisons the deep sea of Space with an ever-
+productive spawn of wasted Life! Anon I have flouted my own
+despair, and have consoled myself with the old wise maxim that was
+found inscribed on the statue of a smiling god some centuries
+ago.. 'Enjoy your lives, ye passing tribes of men ... take
+pleasure in folly, for this is the only wisdom that avails! Happy
+is he whose days are filled with the delight of love and laughter,
+for there is nothing better found on earth, and whatsoever ye do,
+whether wise or foolish, the same End comes to all!'.. Is not this
+true philosophy, my Theos? ... what can a man do better than
+enjoy?"
+
+"Much depends on the particular form of enjoyment..." responded
+Theos thoughtfully. "Some there are, for example, who might find
+their greatest satisfaction in the pleasures of the table,--others
+in the gratification of sensual desires and gross appetites,--are
+these to be left to follow their own devices, without any effort
+being made to raise them from the brute-level where they lie?"
+
+"Why, in the name of all the gods, SHOULD they be raised?"
+demanded Sah-luma impatiently--"If their choice is to grovel in
+mire, why ask them to dwell in a palace?--They would not
+appreciate the change!"
+
+"Again," went on Theos--"there are others who are only happy in
+the pursuit of wisdom, and the more they learn, the more they seek
+to know. One wonders, . . one cannot help wondering.. are their
+aspirations all in vain? ... and will the grave seal down their
+hopes forever?"
+
+Sah-luma paused a moment before replying.
+
+"It seems so ..." he said at last slowly and hesitatingly ... "And
+herein I find the injustice of the matter,--because however great
+may be the imagination and fervor of a poet for instance, he never
+is able WHOLLY to utter his thoughts. Half of them remain in
+embryo, like buds of flowers that never come to bloom, . . yet they
+are THERE, burning in the brain and seeming too vast of conception
+to syllable themselves into the common speech of mortals! I have
+often marvelled why such ideas suggest themselves at all, as they
+can neither be written nor spoken, unless..." and here his voice
+sank into a dreamy softness, "unless indeed they are to be
+received as hints, . . foreshadowings.. of greater works destined
+for our accomplishment, hereafter!"
+
+He was silent a minute's space, and Theos, watching him wistfully,
+suddenly asked:
+
+"Wouldst thou be willing to live again, Sah-luma, if such a thing
+could be?"
+
+"Friend, I would rather never die!"--responded the Laureate, half
+playfully, half seriously.. "But.. if I were certain that death
+was no more than a sleep, from which I should assuredly awaken to
+another phase of existence, ..I know well enough what I would do!"
+
+"What?" questioned Theos, his heart beginning to beat with an
+almost insufferable anxiety.
+
+"I would live a different life NOW!" answered Sah-luma steadily,
+looking his companion full in the eyes as he spoke, while a grave
+smile shadowed rather than lightened his features. "I would begin
+at once, . . so that when the new Future dawned for me, I might not
+be haunted or tortured by the remembrance of a misspent Past! For
+if we are to believe in any everlasting things at all, we cannot
+shut out the fatal everlastingness of Memory!" His words sounded
+unlike himself...his voice was as the voice of some reproving
+angel speaking,--and Theos, listening, shuddered, he knew not why,
+and held his peace.
+
+"Never to be able to FORGET!" continued Sah-luma in the same
+grave, sweet tone ... "Never to lose sight of one's own bygone
+wilful sins, . . this would be an immortal destiny too terrible to
+endure! For then, inexorable Retrospection would forever show us
+where we had missed the way, and how we had failed to use the
+chances given us, . . moreover, we might haply find ourselves
+surrounded..." and his accents grew slower and more emphatic.. "by
+strange phantoms of our own creating, who would act anew the drama
+of our obstinate past follies, perplexing us thereby into an
+anguish greater than mortal fancy can depict. Thus if we indeed
+possessed the positive foreknowledge of the eternal regeneration
+of our lives, 'twould be well to free them from all hindrance to
+perfection HERE,--here, while we are still conscious of Time and
+opportunity." He paused, then went on in his customary gay manner:
+"But fortunately we are not positive, nothing is certain, no truth
+is so satisfactorily demonstrated that some wiseacre cannot be
+found to disprove it, . . hence it happens my friend..." and his
+face assumed its wonted careless expression ... "that we men whose
+common-sense is offended by priestly hypocrisy and occult
+necromantic jugglery,--we, who perhaps in our innermost heart of
+hearts ardently desire to believe in a supreme Divinity and the
+grandly progressive Sublime Intention of the Universe, but who,
+discovering naught but ignoble Cant and Imposture everywhere, are
+incontinently thrown back on our own resources, . . hence it comes,
+I say, that we are satisfied to accept ourselves, each man in his
+own personality, as the Beginning and End of Existence, and to
+minister to that Absolute Self which after all concerns us most,
+and which will continue to engage our best service until...well!--
+until History can show us a perfectly Selfless Example, which, if
+human nature remains consistent with its own traditions, will
+assuredly never be!"
+
+This was almost more than Theos could bear, . . there was a
+tightening agony at his heart that made him long to cry out, to
+weep, or, better still, to fling himself on his knees and pray, . .
+pray to that far-removed mild Presence, that "Selfless Example"
+who he KNEW had hallowed and dignified the world, and yet whose
+Holy and Beloved Name, he, miserable sinner, was unworthy to even
+remember! His suffering at the moment was so intense that he
+fancied some reflection of it must be visible in his face. Sah-
+luma, however, apparently saw nothing,--he stepped across the
+room, and out to the vine-shaded loggia, where he turned and
+beckoned his companion to his side.
+
+"Come!" he said, pushing his hair off his brows with a languid
+gesture, . . "The afternoon wears onward, and the very heavens seem
+to smoke with heat,--let us seek cooler air beneath the shade of
+yonder cypresses, whose dark-green boughs shut out the glaring
+sky. We'll talk of love and poesy and tender things till sunset, . .
+I will recite to thee a ballad of mine that Niphrata loved,--'tis
+called 'An Idyl of Roses,'...and it will lighten this hot and
+heavy silence, when even birds sleep, and butterflies drowse in
+the hollowed shelter of the arum-leaves. Come, wilt thou? ... To-
+night perchance we shall have little time for pleasant discourse!"
+
+As he spoke, Theos obediently went toward him with the dazed
+sensations of one under the influence of mesmerism, ... the
+dazzling face and luminous eyes of the Laureate exercised over him
+an indescribable yet resistless authority,--and it was certain
+that, wherever Sah-luma led the way, he was bound to follow. Only,
+as he mechanically descended from the terrace into the garden, and
+linked his arm within that of his companion, he was conscious of a
+vague feeling of pity for himself...pity that he should have
+dwindled into such a nonentity, when Sah-luma was so renowned a
+celebrity, . . pity too that he should have somehow never been able
+to devise anything original in the Art of Poetry!
+
+This last was evident, . . for he knew already that the "Idyl of
+Roses" Sah-luma purposed reciting could be no other than what he
+had fancied was HIS "Idyl of Roses" ... a poem he had composed, or
+rather had plagiarized in some mysterious fashion before he had
+even dreamt of the design of "Nourhalma"...However he had become
+in part resigned to the peculiar position he occupied,--he was
+just a little sorry for himself, and that was all. Even as the
+parted spirit of a dead man might hover ruthfully above the grave
+of its perished mortal body, so he compassionated his own forlorn
+estate, and heaved a passing sigh of regret, not only for all HE
+ONCE HAD BEEN, but also for all HE COULD NEVER BE!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+IN THE TEMPLE OF NAGAYA.
+
+
+The hours wore on with stealthy rapidity,--but the two friends,
+reclining together under a deep-branched canopy of cypress-boughs,
+paid little or no heed to the flight of time. The heat in the
+garden was intense--the grass was dry and brittle as though it had
+been scorched by passing flames,--and a singularly profound
+stillness reigned everywhere, there being no wind to stir the
+faintest rustle among the foliage. Lying lazily upon his back,
+with his arms clasped above his head, Theos looked dreamily up at
+the patches of blue sky seen between the dark-green gnarled stems
+and listened to the measured cadence of the Laureate's mellow
+voice as he recited with much tenderness the promised poem.
+
+Of course it was perfectly familiar,--the lines were precisely the
+same as those which he, Theos, remembered to have written out,
+thinking them his own, in an old manuscript book he had left at
+home. "At-home!" ... Where was that? It must be a very long way
+off! ... He half-closed his eyes,--a sense of delightful
+drowsiness was upon him, . . the rise and fall of his friend's
+rhythmic utterance soothed him into a languid peace, . . the "Idyl
+of Roses" was very sweet and musical, and, though he knew it of
+old, he heard it now with special satisfaction, inasmuch as, it
+being no longer his, he was at liberty to bestow upon it that full
+measure of admiration which he felt it deserved!
+
+Yet every now and then his thoughts wandered,--and though he
+anxiously strove to concentrate his attention on the lovely
+stanzas that murmured past his ears like the gentle sound of waves
+flowing beneath the mesmerism of the moon, his brain was in a
+continual state of ferment, and busied itself with all manner of
+vague suggestions to which he could give no name.
+
+A great weariness weighed down his spirit--a dim consciousness of
+the futility of all ambition and all endeavor--he was haunted,
+too, by the sharp hiss of Lysia's voice when she had said, "KILL
+SAH-LUMA!"...Her look, her attitude, her murderous smile, troubled
+his memory and made him ill at ease,--the thing she had thus
+demanded at his hands seemed more monstrous than if she had bidden
+him kill himself! For there had been one moment, when, mastered by
+her beauty and the force of his own passion, he WOULD have killed
+himself had she requested it...but to kill his adored, his beloved
+friend! ... ah no! not for a thousand sorceress-queens as fair as
+she!
+
+He drew a long breath, . . an irresistible desire for rest came over
+him, . . the air was heavy and warm and fragrant,--his companion's
+dulcet accents served as a lullaby to his tired mind,--it seemed a
+long time since he had enjoyed a pleasant slumber, for the
+previous night he had not slept at all. Lower and lower drooped
+his aching lids, . . he was almost beginning to slip away slowly
+into a blissful unconsciousness, . . when all at once Sah-luma
+ceased reciting, and a harsh, brazen clang of bells echoed through
+the silence, storming to and fro with a violent, hurried uproar
+suggestive of some sudden alarm. He sprang to his feet, rubbing
+his eyes,--Sah-luma rose also, a slightly petulant expression on
+his face.
+
+"Canst thou do no better than sleep"--he queried complainingly,
+"when thou art privileged to listen to an immortal poem?"
+
+Impulsively Theos caught his hand and pressed it fervently.
+
+"Nay, dost thou deem me so indifferent, my noble friend?" he
+cried ... "Thou art mistaken, for though perchance mine eyes were
+closed, my ears were open; I heard thy every word,--I loved thy
+every line! What dost thou need of praise? ... thou, who canst do
+naught but work which, being perfect, is beyond all criticism!"
+
+Sah-luma smiled, well satisfied, and the little lines of
+threatening ill-humor vanished from his countenance.
+
+"Enough!" he said.. "I know that thou dost truly honor me above
+all poets, and that thou wouldst not willingly offend. Hearest
+thou how great a clamor the ringers of the Temple make to-night?--
+'tis but the sunset chime, . . yet one would think they were pealing
+forth an angry summons to battle."
+
+"Already sunset!" exclaimed Theos, surprised.. "Why, it seems
+scarce a minute since, that we came hither!"
+
+"Aye!--such is the magic charm of poesy!" rejoined Sah-luma
+complacently.. "It makes the hours flit like moments, and long
+days seemed but short hours! ... Nevertheless 'tis time we were
+within doors and at supper,--for if we start not soon for the
+Temple, 'twill be difficult to gain an entrance, and I, at any
+rate, must be early in my place beside the King."
+
+He heaved a short, impatient sigh,--and as he spoke, all Theos's
+old misgivings came rushing back upon him and in full force,
+filling him with vague sorrow, uneasiness, fear. But he knew how
+useless it was to try and impart any of his inward forebodings to
+Sah-luma,--Sah-luma, who had so lightly explained Lysia's
+treacherous conduct to his own entire satisfaction, . . Sah-luma, on
+whom neither the prophecies of Khosrul nor the various disastrous
+events of the day had taken any permanent effect, . . while no
+attempt could now be made to deter him from attending the
+Sacrificial Service in the Temple, seeing he had been so
+positively commanded thither by Lysia, through the medium of the
+priest Zel.
+
+Feeling bitterly his own incompetency to exercise any protective
+influence on the fate of his companion, Theos said nothing, but
+silently followed him, as he thrust aside the drooping cypress
+boughs and made his way out to more open ground, his lithe,
+graceful figure looking even more brilliant and phantom-like than
+ever, contrasted with the deep green gloom spread about him by the
+hoary moss-covered trees that were as twisted and grotesque in
+shape as a group of fetich idols. As he bent back the last branchy
+barrier however, and stepped into the full light, he stopped
+short,--and, uttering a loud exclamation, lifted his hand and
+pointed westward, his dark eyes dilating with amazement and awe.
+
+Theos at once came swiftly up beside him, and looked where he
+looked, . . what a scene of terrific splendor he beheld! ... Right
+across the horizon, that glistened with a pale green hue like
+newly frozen water, a cloud, black as the blackest midnight, lay
+heavy and motionless, in form resembling an enormous leaf, fringed
+at the edges with tremulous lines of gold.
+
+This nebulous mass was absolutely stirless, . . it appeared as
+though it had been thrown, a ponderous weight, into the vault of
+heaven, and having fallen, there purposed to remain. Ever and anon
+beamy threads of lightning played through it luridly, veining it
+with long, arrowy flashes of orange and silver,--while poised
+immediately above it was the sun, looking like a dull scarlet
+seal, ... a ball of dim fire destitute of rays.
+
+On all sides the sky was crossed by wavy flecks of pearl and
+sudden glimpses as of burning topaz,--and down toward the earth
+drooped a thin azure fog,--filmy curtain, through which the
+landscape took the strangest tints and unearthly flushes of color.
+A moment,--and the spectral sun dropped suddenly into the lower
+darkness, leaving behind it a glare of gold and green,--lowering
+purple shadows crept over across the heavens, darkening them as
+smoke darkens flame,--but the huge cloud, palpitating with
+lightning, moved not at all nor changed its shape by so much as a
+hair's breadth, . . it appeared like a vast pall spread out in
+readiness for the solemn state-burial of the world.
+
+Fascinated by the aspect of the weird sky-phenomenon, Theos was at
+the same time curiously impressed by a sense of its UNREALITY, . .
+indeed he found himself considering it with the calm attentiveness
+of one who is brought face to face with a remarkable picture
+effectively painted. This peculiar sensation, however, was, like
+many others of his experience, very transitory, . . it passed, and
+he watched the lightnings come and go with a certain hesitating
+fear mingled with wonder. Sah-luma was the first to speak.
+
+"Storm at last!" ... he said, forcing a smile though his face was
+unusually pale,--"It has threatened us all day...'twill break
+before the night is over. How sullenly yonder heavens frown! ...
+they have quenched the sun in their sable darkness as though it
+were a beaten foe! This will seem an ill sign to those who worship
+him as a god,--for truly he doth appear to have withdrawn himself
+in haste and anger. By my soul! 'Tis a dull and ominous eve!" ...
+and a slight shudder ran through his delicate frame, as he turned
+toward the white-pillared loggia garlanded with its climbing
+vines, roses, and passion-flowers, through which there now floated
+a dim golden, suffused radiance reflected from lamps lit within, . .
+"I would the night were past and that the new day had come!"
+
+With these words, he entered the house, Theos accompanying him,
+and together they went at once to the banqueting-hall. There they
+supped royally, served by silent and attentive slaves,--they
+themselves, feeling mutually depressed, yet apparently not wishing
+to communicate their depression one to the other, conversed but
+little. After the repast was finished, they set forth on foot to
+the Temple, Sah-luma informing his companion, as they went, that
+it was against the law to use any chariot or other sort of
+conveyance to go to the place of worship, the King himself being
+obliged to dispense with his sumptuous car on such occasions, and
+to walk thither as unostentatiously as any one of his poorest
+subjects.
+
+"An excellent rule!" ... observed Theos reflectively,--"For the
+pomp and glitter of an earthly potentate's display assorts ill
+with the homage he intends to offer to the Immortals,--and Kings
+are no more than commoners in the sight of an all-supreme
+Divinity."
+
+"True, if there WERE an all-supreme Divinity!" rejoined Sah-luma
+dryly,--"But in the present state of well-founded doubt regarding
+the existence of any such omnipotent personage, thinkest thou
+there is a monarch living, who is sincerely willing to admit the
+possibility of any power superior to himself? Not Zephoranim,
+believe me! ... his enforced humility on all occasions of public
+religious observance serves him merely as a new channel wherein to
+proclaim his pride. Certes, in obedience to the Priests, or rather
+let us say in obedience to the High Priestess, he paces the common
+foot-path in company with the common folk, uncrowned and simply
+clad,--but what avails this affectation of meekness? All know him
+for the King--all make servile way for him,--all flatter him! ...
+and his progress to the Temple resembles as much a triumphal
+procession as though he were mounted in his chariot and returning
+from some wondrous victory. Besides, humility in my opinion is
+more a weakness than a virtue, . . and even granting it were a
+virtue, it is not possible to Kings,--not as long as people
+continue to fawn on royalty like grovelling curs, and lick the
+sceptred hand that often loathes their abject touch."
+
+He spoke with a certain bitterness and impatience as though he
+were suffering from some inward nervous irritation, and Theos,
+observing this, prudently made no attempt to continue the
+conversation. They were just then passing down a narrow, rather
+dark street, lined on both sides by lofty buildings of quaint and
+elaborate architecture. Long, gloomy shadows had gathered in this
+particular spot, where for a short space the silence was so
+intense that one could almost hear one's own heart beat. Suddenly
+a yellowish-green ray of light flashed across the pavement, and
+lo! the upper rim of the moon peered above the house-tops, looking
+strangely large and rosily brilliant, . . the air seemed all at once
+to grow suffocating and sulphurous, and between whiles there came
+the faint plashing sound of water lapping against stone with a
+monotonous murmur as of continuous soft whispers.
+
+The vast silence, the vast night, were full of a solemn
+weirdness,--the moon, curiously magnified to twice her ordinary
+size, soared higher and higher, firing the lofty solitudes of
+heaven with long, shooting radiations of rose and green, while
+still in the purple hollow of the horizon lay that immense,
+immovable Cloud, nerved as it were with living lightning which
+leaped incessantly from its centre like a thousand swords drawn
+and re-drawn from as many scabbards.
+
+Presently the deep booming noise of a great bell smote heavily on
+the stillness, . . a sound that Theos, oppressed by the weight of
+unutterable forebodings, welcomed with a vague sense of relief,
+while Sah-luma, hearing it, quickened his pace. They soon reached
+the end of the street, which terminated in a spacious quadrangular
+court guarded on all sides by gigantic black statues, and quickly
+crossing this place, which was entirely deserted, they came out at
+once into a dazzling blaze of light, . . the Temple of Nagaya in all
+its stately magnificence towered before them, a stupendous pile of
+marvellously delicate architecture so fine as to seem like lace-
+work rather than stone.
+
+It was lit up from base to summit with glittering lamps of all
+colors, . . the twelve revolving stars on its twelve tall turrets
+cast forth wide beams of penetrating radiance into the deepening
+darkness of the night, . . aloft in its topmost crown of pinnacles
+swung the prayer-commanding bell, . . while the enormous crowds
+swarming thick about it gave it the appearance of a brilliant
+Pharos set in the midst of a surging sea. The steps leading up to
+it were strewn ankle-deep with flowers, . . the doors stood open,
+and a thunderous hum of solemn music vibrated in wave-like
+pulsations through the heavy, heated air.
+
+Half blinded by the extreme effulgence, and confused by the
+jostling to and fro of a multitude immeasurably greater than any
+he had ever seen or imagined, Theos instinctively stretched out
+his hand in the helpless fashion of one not knowing whither next
+to turn, . . Sah-luma immediately caught it in his own, and hurried
+him along without saying a word.
+
+How they managed to glide through the close ranks of pushing,
+pressing people, and effect an entrance he never knew,--but when
+he recovered from his momentary dazed bewilderment, he found
+himself inside the Temple, standing near a pillar of finely fluted
+white marble that shot up like the stem of a palm-tree and lost
+its final point in the dim yet sparkling splendor of the immense
+dome above. Lights twinkled everywhere,--there was the odor of
+faint perfumes mingled with the fresher fragrance of flowers,--
+there were distant glimpses of jewelled shrines, and the leering
+faces of grotesque idols clothed in draperies of amber, purple,
+and green,--and between the multitudinous columns that ringed the
+superb fane with snowy circles, one within the other, hung
+glittering lamps, set with rare gems and swinging by long chains
+of gold.
+
+But the crowning splendor of the whole was concentrated on the
+place of the secret Inner Shrine. There an Arch of pale-blue fire
+spanned the dome from left to right, . . there, from huge bronze
+vessels mounted on tall tripods the smoke of burning incense arose
+in thick and odorous clouds,--there children clad in white, and
+wearing garlands of vivid scarlet blossoms, stood about in little
+groups as still as exquisitely modelled statuettes, their small
+hands folded, and their eyes downcast, . . there, the steps were
+strewn with branches of palm, flowering oleander, rose-laurel, and
+olive-sprays,--but the Sanctuary itself was not visible.
+
+Before that Holy of Holies hung the dazzling folds of the "Silver
+Veil," a curtain of the most wonderfully woven silver tissue, that
+seen in the flashing azure light of the luminous arch above it,
+resembled nothing so much as a suddenly frozen sheet of foam.
+Across it was emblazoned in large characters:
+
+I AM THE PAST, THE PRESENT, THE FUTURE,
+
+THE MIGHT-HAVE-BEEN, AND THE SHALL-NOT-BE,
+
+THE EVER, AND THE NEVER,
+
+NO MORTAL KNOWETH MY NAME.
+
+As Theos with some difficulty, owing to the intense brilliancy of
+the Veil, managed to decipher these words, he heard a solitary
+trumpet sounded,--a clear-blown note that echoed itself many times
+among the lofty arches before it finally floated into silence.
+Recognizing this as an evident signal for some new and important
+phase in the proceedings, he turned his eyes away from the place
+of the Shrine, and looking round the building was surprised to see
+how completely the vast area was filled with crowds upon crowds of
+silent and expectant people. It seemed as though not the smallest
+wedge could have been inserted between the shoulders of one man
+and another, yet where he stood with Sah-luma there was plenty of
+room. The reason of this however was soon apparent,--they were in
+the place reserved for the King and the immediate officers of the
+Royal Household,--and scarcely had the sweet vibration of that
+clear trumpet-blast died away, when Zephoranim himself appeared,
+walking slowly and majestically in the midst of a select company
+of his nobles and courtiers.
+
+He wore the simple white garb of an ordinary citizen of Al-Kyris,
+together with a silver belt and plain-sheathed dagger, . . not a
+jewel relieved the classic severity of his costume, and not even
+the merest fillet of gold in his rough dark hair denoted his royal
+rank. But the pride of precedence spoke in his flashing eyes,--the
+arrogance of authority in the self-conscious poise of his figure
+and haughtiness of his step,--his brows were knitted in something
+of a frown, and his face looked pale and slightly careworn. He
+spied out Sah-luma at once and smiled kindly,--there was not a
+trace of coldness in his manner toward his favored minstrel, and
+Theos noted this with a curious sense of sudden consolation and
+encouragement. "Why should I have feared Zephoranim?" he thought.
+"Sah-luma has no greater friend, . . except myself! The King would
+be the last person in the world to do him any injury!"
+
+Just then a magnificent burst of triumphal music rolled through
+the Temple,--the music of some mighty instrument, organ-like in
+sound, but several tones deeper than the grandest organ ever made,
+mingled with children's voices singing. The King seated himself on
+a cushioned chair directly in front of the Silver Veil, . . Sah-luma
+took a place at his right hand, giving Theos a low bench close
+beside him, while the various distinguished personages who had
+attended Zephoranim disposed themselves indifferently wherever
+they could find standing-room, only keeping as near to their
+monarch as they were able to do in the extreme pressure of so vast
+a congregation.
+
+For now every available inch of space was occupied,--as far as eye
+could see there were rows upon rows of men and white-veiled
+women, . . Theos imagined there must have been more then five
+thousand people present. On went the huge pulsations of melody,
+surging through the incense-laden air like waves thudding
+incessantly on a rocky shore, and presently out of a side archway
+near the Sanctuary-steps came with slow and gliding noiselessness
+a band of priests, walking two by two, and carrying branches of
+palm. These were all clad in purple and crowned with ivy-wreaths,
+--they marched sedately, keeping their eyes lowered, while their
+lips moved constantly, as though they muttered inaudible
+incantations. Waving their palm-boughs to and fro, they paced
+along past the King and down the centre aisle of the Temple,--then
+turning, they came back again to the lowest step of the Shrine and
+there they all prostrated themselves, while the children who stood
+near the incense-burners flung fresh perfumes on the glowing
+embers and chanted the following recitative:
+
+     "O Nagaya, great, everlasting and terrible!
+      Thou who dost wind thy coils of wisdom into the heart!
+      Thou, whose eyes, waking and sleeping, do behold all things!
+      Thou who art the joy of the Sun and the Master of Virgins!
+      Hear us, we beseech thee, when we call upon thy name!"
+
+Their young treble voices were clear and piercing, and pealed up
+to the dome to fall again like the drops of distinct round melody
+from a lark's singing-throat,--and when they ceased there came a
+short impressive pause. The Silver Veil quivered from end to end
+as though swayed by a faint wind, and the flaming Arch above
+turned from pale blue to a strange shimmering green. Then, in
+mellow unison, the kneeling priests intoned:
+
+     "O thou who givest words of power to the dumb mouth of the
+       soul in Hades; hear us, Nagaya!
+      O thou who openest the grave and givest peace to the heart;
+       plead for us, Nagaya!
+      O thou who art companion of the Sun and controller of the
+       East and of the West; comfort us, Nagaya!
+
+Here they ended, and the children began again, not to chant but to
+sing.. a strange and tristful tune, wilder than any that vragrant
+winds could play on the strings of an aeolian lyre:
+
+ "O Virgin of Virgins, Holy Maid, to what shall we resemble thee?
+  Chaste Daughter of the Sun, how shall we praise thy peerless
+    beauty!
+  Thou art the Gate of the House of Stars!--thou art the first of
+    the Seven Jewels of Nagaya!
+  Thou dost wield the sceptre of ebony, and the Eye of Raphon
+    beholds thee with love and contentment!
+  Thou art the Chiefest of Women, ... thou hast the secrets of earth
+   and heaven, thou knowest the dark mysteries!
+  Hail, Lysia! Queen of the Hall of Judgment!
+  Hail, pure Pearl in the Sea of the Sun's glory!
+  Declare unto us, we beseech thee, the Will of Nagaya!"
+
+
+They closed this canticle softly and slowly, . . then flinging
+themselves prone, they pressed their faces to the earth, . . and
+again the glittering Veil waved to and fro suggestively, while
+Theos, his heart beating fast, watched its shining woof with
+straining eyes and a sense of suffocation in his throat, . . what
+ignorant fools, what mad barbarians, what blind blasphemers were
+these people, he indignantly thought, who could thus patiently
+hear the praise of an evil woman like Lysia publicly proclaimed
+with almost divine honors!
+
+Did they actually intend to worship her, he wondered? If so, he at
+any rate would never bend the knee to one so vile! He might have
+done so once, perhaps, ... but now ...! At that instant a flute like
+murmur of melody crept upward as it seemed from the ground, with a
+plaintive whispering sweetness like the lament of some exiled
+fairy,--so exquisitely tender and pathetic, and yet withal so
+heart-stirring and passionate, that, despite himself, he listened
+with a strange, swooning sense of languor stealing insidiously
+over him,--a dreamy lassitude, that while it made him feel
+enervated and deprived of strength, was still not altogether
+unpleasing, . . a faint sigh escaped his lips,--and he kept his gaze
+fixed on the Silver Veil as pertinaciously as though behind it lay
+the mystery of his soul's ruin or salvation.
+
+How the light flashed on its shimmering folds like the rippling
+phosphorescence on southern seas! ... as green and clear and
+brilliant as rays reflected from thousands and thousands of
+glistening emeralds! ... And that haunting, sorrowful, weird
+music! ... How it seemed to eat into his heart and there waken a
+bitter remorse combined with an equally bitter despair!
+
+Once more the Veil moved, and this time it appeared to inflate
+itself in the fashion of a sail caught by a sudden breeze,--then
+it began to part in the middle very slowly and without sound.
+Further and further back on each side it gradually receded, and
+... like a lily disclosed between folding leaves--a Figure, white,
+wonderful and angelically fair, shone out, the centre jewel of the
+stately shrine,--a shrine whose immense carven pillars, grotesque
+idols, bronze and gold ornaments, jewelled lamps and dazzling
+embroideries, only served as a sort of neutral-tinted background
+to intensify with a more lustrous charm the statuesque loveliness
+revealed! O Lysia, UNvirgined Priestess of the Sun and Nagaya, how
+gloriously art thou arrayed in sin! ... O singular Sweetness whose
+end must needs be destruction, was ever woman fairer than thou!
+... O love, love, lost in the dead Long-Ago, and drowned in the
+uttermost darkness of things evil, wilt thou drag my soul with
+thee again into everlasting night!
+
+Thus Theos inwardly raved, without any real comprehension of his
+own thoughts, but only stricken anew by a feverish passion of
+mingled love and hatred as he stared on the witching sorceress
+whose marvellous beauty was such wonder and torture to his eyes, . .
+what mattered it to him that King, Laureate, and people had all
+prostrated themselves before her in reverent humility? ... HE knew
+her nature, . . he had fathomed her inborn wickedness, . . and though
+his senses were attracted by her, his spirit loathingly repelled
+her, . . he therefore remained seated stiffly upright, watching her
+with a sort of passive, immovable intentness. As she now appeared
+before him, her loveliness was absolutely and ideally perfect,--
+she looked the embodiment of all grace,--the model of all
+chastity.
+
+She stood quite still, . . her hands folded on her breast, . . her
+head slightly lifted, her dark eyes upturned, . . her unbound black
+hair streamed over her shoulders in loose glossy waves, and above
+her brows her diadem of serpents' heads sparkled like a coronal of
+flame. Her robe was white, made of some silky shining stuff that
+glistened with soft pearly hues; it was gathered about her waist
+by a twisted golden girdle. Her arms were bare, decked as before
+with the small jewelled snakes that coiled upward from wrist to
+shoulder,--and when after a brief pause she unfolded her hands and
+raised them with a slow, majestic movement above her head, the
+great Symbolic Eye flared from her bosom like a darting coal,
+seeming to turn sinister glances on all sides as though on the
+search for some suspected foe.
+
+Fortunately no one appeared to notice Theos's deliberate non-
+observance of the homage due to her,--no one except.. Lysia,
+herself. She met the open defiance, scorn, and reluctant
+admiration of his glance, . . and a cold smile dawned on her
+features, . . a smile more dreadful in its very sweetness than any
+frown, . . then, turning away her beautiful, fathomless, slumberous
+eyes and still keeping her arms raised, she lifted up her voice, a
+voice mellow as a golden flute, that pierced the silence with a
+straight arrow of pure sound, and chanted:
+
+"Give glory to the Sun, O ye people! for his Light doth illumine
+your darkness!"
+
+And the murmur of the mighty crowd surged back in answer:
+
+"We give him glory!"
+
+Here came a brief clash of brazen bells, and when the clamor
+ceased, Lysia continued:
+
+"Give glory to the Moon, O ye people! ... for she is the servant
+of the Sun and the Ruler of the House of Sleep!"
+
+Again the people responded;
+
+"We give her glory!'.. and again the bells jangled tempestuously.
+
+"Give glory to Nagaya, O ye people! for he alone can turn aside
+the wrath of the Immortals!"
+
+"We give him glory!".. rejoined the multitude,--and "We give him
+glory! seemed to be shouted high among the arches of the Temple
+with a strange sound as of the mocking laughter of devils."
+
+This preliminary over, there came out of unseen doors on both
+sides of the Sanctuary twenty priests in companies of ten each;
+ten advancing from the left, ten from the right. These were clad
+in flowing garments of carnation-colored silk, heavily bordered
+with gold, and the leader of the right-hand group was the priest
+Zel. His demeanor was austere and dignified, . . he carried a square
+cushion covered in black, on which lay a long, thin cruel-looking
+knife with a jewelled hilt. The chief of the priests, who stood on
+the left, bore a very tall and massive staff of polished ebony,
+which he solemnly presented to the High Priestess, who grasped it
+firmly in one slight hand and allowed it to rest steadily on the
+ground, while its uppermost point reached far above her head.
+
+Then followed the strangest, weirdest scene that even the pen of
+poets or brush of painter devised, . . a march round and round the
+Temple of all the priests, bearing lighted flambeaux and singing
+in chorus a wild Litany,--a confused medley of supplications to
+the Sun and Nagaya, which, accompanied as it was by the discordant
+beating drums and the clanging of bells, had an evidently powerful
+effect on the minds of the assembled populace, for presently they
+also joined in the maddening chant, and growing more and more
+possessed by the contagious fever of fanaticism, began to howl and
+shriek and clap their hands furiously, creating a frightful din
+suggestive of some fiendish clamor in hell.
+
+Theos, half deafened by the horrible uproar, as well as roused to
+an abnormal pitch of restless excitement, looked round to see how
+Sah-luma comported himself. He was sitting quite still, in a
+perfectly composed attitude,--a faint, derisive smile played on
+his lips, . . his profile, as it just then appeared, had the
+firmness and the pure soft outline of a delicately finished
+cameo, . . his splendid eyes now darkened, now lightened with
+passion, as he gazed at Lysia, who, all alone in the centre of the
+Shrine, held her ebony staff as perpendicularly erect as though it
+were a tree rooted fathoms deep in earth, keeping herself too as
+motionless as a figure of frozen snow.
+
+And the King? ... what of him? ... Glancing at that bronze-like
+brooding countenance, Theos was startled and at the same time half
+fascinated by its expression. Such a mixture of tigerish
+tenderness, servile idolatry, intemperate desire, and craven fear
+he had never seen delineated on the face of any human being. In
+the black thirsty eyes there was a look that spoke volumes,--a
+look that betrayed what the heart concealed,--and reading that
+featured emblazonment of hidden guilt, Theos knew beyond all doubt
+that the rumors concerning the High Priestess and the King were
+true, . . that the dead Khosrul had spoken rightly, . . that
+Zephoranim loved Lysia! ... Love? ... it seemed too tame a word
+for the pent-up fury of passion that visibly and violently
+consumed the man! What would be the result? ...
+
+"When the High Priestess Is the King's mistress Then fall Al-
+Kyris!"
+
+These foolish doggerel lines! ... why did they suggest themselves?
+... they meant nothing. The question did not concern Al-Kyris at
+all,--let the city stand or fall as it list, who cared, so long as
+Sah-luma escaped injury! Such, at least, was the tenor of Theos's
+thoughts, as he rapidly began to calculate certain contingencies
+that now seemed likely to occur. If, for instance, the King were
+made aware of Sah-luma's intrigue with Lysia, would not his rage
+and jealousy exceed all bounds? ... and if, on the other hand,
+Sah-luma were convinced of the King's passion for the same fatally
+fair traitress, would not his wrath and injured self-love overbear
+all loyalty and prudence?
+
+And between the two powerful rivals who thus by stealth enjoyed
+her capricious favors, what would Lysia's own decision be?--Like a
+loud hissing in his ears, he heard again the murderous command,--a
+command which was half a menace: "KILL SAH-LUMA!"
+
+Faint shudders as of icy cold ran through him,--he nerved himself
+to meet some deadly evil, though he could not guess what that evil
+might be,--he was willing to throw away all the past that haunted
+him, and cut off all hope of a future, provided he could only
+baffle the snares of the pitiless beauty to whom the torture of
+men was an evident joy, and rescue his beloved and gifted friend
+from her perilous attraction! Making a strong effort to master the
+inward conflict of fear and pain that tormented him, he turned his
+attention anew to the gorgeous ceremony that was going on, . . the
+march of the priests had come to an abrupt end. They stood now on
+each side of the Shrine, divided in groups of equal numbers,
+tossing their flambeaux around and above them to the measured
+ringing of bells. At every upward wave of these flaring torches, a
+tongue of fire leaped aloft, to instantly break and descend in a
+sparkling shower of gold,--the effect of this was wonderful in the
+extreme, as by the dexterous way in which the flames were flung
+forth, it appeared to the spectator's eyes as though a luminous
+Snake were twisting and coiling itself to and fro in mid-air.
+
+All loud music ceased, . . the multitude calmed down by degrees and
+left off their delirious cries of frenzy or rapture, . . there was
+nothing heard but a monotonous chanting in undertone, of which not
+a syllable was distinctly intelligible. Then from out a dark
+portal unperceived in the shadowed gloom of a curtained niche,
+there advanced a procession of young girls,--fifty in all, clad in
+pure white and closely veiled.
+
+They carried small citherns, and arriving in front of the shrine,
+they knelt down in a semicircle, and very gently began to strike
+the short, responsive strings. The murmur of a lazy rivulet among
+whispering reeds, . . the sighing suggestions of leaves ready to
+fall in autumn,--the low, languid trilling of nightingales just
+learning to sing,--any or all these might be said to resemble the
+dulcet melody they played; while every delicate arpeggio, every
+rippling chord was muffled with a soft pressure of their hands ere
+the sound had time to become vehement. This elf-like harping
+continued for a short interval, during which the priests,
+gathering in a ring round a huge bronze font-shaped vessel hard
+by, dipped their flambeaux therein and suddenly extinguished them.
+
+At the same moment the lights in the body of the Temple were all
+lowered, . . only the Arch spanning the Shrine blazed in
+undiminished brilliancy, its green tint appearing more intense in
+contrast with the surrounding deepening shadow. And now with a
+harsh clanging noise as of the turning of heavy bolts and keys,
+the back of the Sanctuary parted asunder in the fashion of a
+revolving double doorway,--and a golden grating was disclosed, its
+strong glistening bars welded together like knotted ropes and
+wrought with marvellous finish and solidity. Turning toward this
+semblance of a prison-cell Lysia spoke aloud--her clear tones
+floating with mellifluous slowness above the half-hushed
+quiverings of the cithern-choir:
+
+"Come forth, O Nagaya, thou who didst slumber in the bosom of
+Space ere ever the world was made!
+
+"Come forth, O Nagaya, thou who didst behold the Sun born out of
+Chaos, and the Earth enriched with ever-producing life!
+
+"Come forth, O Nagaya, Friend of the gods and the people, and
+comfort us with the Divine Silence of thy Wisdom supernal!"
+
+While she pronounced these words, the golden grating ascended
+gradually inch by inch, with the steady clank as of the upward
+winding of a chain,--and when she ceased, there came a mysterious,
+rustling, slippery sound, suggestive of some creeping thing
+forcing its way through wet and tangled grass, or over dead
+leaves, . . one instant more, and a huge Serpent--a species of
+python some ten feet in length--glided through the round aperture
+made by the lifted bars, and writhed itself slowly along the
+marble pavement straight to where Lysia stood.
+
+Once it stopped, curving back its glistening body in a strange
+loop as though in readiness to spring--but it soon resumed its
+course, and arrived at the High Priestess's feet. There, its whole
+frame trembled and glowed with extraordinary radiance, . . the
+prevailing color of its skin was creamy white, marked with
+countless rings and scaly bright spots of silver, purple, and a
+peculiar livid blue,--and all these tints came into brilliant
+prominence, as it crouched before Lysia and twisted its sinuous
+neck to and fro with an evidently fawning and supplicatory
+gesture; while she, keeping her sombre dark eyes fixed full upon
+it, moved not an inch from her position, but, majestically serene,
+continued to hold the tall staff of ebony straight and erect as a
+growing palm.
+
+The cithern-playing had now the soothing softness of a mother's
+lullaby to a tired child, and as the liquid notes quavered
+delicately on the otherwise deep stillness, the formidable reptile
+began to coil itself ascendingly round and round the ebony rod, . .
+higher and higher,--one glistening ring after another,--higher
+still, till its eyes were on a level with the "Eye of Raphon" that
+flamed on Lysia's breast, . . there it paused in apparent
+reflectiveness, and seemed to listen to the slumberous strains
+that floated toward it in wind-like breaths of sound, . . then,
+starting afresh on its upward way, it carefully, and with almost
+human tenderness, avoided touching Lysia's hand, which now rested
+on the staff between two thick twists of its body, . . and finally
+it reached the top, where fully raising its crested head, it
+displayed the prismatic tints of its soft, restless, wavy throat,
+which was adorned furthermore by a flexible circlet of magnificent
+diamonds.
+
+Nothing more striking or more singular could Theos imagine than
+the scene now before him, . . the beautiful woman, still as
+sculptured marble, and the palpitating Snake coiled on that mast-
+like rod and uplifted above her,--while round the twain knelt the
+Priests, their faces covered in their robes, and from all parts of
+the Temple the loud shout arose:
+
+  "ALL HAIL, NAGAYA!"
+  "Praise, Honor, and Glory be unto thee forever and ever!"
+
+Then it was that the proud King flung himself to earth and kissed
+the dust in abject submission,--then Sah-luma, carelessly
+complaisant, bent the knee and smiled to himself mockingly as he
+performed the act of veneration, ... then the enormous multitude
+with clasped hands and beseeching looks fell down and worshipped
+the glittering beast of the field, whose shining, emerald-like,
+curiously sad eyes roved hither and thither with a darting yet
+melancholy eagerness over all the people who called it Lord!
+
+To Theos's imagination it looked a creature more sorrowful than
+fierce,--a poor charmed brute, that while netted in the drowsy
+woofs of its mistress Lysia's magnetic spell, seemed as though it
+dimly wondered why it should thus be raised aloft for the
+adoration of infatuated humankind. Its brilliant crest quivered
+and emitted little arrowy scintillations of lustre--the "god" was
+ill at ease in the midst of all his splendor, and two or three
+times bent back his gleaming neck as though desirous of descending
+to the level ground.
+
+But when these hints of rebellion declared themselves in the
+tremors running through the scaly twists of his body, Lysia looked
+up, and at once, compelled as it were by involuntary attraction,
+"Nagaya the Divine" looked down. The strange, subtle, mesmeric,
+sleepy eyes of the woman met the glittering green, mournful eyes
+of the snake,--and thus the two beautiful creatures regarded each
+other steadfastly and with an apparent vague sympathy, till the
+"deity," evidently overcome by a stronger will than his own, and
+resigning himself to the inevitable, twisted his radiant head back
+again to the top of the ebony staff, and again surveyed the
+kneeling crowds of worshippers.
+
+Presently his glistening jaws opened,--his tongue darted forth
+vibratingly,--and he gave vent to a low hissing sound, erecting
+and depressing his crest with extraordinary rapidity, so that it
+flashed like an aigrette of rare gems. Then, with slow and solemn
+step, the Priest Zel advanced to the front of the Shrine, and
+spreading out his hands in the manner of one pronouncing a
+benediction, said loudly and with emphasis:
+
+  "Nagaya the Divine doth hear the prayers of his people!
+  "Nagaya the Supreme doth accept the offered Sacrifice!
+  "BRING FORTH THE VICTIM!"
+
+The last words were spoken with stern authoritativeness, and
+scarcely had they been uttered when the great entrance doors of
+the Temple flew open, and a procession of children appeared,
+strewing flowers and singing:
+
+  "O happy Bride, we bring thee unto joy and peace!
+  "To thee are opened the Palaces of the Air,
+  "The beautiful silent Palaces where the bright stars dwell
+  "O happy Bride of Nagaya! how fair a fate is thine!"
+
+Pausing, they flung wreaths and garlands among the people, and
+continued:
+
+  "O happy Bride! for thee are past all Sorrows and Sin,
+  "Thou shalt never know shame, or pain or grief or the
+   weariness of tears;
+  "For thee no husband shall prove false, no children prove
+   ungrateful;
+  "O happy Bride of Nagaya! how glad a fate is thine.
+  "O happy Bride! when thou art wedded to the beautiful god, the
+   god of Rest,--
+  "Thou shalt forget all trouble and dwell among sweet dreams for
+   ever!
+  "Thou art the blessed one, chosen for the love-embraces of
+   Nagaya!
+  "O happy Bride! ... how glorious a fate is thine!"
+
+
+Thus they sang in the soft, strange vowel-language of Al-Kyris,
+and tripped along with that innocent, unthinking gayety usual to
+such young creatures, up to the centre aisle toward the Sanctuary.
+They were followed by four priests in scarlet robes and closely
+masked, . . and walking steadfastly between these, came a slim girl
+clad in white, veiled from head to foot and crowned with a wreath
+of lotus lilies. All the congregation, as though moved by an
+impulse, turned to look at her as she passed,--but her features
+were not as yet discernible through the mist-like draperies that
+enfolded her.
+
+The singing children, always preceding her and scattering flowers,
+having arrived at the steps of the Shrine, grouped themselves on
+either side,--and the red garmented Priests, after having made
+several genuflections to the glittering Python that now, with
+reared neck and quivering fangs, seemed to watch everything that
+was going on with absorbed and crafty vigilance, proceeded to
+unveil the maiden martyr, and also to tie her slight hands behind
+her back by means of a knotted silver cord. Then in a firm voice
+the Priest Zel proclaimed:
+
+"Behold the elected Bride of the Sun and the Divine Nagaya!
+
+"She bears away from the city the burden of your sins, O ye
+people, and by her death the gods are satisfied!
+
+"Rejoice greatly, for ye are absolved,--and by the Silver Veil and
+the Eye of Raphon we pronounce upon all here present the blessing
+of pardon and peace!"
+
+As he spoke the girl turned round as though in obedience to some
+mechanical impulse, and fully confronted the multitude, . . her
+pale, pure face, framed in a shining aureole of rippling fair
+hair, floated before Theos's bewildered eyes like a vision seen
+indistinctly in a magic crystal, and he was for a moment uncertain
+of her identity; but quick as a flash Sah-luma's glance lighted
+upon her, and, with a cry of horror that sent desolate echoes
+through and through the arches of the Temple, he started from his
+seat, his arms outstretched, his whole frame convulsed and
+quivering.
+
+"Niphrata! ... Niphrata! ..." and his rich voice shook with a
+passion of appeal, "O ye gods! ... what mad, blind, murderous
+cruelty! Zephoranim!" ... and he turned impetuously on the
+astonished monarch: "As thou livest crowned King I say this maid
+is MINE! ... and in the very presence of Nagaya, I swear she shall
+NOT die!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE SACRIFICE.
+
+
+A solemn silence ensued. Consternation and wrath were depicted on
+every countenance. The Sacred Service was interrupted! ... a
+defiance had been hurled as it were in the very teeth of the god
+Nagaya! ... and this horrible outrage to Religion and Law had been
+actually committed by the Laureate of the realm! It was
+preposterous, ... incredible! ... and the gaping crowds reached
+over each other's shoulders to stare at the offender, pressing
+forward eager, wondering, startled faces, which to Theos looked
+far more spectral than real, seen in the shimmering green radiance
+that was thrown flickering upon them from the luminous Arch above
+the Altar. The priests stood still in speechless indignation, . .
+Lysia moved not at all, nor raised her eyes; only her lips parted
+in a very slight cold smile.
+
+Seized with mortal dread, Theos gazed helplessly at his reckless,
+beautiful poet friend, who with head erect and visage white as a
+waning moon, haughtily confronted his Sovereign and audaciously
+asserted his right to be heard, even in the Holy place of worship!
+The King was the first to break the breathless stillness: his
+words came harshly from his throat, . . and the great muscles in his
+neck seemed to swell visibly with his hardly controlled anger.
+
+"Peace! ... Thou art suddenly distraught, Sah-luma! ..." he said,
+in half-smothered, fierce accents--"How darest thou uplift thy
+clamorous tongue thus wantonly before Nagaya, and interrupt the
+progress of his Sacred Ritual? ... check thy mad speech! ... if
+ever yonder maid were thine, 'tis certain she is thine no longer;
+... she hath offered herself, a voluntary sacrifice, and the gods
+are pleased to claim what thou perchance hast failed to value!"
+
+For all answer, Sah-luma flung himself desperately at the
+monarch's feet. "Zephoranim!" he cried again ... "I tell thee she
+is mine! ... mine, as truly mine as Love can make her! Oh, she is
+chaster than lily-buds in her sweet body! ... but in her spirit
+she is wedded--wedded to me, Sah-luma, whom thou, O King, hast
+ever delighted to honor! And now must I kneel to thee in vain?--
+thou whose victories I have sung, whose praises I have chanted in
+burning words that shall carry thy name forever with triumph, down
+to unborn generations? ... Wilt thou become inglorious? ... a
+warrior stricken strengthless by the mummeries of priestcraft,--
+the juggleries of a perishing creed? Thou art the ruler of Al-
+Kyris,--thou and thou only! Restore to me this innocent virgin-
+life that has scarcely yet begun to bloom! ... speak but the word
+and she is saved! ... and her timely rescue shall add lustre to
+the record of thy noblest deeds!"
+
+His matchless voice, full of passionate pulsations, exercised for
+a moment a resistless influence and magnetic charm. The King's
+lowering brows relaxed,--and a gleam of pity passed like light
+across his countenance. Instinctively he extended his hand to
+raise Sah-luma from his humble attitude, as though, even in his
+wrath, he were conscious of the immense intellectual superiority
+of a great Poet to ever so great a King; and a thrill of
+involuntary compassion seemed at the same time to run
+sympathetically through the vast congregation. Theos drew a quick
+breath of relief, and glanced at Niphrata, ... how cold and
+unconcerned was her demeanor! ... Did she not hear Sah-luma's
+pleading in her behalf? ... No matter!--she would be saved, he
+thought, and all would yet be well!
+
+And truly it now appeared as if mercy, and not cruelty, were to be
+the order of the hour, . . for just then the Priest Zel, after
+having exchanged a few inaudible words with Lysia, advanced again
+to the front of the Shrine and spoke in distinct tones of forced
+gentleness and bland forbearance:
+
+"Hear me, O King, Princes and People! ... Whereas it has unhappily
+occurred, to the wonder and sorrow of many, that the holy Spouse
+of the divine Nagaya is delayed in her desired departure, by the
+unforeseen opposition and unedifying contumacy of Sah-luma, Poet
+Laureate of this realm; and lest it may be perchance imagined by
+the uninitiated, that the maiden is in any way unwilling to fulfil
+her glorious destiny, the High and Immaculate Priestess of the
+Shrine doth bid me here pronounce a respite; a brief interval
+wherein, if the King and the People be willing, he who is named
+Sah-luma shall, by virtue of his high renown, be permitted to
+address the Virgin-victim and ascertain her own wishes from her
+own lips. Injustice cannot dwell within this Sacred Temple,--and
+if, on trial, the maiden chooses the transitory joys of Earth in
+preference to the everlasting joys of the Palaces of the Sun, then
+in Nagaya's name shall she go free!--inasmuch as the god loves not
+a reluctant bride, and better no Sacrifice at all, than one that
+is grudgingly consummated!"
+
+He ceased,--and Sah-luma sprang erect, his eyes sparkling, his
+whole demeanor that of a man unexpectedly disburdened from some
+crushing grief.
+
+"Thanks be unto the benevolent destinies!" he exclaimed, flashing
+a quick glance of gratitude toward Lysia, . . the statuesque Lysia,
+on whose delicately curved lips the faintly derisive smile still
+lingered ... "And in return for the life of my Niphrata I will
+give a thousand jewels rare beyond all price to deck Nagaya's
+tabernacle!--and I will pour libations to the Sun for twenty days
+and nights, in token of my heart's requital for mercy well
+bestowed!"
+
+Stooping he kissed the King's hand,--whereupon at a sign from Zel,
+one of the priests attired in scarlet unfastened Niphrata's bound
+hands, and led her, as one leads a blind child, straight up to
+where Sah-luma and Theos stood, close beside the King, who,
+together with many others, stared curiously upon her. How fixed
+and feverishly brilliant were her large dark-blue eyes! ... how
+set were the sensitive lines of her mouth!--how indifferent she
+seemed, how totally unaware of the Laureate's presence! The priest
+who brought her retired into the background, and she remained
+where he left her, quite mute and motionless. Oh, how every nerve
+in Theos's body throbbed with inexpressible agony as he beheld her
+thus! The wildest remorse possessed him, . . it was as though he
+looked on the dim picture of a ruin which he himself had
+recklessly wrought, . . and he could have groaned aloud in the
+horrible vagueness of his incomprehensible despair! Sah-luma
+caught the girl's hand, and peered into her white, still face.
+
+"Niphrata! .. .Niphrata!" he said in a tremulous half-whisper, "I
+am here,--Sah-luma! ... Dost thou not know me!"
+
+She sighed, . . a long, shivering sigh,--and smiled, . . what a
+strange, wistful, dying smile it was! ... but she made no answer.
+
+"Niphrata!"--continued the Laureate, passionately pressing the
+little, cold fingers that lay so passively in his grasp.. "Look at
+me! ... I have come to save thee! ... to take thee home again, . .
+home to thy flowers, thy birds, thy harp, . . thy pretty chamber
+with its curtained nook, where thy friend Zoralin waits and weeps
+all day for thee! ... O ye gods!--how weak am I!".. and he
+fiercely dashed away the drops that glistened on his black silky
+lashes, . . "Come with me, sweet one! ..." he resumed tenderly--
+"Come!--Why art thou thus silent? ... thou whose voice hath many a
+time outrivalled the music of the nightingales! Hast thou no word
+for me, thy lord?--Come!".. and Theos, struggling to repress his
+own rising tears, heard his friend's accents sink into a still
+lower, more caressing cadence ... "Thou shalt never again have cause
+for grief, my Niphrata, never! ... We will never part! ... Listen!
+... am I not he whom thou lovest?"
+
+The poor child's set mouth trembled,--her beautiful sad eyes gazed
+at him uncomprehendingly.
+
+"He whom I love is not here!".. she said in tired, soft tones; "I
+left him, but he followed me; and now, he waits for
+me...yonder!".. And she turned resolutely toward the Sanctuary, as
+though compelled to do so by some powerful mesmeric attraction, . .
+"See you not how fair he is!"...and she pointed with her
+disengaged hand to the formidable python, through whose huge coils
+ran the tremors of impatient and eager breathing, . . "How tenderly
+his eyes behold me! ... those eyes that I have worshipped so
+patiently, so faithfully, and yet that never lightened into love
+for me till now! O thou more than beloved!--How beautiful thou
+art, my adored one, my heart's idol!" and a look of pale
+exaltation lightened her features, as she fixed her wistful gaze,
+like a fascinated bird, on the shadowy recess whence the Serpent
+had emerged--"There,--there thou dost rest on a couch of fadeless
+roses!--how softly the moonlight enfolds thee with a radiance as
+of outspread wings!--I hear thy voice charming the silence! ...
+thou dost call me by my name, . . O once poor name made rich by thy
+sweet utterance! Yes, my beloved, I am ready! ... I come! I shall
+die in thy embraces, . . nay, I shall not die but sleep! ... and
+dream a dream of love that shall last forever and ever! No more
+sorrow ... no more tears, . . no more heartsick longings ..."
+
+Here she stopped in her incoherent speech, and strove to release
+her hand from Sah-luma's, her blue eyes filling with infinite
+anxiety and distress.
+
+"I pray thee, good stranger," she entreated with touching
+mildness,--"whosoever thou art, delay me not, but let me go! ... I
+am but a poor love-sorrowful maid on whom Love hath at last taken
+pity!--be gentle therefore, and hinder me not on my way to Sah-
+luma. I have waited for happiness so long! ... so long!"
+
+Her young, plaintive voice quavered into a half sob,--and again
+she endeavored to break away from the Laureate's hold. But he,
+overcome by the excess of his own grief and agitation, seized her
+other hand, and drew her close up to him.
+
+"Niphrata, Niphrata!" he cried despairingly. "What evil hath
+befallen thee? Where is thy sight.. thy memory? ... LOOK! ...
+Look straight in these eyes of mine, and read there my truth and
+tenderness! ... _I_ am Sah-luma, thine own Sah-luma! ... thy poet,
+thy lover, thy master, thy slave, . . all that thou wouldst have me
+be, I am! Whither wouldst thou wander in search of me? Thou hast
+no further to go, dear heart, than these arms, . . thou art safe
+with me, my singing bird, . . come! ..Let me lead thee hence, and
+home!"
+
+She watched him while he spoke, with a strange expression of
+distrust and uneasiness. Then, by a violent effort, she wrenched
+her hands from his clasp, and stood aloof, waving him back with an
+eloquent gesture of amazed reproach.
+
+"Away!" she said, in firm accents of sweet severity,--"Thou art a
+demon that dost seek to tempt my soul to ruin! THOU Sah-luma!"..
+and she lifted her lily-crowned head with a movement of proud
+rejection.. "Nay! ... thou mayst wear his look, his smile, . . thou
+mayst even borrow the clear heaven-lustre of his eyes,--but I tell
+thee thou art fiend, not angel, and I will not follow thee into
+the tangled ways of sin! Oh, thou knowest not the meaning of true
+love, thou! ... There is treachery on thy lips, and thy tongue is
+trained to utter honeyed falsehood! Methinks thou hast wantonly
+broken many a faithful heart!--and made light jest of many a
+betrayed virgin's sorrow! And thou darest to call thyself MY
+Poet, . . MY Sah-luma, in whom there is no guile, and who would die
+a thousand deaths rather than wound the frailest soul that trusted
+him! ... Depart from me, thou hypocrite in Poet's guise! ... thou
+cruel phantom of my love! ... Back to that darkness where thou
+dost belong, and trouble not my peace!"
+
+Sah-luma recoiled from her, amazed and stupefied. Theos clenched
+his hands together in a sort of physical effort to keep down the
+storm of emotions working within him,--for Niphrata's words burnt
+into his brain like fire, ..too well, too well he understood their
+full intensity of meaning! She loved the IDEAL Sah-luma, . . the
+Sah-luma of her own pure fancies and desires, . . NOT the REAL man
+as he was, with all his haughty egotism, vainglory, and vice,--
+vice in which he took more pride than shame. Perhaps she had never
+known him in his actual character,--she, like other women of her
+lofty and ardent type, had no doubt set up the hero of her life as
+a god in the shrine of her own holy and enthusiastic imagination,
+and had there endowed him with resplendent virtues, which he had
+never once deemed it worth his while to practise. Oh the loving
+hearts of women!--How much men have to answer for, when they
+voluntarily break these clear mirrors of affection, wherein they,
+all unworthy, have been for a time reflected angel-wise, with all
+the warmth and color of an innocently adoring passion shining
+about them like the prismatic rays in a vase of polished crystal!
+To Niphrata, Sah-luma remained as a sort of splendid divinity, for
+whom no devotion was too vast, too high, or too complete, . .
+better, oh surely far better that she should die in her beautiful
+self-deception, than live to see her elected idol descend to his
+true level, and openly display all the weaknesses of his volatile,
+flippant, godless, sensual, yet, alas! most fascinating and
+genius-gifted nature, . . a nature, which, overflowing as it was
+with potentialities of noble deeds, yet lacked sufficient
+intrinsic faith and force to accomplish them! This thought stung
+Theos like a sharp arrow-prick, and filled him with a strange,
+indescribable penitence; and he stood in dumb misery, remorsefully
+eyeing his friend's consternation, disappointment, and pained
+bewilderment, without being able to offer him the slightest
+consolation.
+
+Sah-luma was indeed the very picture of dismay, . . if he had never
+suffered in his life before, surely he suffered now! Niphrata, the
+tender, the humbly adoring Niphrata, positively rejected him!--
+refused to recognize his actual presence, and turned insanely away
+from him toward some dream-ideal Sah-luma whom she fancied could
+only be found in that unexplored country bordered by the cold
+river of Death! Meanwhile, the silence in the Temple was intense,
+--the Priests were like so many wax figures fastened in fixed
+positions; the King, leaning slightly forward in his chair, had
+the appearance of a massively moulded image of bronze,--and to
+Theos's overwrought condition of mind, the only actually living
+things present seemed to be the monster Serpent whose scaly folds
+palpitated visibly in the strong light, . . and the hideous "Eye of
+Raphon," that blazed on Lysia's breast with a menacing stare, as
+of a wrathful ghoul. All at once a flash of comprehension
+lightened the Laureate's sternly perplexed face,--a bitter laugh
+broke from his lips.
+
+"She has been drugged!" he cried fiercely, pointing to Niphrata's
+white and rigid form, . . "Poisoned by some deadly potion devised of
+devils, to twist and torture the quivering centres of the brain!
+Accursed work!--Will none undo it?" and springing forward nearer
+the Shrine, he raised his angry, impassioned eyes to the dark,
+inscrutable ones of the High Priestess, who met his troubled look
+with serene and irresponsive gravity ... "Is there no touch of
+human pity in things divine? ... no mercy in the icy fate that
+rules our destinies? ... This child knows naught of what she does;
+she hath been led astray in a moment of excitement and religious
+exaltation, . . her mind hath lost its balance,--her thoughts float
+disconnectedly on a sea of vague illusions, ... Ah! ... by the
+gods! ... I understand it all now!" and he suddenly threw himself
+on his knees, his appealing gaze resting, not on the Snake-Deity,
+but on the lovely countenance of Lysia, fair and brilliant as a
+summer morn, with a certain waving light of triumph about it, like
+the reflected radiance of sunbeams, ... "She is under the
+influence of Raphon! ... O withering madness! ... O cureless
+misery.. She is ruled by that most horrible secret force, unknown
+as yet to the outer world of men! ... and she hears things that
+are not, and sees what has no existence! O Lysia, Daughter of the
+Sun! ... I do beseech thee, by all the inborn gentleness of
+womanhood, unwind the Mystic Spell!"
+
+A serious smile of feigned, sorrowful compassion parted the
+beautiful lips of the Priestess; but she gave no word or sign in
+answer,--and the weird Jewel on her breast at that moment shot
+forth a myriad scintillations as of pointed sharp steel. Some
+extraordinary power in it, or in Lysia herself, was manifestly at
+work,--for with a violent start Sah-luma rose from his knees, and
+staggered helplessly backward, . . one hand pressed to his eyes as
+though to shut out some blinding blaze of lightning! He seemed to
+be vaguely groping his way to his former place beside the King,
+and Theos, seeing this, quickly caught him by the arm and drew him
+thither, whispering anxiously the while:
+
+"Sah-luma!-Sah-luma! ... What ails thee?"
+
+The Laureate turned upon him a bewildered, piteous face, white
+with an intensity of speechless anguish.
+
+"Nothing!"...he faltered,--"Nothing! ... 'tis over, . . the child
+must die!"...Then all suddenly the hard, drawn lines of his
+countenance relaxed,--great tears gathered in his eyes, and fell
+slowly one by one, . . and moving aside, he shrank away as far as
+possible into the shadow cast by a huge column close by.. "O
+Niphrata! ... Niphrata!".. Theos heard him say in a voice broken
+by despair.. "Why do I love thee only now, . . NOW, when thou art
+lost to me forever!"
+
+The King looked after him half-compassionately, half-sullenly; but
+presently paid no further heed to his distress. Theos, however,
+kept near him, whispering whatever poor suggestions of comfort he
+could, in the extremity of his own grief, devise, . . a hopeless
+task,--for to all his offered solace Sah-luma made but the one
+reply:
+
+"Oh let me weep! ... Let me weep for the untimely death of
+Innocence!"
+
+And now the cithern-playing, which had ceased, commenced again,
+accompanied by the mysterious thrilling bass notes of the
+invisible organ-like instrument, whose sound resembled the roll
+and rush of huge billows breaking into foam. As the rich and
+solemn strains swept grandly through the spacious Temple, Niphrata
+stretched out her hands toward the High Priestess, a smile of
+wonderful beauty lighting up her fair child-face.
+
+"Take me, O ye immortal gods!" she cried, her voice ringing in
+clear tune above all the other music.. "Take me and bear me away
+on your strong, swift wings to the Everlasting Palaces of Air,
+wherein all sorrows have end, and patient love meets at last its
+long-delayed reward! Take me.. for lo! I am ready to depart! My
+soul is wounded and weary of its prison,--it struggles to be free!
+O Destiny, I thank thee for thy mercy! ... I praise thee for the
+glory thou dost here unveil before mine eyes! Pardon my sins! ...
+accept my life! ... sanctify my love!"
+
+A murmur of relief and rejoicing ran rippling through the
+listening crowds,--a weight seemed lifted from their minds, . . the
+victim was willing to die after all! ... the Sacrifice would be
+proceeded with. There was a slight pause,--during which the
+priests crossed and re-crossed the Sanctuary many times, one of
+them descending the steps to tie Niphrata's hands behind her back
+as before. In the immediate interest of the moment, Sah-luma and
+his hot interference seemed to be almost forgotten, . . a few
+people, indeed, cast injured and indignant looks toward the corner
+where he dejectedly leaned, and once the wrinkled, malicious head
+of old Zabastes peered at him, with an expression of incredulous
+amazement,--but otherwise no sympathy was manifested by any one
+for the popular Laureate's suffering and discomfiture. He was the
+nation's puppet, . . its tame bird, whose business was to sing when
+bidden, . . but he was not expected to have any voice in matters of
+religion or policy,--and still less was he supposed to intrude any
+of his own personal griefs on the public notice. Let him sing!--
+and sing well,--that was enough; but let him dare to be afflicted,
+and annoy others with his wants and troubles, why then he at once
+became uninteresting! ... he might even die for all anybody cared!
+This was the unspoken sullen thought that Theos, sensitive to the
+core on his friend's behalf, instinctively felt to be smouldering
+in the heart of the mighty multitude,--and he resented the half-
+implied, latent ungratefulness of the people with all his soul.
+
+"Fools!".. he muttered under his breath,--"For you, and such as
+you, the wisest sages toil in vain! ... on you Art wastes her
+treasures of suggestive loveliness! ... low grovellers in earth,
+ye have no eyes for heaven! O ignorant, ungenerous, fickle
+hypocrites, whose ruling passion is the greed of gold!--Why should
+great men perish, that YE may live! ... And yet.. your
+acclamations make up the thing called Fame! Fame? ... Good God!--
+'tis a brief shout in the universal clamor, scarce heard and soon
+forgotten!"
+
+And filled with strange bitterness, he gazed disconsolately at
+Niphrata, who stood like one in a trance of ecstasy, patiently
+awaiting her doom, her lovely, innocent blue eyes gladly upturned
+to the long, jewel-like head of Nagaya, which twined round the
+summit of the ebony staff, seemed to peer down at her in a sort of
+drowsy reflectiveness. Then, all suddenly, Lysia spoke, . . how
+enchanting was the exquisite modulation of that slow, languid,
+silvery voice!
+
+ "Come hither, O Maiden fair, pure, and faithful!
+   The desire of thy soul is granted!
+  Before thee are the Gates of the Unknown World!
+   Already they open to admit thee;
+  Through their golden bars gleams the glory of thy future!
+   Speak! ... What seest thou?"
+
+A moment of breathless silence ensued,--all present seemed to be
+straining their ears to catch the victim's answer. It came,--soft
+and clear as a bell:
+
+"I see a wondrous land o'er-canopied with skies of gold and
+azure: . . white flowers grow in the fragrant fields, . . there are
+many trees, . . I hear the warbling of many birds; . . I see fair
+faces that smile upon me and gentle hands that beckon! ... Figures
+that wear glistening robes, and carry garlands of roses and
+myrtle, pass slowly, singing as they go! ... How beautiful they
+are! How strange! ... how sweet!"
+
+And as she uttered these words, in accents of dreamy delight, she
+ascended the first step of the Shrine. Theos, looking, held his
+breath in wonder and fear, while Sah-luma with a groan turned
+himself resolutely away, and, pressing his forehead against the
+great column where he stood, hid his eyes in his clasped hands.
+
+The High Priestess continued:
+
+    "Come hither, O Maiden of chaste and patient life!
+     Rejoice greatly, for thy virtue hath pleased the gods:
+     The undiscovered marvels of the Stars are thine,
+     Earth has no more control over thee:
+     Heaven is thine absolute Heritage! ...
+     Behold! the Ship of the Sun awaits thee!
+     Speak! ... What seest thou?"
+
+A soft cry of rapture came from the girl's lips.
+
+"Oh, I see glory everywhere!".. she exclaimed.. "Light everywhere!
+... Peace everywhere! ... O joy, joy! ... The face of my beloved
+shines upon me,--he calls, . . he bids me come to him! ... Ah! we
+shall be together at last, . . we twain shall be as one never to
+part, never to doubt, never to suffer more! O let me hasten to
+him! ... Why should I linger thus, when I would fain, be gone!"
+
+And she sprang eagerly up the second and third steps of the
+Sanctuary, and faced Lysia,--her head thrown back, her blue eyes
+ablaze with excitement, her bosom heaving, and her delicate
+features transfigured and illumined by unspeakable inward
+delirious bliss. Just then the Priest Zel lifted the long, jewel-
+hilted knife from the black cushion where it had lain till now,
+and, crouching stealthily in the shadow behind Lysia, held it in
+both bands, pointed straight forward in a level line with
+Niphrata's breast. Thus armed, he waited, silent and immovable.
+
+A slight shudder of morbid expectancy seemed to quiver through the
+vast congregation, . . but Theos's nerves were strung up to such a
+high pitch of frenzied horror that he could neither speak nor
+sigh,--motionless as a statue, he could only watch, with freezing
+blood, each detail of the extraordinary scene. Once more the High
+Priestess spoke:
+
+ "Come hither, O happy Maiden whose griefs are ended:
+  The day of thy triumph and reward has dawned!
+  For thee the Immortals unveiled the mysteries of being,--
+  To thee, they openly declare all secrets ...
+  To thee the hidden things of Wisdom are made manifest:
+  For the last time ere thou leavest us, hear, and answer, . .
+  Speak!--What seest thou?"
+
+"LOVE!" replied Niphrata in a tone of thrilling and solemn
+tenderness.. "LOVE, the Eternal All, in which dark things are made
+light!--Love, that is never served in vain! ... LOVE wherein lost
+happiness is rediscovered and perfected! ... O DIVINE LOVE, by
+whom the passion of my heart is sanctified! Absorb me in the
+quenchless glory of thine Immortality! ... Draw me to Thyself, and
+let me find in Thee my Soul's completion!"
+
+Her voice sank to a low prayerful emphasis, . . her look was as of a
+rapt angel waiting for wings. Lysia's gaze dwelt upon her with
+slow-dilating wonder and contempt.. such a devout and earnest
+supplication was evidently not commonly heard from the lips of
+Nagaya's victims. At that instant, too, Nagaya himself seemed
+curiously excited and disturbed,--his great glittering coils
+quivered so violently, as to shake the rod on which he was
+twined, . . and when his Priestess raised her mesmeric reproving
+eyes toward him, he bent back his head rebelliously, and sent a
+vehement hiss through the silence, like the noise made by the
+whirl of a scimitar.
+
+Suddenly, and with deafening abruptness, a clap of thunder, short
+and sharp as a quick volley of musketry, crashed overhead,--
+accompanied by a strange circular sweep of lightning that blazed
+through the windows of the Temple, illumining it from end to end
+with a brilliant blue glare. The superstitious crowd exchanged
+startled looks of terror, . . the King moved uneasily and glanced
+frowningly about him,--it was plainly manifest that no one had
+forgotten the disastrous downfall of the Obelisk, ..and there
+seemed to be a contagion of alarm in the very air. But Lysia was
+perfectly self-possessed, . . in fact she appeared to accept the
+threat of a storm as an imposing, and by no means undesirable,
+adjunct to the mysteries of the Sacrificial Rite, for riveting her
+basilisk eyes on Niphrata, she said in firm, clear, decisive
+accents:
+
+"The gods grow impatient! ... Wherefore, O Princess and People of
+Al-Kyris, let us hasten to appease their anger! Depart, O
+stainless Maid! ... depart hence, and betake thee to the Golden
+Throne of the Sun, our Lord and Ruler, . . and in the Name of
+Nagaya, may the shedding of thy virginal blood avert from us and
+ours the wrath of the Immortals! Linger no longer, . . Nagaya
+accepts thee! ... and the Hour strikes Death!"
+
+With the last word a sullen bell boomed heavily through and
+through the Temple.. and, at once, . . like a frenzied bird or
+butterfly winging its way into scorching flame, . . Niphrata rushed
+forward with swift, unhesitating, dreadful precision straight on
+the knife outheld by the untrembling ruthless hands of the Priest
+Zel! One second,--and Theos sick with horror, saw her speeding
+thus, . . the next,--and the whole place was enveloped in dense
+darkness!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE CUP OF WRATH AND TREMBLING.
+
+
+A flash of time, . . an instant of black, horrid eclipse, too brief
+for the utterance of even a word or cry, ... and then,--with an
+appalling roar, as of the splitting of huge rocks and the tearing
+asunder of mighty mountains, the murky gloom was lifted, rent,
+devoured, and swept away on all sides by a sudden bursting forth
+of Fire! ... Fire leaped up alive in twenty different parts of the
+building, springing aloft in spiral coils from the marble pavement
+that yawned crashingly open to give the impetuous flames their
+rapid egress, . . fire climbed lithely round and round the immense
+carven columns, and ran, nimbly dancing and crackling its way
+among the painted and begemmed decorations of the dome, ... fire
+enwrapped the side-altars, and shrivelled the jewelled idols at a
+breath, . . fire unfastened and shook down the swinging-lamps, the
+garlands, the splendid draperies of silk and cloth-of-gold...fire
+--fire everywhere! ... and the madly affrighted multitude, stunned
+by the abrupt shock of terror, stood for a moment paralyzed and
+inert, . . then, with one desperate yell of wild brute fear and
+ferocity, they rushed headlong in a struggling, shrieking,
+cursing, sweltering swarm toward the great closed portals of the
+central aisle. As they did so, a tremendous weight of thunder
+seemed to descend solidly on the roof with a thudding burst as
+though a thousand walls had been battered down at one blow, . . the
+whole edifice rocked and trembled in the terrific reverberation,
+and almost simultaneously, the doors were violently jerked open,
+wrenched from their hinges, and hurled, all burning and split with
+flame, against the forward-fighting crowds! Several hundred fell
+under the fiery mass, a charred heap of corpses,--the raging
+remainder pressed on in frenzied haste, clambering over piles of
+burning dead,--trampling on scorched, disfigured faces that
+perhaps but a moment since had been dear to them,--each and all
+bent on forcing a way out to the open air. In the midst of the
+overwhelming awfulness of the scene, Theos still retained
+sufficient presence of mind to remember that, whatever happened,
+his first care must be for Sah-luma, . . always for Sah-luma, no
+matter who else perished! ... and he now held that beloved comrade
+closely clasped by the arm, while he eagerly glanced about him on
+every side for some outlet through which to make a good and swift
+escape.
+
+The most immediate place of safety seemed to be the Inner
+Sanctuary of Nagaya, . . it was untouched by the flames, and its
+Titanic pillars of brass and bronze suggested, in their very
+massiveness, a nearly impregnable harbor of refuge. The King had
+fled thither, and now stood, like a statue of undaunted gloomy
+amazement, beside Lysia, who on her part appeared literally frozen
+with terror. Her large, startled eyes, roving here and there in
+helpless anxiety, alone gave any animation to the deathly, rigid
+whiteness of her face, and she still mechanically supported the
+Sacred Ebony Staff, without apparently being aware of the fact
+that the Snake Deity, convulsed through all his coils with fright,
+had begun to make there-from his rapid DESCENT. The priests, the
+virgins,--the poor, unhappy little singing children,--flocked
+hurriedly together, and darted to the back of the great Shrine, in
+the manifest intention of reaching some private way of egress
+known only to themselves,--but their attempts were evidently
+frustrated, for no sooner had they gone than they sped back again,
+their faces scorched and blackened, and uttering cries and woeful
+lamentations they flung themselves wildly among the struggling
+crowds in the main body of the Temple, and fought for life in the
+jaws of death, every one for Self, and no one for another! Volumes
+of smoke rolled up from the ground, in thick and suffocating
+clouds, accompanied by incessant sharp reports like the close
+firing of guns, . . jets of flame and showers of cinders broke forth
+fountain-like, scattering hot destruction on every hand, . . while a
+few flying sparks caught the end of the "Silver Veil"--and
+withered it into nothingness with one bright resolute flare!
+
+Half maddened by the shrieks and dying groans that resounded
+everywhere about him, and yet all the time feeling as though he
+were some spectator set apart, and condemned to watch the progress
+of a ghastly phantasmagoria in Hell, Theos was just revolving in
+his mind whether it would or would not be possible to make a
+determined climb for escape through one of the tall painted
+windows, some of which were not yet reached by the fire, when,
+with a sudden passionate exclamation, Sah-luma broke from his hold
+and rushed to the Sanctuary. Quick as lightning, Theos followed
+him, . . followed him close, as he sprang up the steps and
+confronted Lysia with eager, outstretched arms. The dead Niphrita
+lay near him, . . fair as a sculptured saint, with the cruel wound
+of sacrifice in her breast,--but he seemed not to see that piteous
+corpse of Faithfulness! His grief for her death had been a mere
+transient emotion, . . his stronger earthly passions re-asserted
+their tempestuous sway,--and for sweet things perished and gone to
+heaven he had no further care. On Lysia, and on Lysia's living
+beauty alone, his eyes flamed their ardent glory.
+
+"Come! ... Come!" he cried.. "Come, my love--my life! ... Let me
+save thee! ... Or if I cannot save thee, let us die together!"
+
+Scarcely had the words left his lips, when the King, with a swift
+forward movement like the pounce of some desert-panther, turned
+fiercely upon him, . . amazement, jealousy, distrust, revenge, all
+gathering stormily in the black frown of his bent vindictive
+brows. His great chest heaved pantingly--his teeth glittered
+wolfishly through his jetty beard, . . and in the terrible nerve-
+tension of the moment, the fury of the spreading conflagration was
+forgotten, at any rate, by Theos, who, stricken numb and rigid by
+a shock of alarm too poignant for expression, stared aghast at the
+three figures before him...Sah-luma, Lysia, Zephoranim, . .
+especially Zephoranim, whose bursting wrath threatened to choke
+his utterance.
+
+"What sayest thou, Sah-luma?" he demanded in a sort of ferocious
+gasping whisper ... "Repeat thy words! ... Repeat them!" ... and his
+hand clutched at his dagger-hilt, while his restless, lowering
+glance flashed from Lysia to the Laureate and from the Laureate
+back to Lysia again.. "Death encompasses us, . . this is no time for
+trifling! ... Speak!".. and his voice suddenly rose to a frantic
+shout of rage, "Speak! What is this woman to thee?"
+
+"Everything!".. returned Sah-luma with prompt and passionate
+fearlessness, his glorious eyes blazing a proud defiance as he
+spoke.. "Everything that woman can be, or ever shall be, unto man!
+Call her by whatsoever name a foolish creed enjoins, . . Virgin-
+Daughter of the Sun, or High-Priestess of Nagaya,--she is
+nevertheless MINE!--and mine only! I am her lover!"
+
+"THOU!" and with a hoarse cry, Zephoranim sprang upon, and seized
+him by the throat.. "Thou liest! I,--I, crowned King of Al-Kyris,
+I am her lover!--chosen by her out of all men! ... and dost thou
+dare to pretend that she hath preferred THEE, a mere singer of mad
+songs, to ME? ... Thou unscrupulous knave! ... I tell thee she is
+MINE! .. Dost hear me?--Mine.. mine.. MINE!" and he shrieked the
+last word out in a perfect hurricane of passion,--"My Queen.. my
+mistress!--heart of my heart!--soul of my soul! ... Let the city
+burn to ashes, and the whole land be utterly consumed, in death as
+in life Lysia is mine! ... and the gods themselves shall never
+part her from me!"
+
+And suddenly releasing his grasp he hurled Sah-luma away as he
+might have hurled aside a toy figure,--and a peal of reckless
+musical laughter echoed mockingly through the vaulted shrine. It
+was Lysia's laughter! ... and Theos's blood grew cold as he heard
+its cruel, silvery ring ... even so had she laughed when Nir-jalis
+died!
+
+Sah-luma reeled backward from the King's thrust, but did not
+fall,--white and trembling, with his sad and splendid features,
+frozen as it were into a sculptured mask of agonized beauty, he
+turned upon the treacherous woman he loved the silent challenge of
+his eloquent eyes. Oh, that look of piteous pain and wonder! a
+whole lifetime's wasted opportunities seemed concentrated in its
+unspeakable reproach! She met it with a sort of triumphant,
+tranquil indifference, . . an uncontrollable wicked smile curved the
+corners of her red lips, . . the sacred Ebony Staff had somehow
+slipped from her hands, and it now lay on the ground, the half-
+uncoiled Serpent still clinging to it, in glittering lengths that
+appeared to be quite motionless.
+
+"Ah, Lysia, hast thou played me false?".. cried the unhappy
+Laureate at last, as with a quick, impulsive movement, he caught
+her round jewelled arm in a resolute grip.. "After all thy vows,
+thy endearments, thy embraces, hast thou betrayed me? Speak truly!
+... Art thou not all in all to me? ... hast thou not given thyself
+body and soul into my keeping? To this braggart King I deign no
+answer--one word of thine will suffice! ... Be brave.. be
+faithful! ... Declare thy love for me, even as thou hast oft
+declared it a thousand remembered times!"
+
+Over the face of the beautiful Priestess swept a strange
+expression of mingled fear, antagonism, loathing, and exultation.
+Her eyes wandered to the red tongued leaping flames that tossed in
+eddying rings round the Temple, running every second nearer to the
+place where she stood, and in that one glance she seemed to
+recognize the hopelessness of rescue and certainty of death. A
+careless, haughty acceptance of her fate manifested itself in the
+pallid resolve of her drawn features, . . but as she allowed her
+gaze to return and dwell on Sah-luma, the old, malicious mirth
+flushed and gave lustre to her loveliness, and she laughed
+again...a laugh of uttermost bitter scorn.
+
+"Declare my love for thee!" she said in thrilling accents.. "Thou
+boaster! Let the gods, who have kindled this fiery end for us,
+bear witness to my hatred! I hate thee! ... Aye, even THEE!".. and
+she pointed at him jeeringly, as he recoiled from her in wide eyed
+anguish and amazement:--"No man have I ever loved, but thee have I
+hated most of all! All men have I despised for their folly, greed
+and vain-glory,--I have fought them with their own weapons of
+avarice, cunning, cruelty, and falsehood,--but THOU hast been even
+beneath MY contempt! 'Twas scarcely worth my while to fool thee,
+thou wert so easily fooled! ... 'Twas idle sport to rouse thy
+passions, they were so easily roused! Poet and Perjurer, . . Singer
+and Sophist! Thou to whom the Genius of Poesy was as a pearl set
+in a swine's snout! ... thou wert not worthy to be my dupe, seeing
+that thou camest to me already in bonds, the dupe of thine own
+Self! Niphrata loved thee,--and thou didst play with and torture
+her more unmercifully than wild beasts play with and torture their
+prey; . . but thou couldst never trifle with ME! O thou who hast
+taken so much pride in the breaking of many women's hearts, learn
+that thou hast never stirred one throb of passion in MINE! ...
+that I have loathed thy beauty while caressing thee, and longed to
+slay thee while embracing thee! ... and that even now I would I
+saw thee dead before me, ere I myself am forced to die!"
+
+Pausing in the swift torrent of her words, her white breast heaved
+violently with the rise and fall of her panting breath,--her dark,
+brilliant eyes dilated, while the symbolic Jewel she wore, and the
+crown of serpents' heads in her streaming hair, seemed to glitter
+about her like so many points of lightning. At that instant one
+side of the Sanctuary split asunder, giving way to a bursting
+wreath of flames. Seeing this, she uttered a piercing cry, and
+stretched out her arms.
+
+"Zephoranim! ... Save me!"
+
+In a second, the King sprang toward her, but not before Sah-luma,
+wild with wrath, had interposed himself between them.
+
+"Back!" he exclaimed passionately, addressing the infuriated
+monarch.. "While I live, Lysia is mine!--let her hate and deny me
+as she will!--and sooner than see her in thine arms, O King, I
+will slay her where she stands!"
+
+His bold attitude was magnificent,--his countenance more than
+beautiful in its love betrayed despair, . . and for a moment the
+savage Zephoranim paused irresolute, his scowling brows bent on
+his erstwhile favorite Minstrel with an expression that hovered
+curiously between bitterest enmity and reluctant reverence. There
+seemed to be a struggling consciousness in his mind of the
+immortality of a Poet as compared with the evanescent power of a
+King,--and also a quick realization of the truth that, let his
+anger be what it would, they twain were partakers in the same
+evil, and were mutually deceived by the same false woman! But ere
+his saving sense of justice could prevail, a ripple of discordant,
+delirious laughter broke once more from Lysia's lips,--her eye
+shone vindictively,--her whole face became animated with a sudden
+glow of fiendish triumph.
+
+"Zephoranim!" she cried, "Hero! ... Warrior! ... King! ... Thou
+who hast risked thy crown and throne and life for my sake and the
+love of me! ... Wilt lose me now? ... Wilt let me perish in these
+raging flames, to satisfy this wanton liar and unbeliever in the
+gods, to whose disturbance of the Holy Ritual we surely owe this
+present fiery disaster! Save me, O strong and noble Zephoranim!
+... Save me, and with me save the city and the people! KILL SAH-
+LUMA!"
+
+O barbarous, inexorable words!--they rang like a desolating knell
+in the ears of the bewildered, fear-stricken Theos, and startled
+him from his rigid trance of speechless misery. Uttering an
+inarticulate dull groan, he made a violent effort to rush forward
+--to serve as a living shield of defence to his adored friend, . . to
+ward off the imminent blow! Too late! too late! ... Zephoranim's
+dagger glittered in the air, and rapidly descended ... One gasping
+cry! ... and Sah-luma lay prone,--beautiful as a slain Adonis, . .
+the rich red blood pouring from his heart, and a faint, stern
+smile frozen on the proud lips whose dulcet singing-speech was now
+struck dumb forever! With a shriek of agony, Theos threw himself
+beside his murdered comrade, . . heedless of King, Priestess,
+flames, and all the out-breaking fury of earth and heaven, he bent
+above that motionless form, and gazed yearningly into the fair
+colorless face.
+
+"Sah-luma! ... Sah-luma!"
+
+No sign! ... No tremulous stir of breath! Dead--dead,--dead in his
+prime of years--dead in the zenith of his glory!--all the
+delicate, dreaming genius turned to dust and ashes! ... all the
+ardent light of inspiration quenched in the never-lifting darkness
+of the grave! ... and in the first delirious paroxysm of his grief
+Theos felt as though life, time, and the world were ended for him
+also, with this one suddenly destroyed existence!
+
+"O thou mad King!" he cried fiercely, "Thou hast slain the chief
+wonder of thy realm and reign! Die now when thou wilt, thou shalt
+only he remembered as the murderer of Sah-luma! ... Sah-luma,
+whose name shall live when thine is covered in shameful oblivion!"
+
+Zephoranim frowned,--and threw the blood-stained dagger from him.
+
+"Peace, clamorous fool!" he said, "Sah-luma hath gone but a moment
+before me, . . as Poet he hath received precedence even in death!
+When the last hour comes for all of us, it matters not how we
+die, . . and whether I am hereafter remembered or forgotten I care
+not! I have lived as a man should live,--fearing nothing and
+conquered by none,--except perchance by Love, that hath brought
+many kings ere now to untimely ruin!" Here his moody eyes lighted
+on Lysia. "How many lovers hast thou had, fair soul?".. he
+demanded in a stern yet tremulous voice ... "A thousand? ... I would
+swear this dead Minstrel of mine was one,--for though I slew him
+at thy bidding I saw the truth in his dying eyes! ... No matter!--
+We shall meet in Hades,--and there we shall have ample time to
+urge our rival claims upon thy favor! Ah!".. and he suddenly laid
+his two strong hands on her white uncovered shoulders, and gazed
+at her reproachfully as she shrank a little beneath his close
+scrutiny, . . "Thou divine Traitress! Have I not challenged the very
+heavens for thy sake? ... and lo! the prophecy is fulfilled and
+Al-Kyris must fall! How many men would have loved thee as I have
+loved? ... None! not even this dead Sah-luma, slain like a dog to
+give thee pleasure! Come! ... Let me kiss thee once again ere
+death makes cold our lips! False or true, thou art nevertheless
+fair!--and the wrathful gods know best how I worship thy
+fairness!"
+
+And folding his arms about her, he kissed her passionately. She
+clung to him like a lithe serpentine thing,--her eyes ablaze, her
+mouth quivering with suppressed hysterical laughter. Pointing to
+Sah-luma's body, she said in a strange excited whisper:
+
+"Nay, hast thou slain him in very truth, Zephoranim! ... slain him
+utterly? For I have heard that poets cannot die,--they live when
+the whole world deems them dead,--they rise from their shut graves
+and re-invest the earth with all the secrets of past time, . . Oh!
+my brain reels! ... I talk mere madness! ... there is no
+afterwards of death!--No, no! No gods, no anything but blankness..
+forgetfulness.. and silence! ... for us, and for all men! ... How
+good it is!--how excellently devised a jest! ... that the whole
+wide Universe should be but a cheat of time! ... a bubble blown
+into Space, to float, break, and perish,--all for the idle sport
+of some unknown and shapeless Devil-Mystery!"
+
+Shuddering, half-laughing, half-weeping, she clasped her hands
+round the monarch's throat, and hid her wild eyes in his breast,
+while he, unnerved by her distraction and his own inward torture,
+glared about him on all sides for some glimmering chance of
+rescue, but could see none. The flames were now attacking the
+Shrine on every side like a besieging army,--their leaping darts
+of blue and crimson gleaming here and there with indescribable
+velocity, . . and still Theos knelt by Sah-luma's corpse in dry-eyed
+despair, endeavoring with feverish zeal to stanch the oozing blood
+with a strip torn from his own garments, and listening anxiously
+for the feeblest heart-throb, or smaller pulsation of smouldering
+life in the senseless stiffening clay.
+
+All at once a hideous scream assailed his ears,--another, and yet
+another rang above the crackling roar of the gradually conquering
+fire, . . and half-lifting Sah-luma's body in his arms, he looked
+up...O horror, horror! his nerves contracted,--his blood seemed to
+turn to ice in his veins, . . his head swam giddily, . . and he
+thought the moment of his own death had come, for surely no man
+could behold the sight he saw and yet continue to live on! Lysia
+the captor was made captive at last! ..bound, helpless,
+imprisoned, and hopelessly doomed, ..Nagaya had claimed his own!
+The huge Snake, terrified beyond all control at the bursting
+breadth of fire environing the shrine, had turned in its brute
+fear to the mistress it had for years been accustomed to obey, and
+had now, with one stealthy noiseless spring, twisted its uppermost
+coil close about her waist, where its restless head, alarmed eyes,
+and darting fangs all glistened together like a blazing cluster of
+gems! the more she struggled to release herself from its deathful
+embrace, the tighter its body contracted and the more maddened
+with fright it became. Shriek upon shriek broke from her lips and
+pierced the suffocating air, . . while with all his great muscular
+force Zephoranim the King strove in desperate agony to tear her
+from the awful clutch of the monster he had but lately knelt to as
+divine! In vain, ..in vain! ... the strongest efforts were
+useless, ... the cruel, beautiful, pitiless Priestess of Nagaya
+was condemned to suffer the same frightful death she had so often
+mercilessly decreed for others! Closer and closer grew the fearful
+Python's constricting clasp, . . nearer and nearer swept the dancing
+battalion of destroying flames! ... For one fleeting breath of
+time Theos stared aghast at the horrid scene, . . then making a
+superhuman effort he raised Sah-luma's corpse entirely from the
+ground and staggered with his burden away, . . away from the burning
+Shrine, . . the funeral pyre, as it vaguely seemed to him, of a
+wasted Love and a dead passion!
+
+     *     *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+Whither should he go! ... Down into the blazing area of the fast-
+perishing Temple? Surely no safety could be found there, where the
+fire was raging at its utmost height! ... yet he went on
+mechanically, as though urged forward by some force superior to
+his own, . . always clinging to the idea that his friend still lived
+and that if he could only reach some place of temporary shelter he
+might yet be able to restore him. It was possible the wound was
+not fatal, . . far more possible to his mind than that so gloriously
+famed a Poet should be dead!
+
+So he dimly thought, while he stumbled dizzily along, . . his
+forehead wet with clammy dews, . . his limbs trembling under the
+weight he bore, . . his eyes half-blinded by the hot flying sparks
+and drifting smoke, . . and his soul shaken and appalled by the
+ghastly sights that met his view wheresoever he turned. Crushed
+and writhing bodies of men, women, and children, half-living,
+half-dead, . . heaps of corpses, fast blazing to ashes,--broken and
+falling columns, . . yawning gaps in the ground, from which were
+cast forth volleys of red cinders and streams of lava, ... all
+these multitudinous horrors surrounded him, as with uncertain,
+faltering steps he moved on like a sick man walking in sleep,
+carrying his precious burden! He knew nothing of where he was
+bound,--he saw no outlet anywhere--no corner wherein the Fire-
+fiend had not set up devouring dominion, . . but nevertheless he
+steadily continued his difficult progress, clasping Sah-luma's
+corpse with a strange tenacity, and concentrating all his
+attention on protecting it from the withering touch of the
+ravenous flames. All at once,--as he strove to force his way over
+a fallen altar from which the hideous presiding stone idol had
+toppled headlong, killing in its descent some twenty or thirty
+people whose bodies lay crushed beneath it,--a face horribly
+disfigured and tortured into a mere burnt sketch of its former
+likeness twisted itself up and peered at him, the face of
+Zabastes, the Critic. His protruding eyes glistened with something
+of their old malign expression as he perceived whose helpless form
+it was that was being carried by.
+
+"What! ... is the famous Sah-luma gone?" he gasped, his words half
+choking him in their utterance as he stretched out a skinny hand
+and caught at Theos's garments ... "Good youth, stay! ... Stay!
+... Why burden thyself with a corpse when thou mightest rescue a
+living man? Save ME! ... Save ME! ... I was the Poet's adverse
+Critic, and who but I should write his Eulogy now that he is no
+more! ... Pity! ... Pity, most courteous, gentle sir! ... Save me
+if only for the sake of Sah-luma's future honor! Thou knowest not
+how warmly, how generously, how nobly, I can praise the dead!"
+
+Theos gazed down upon him in unspeakable, melancholy scorn, . . was
+it only through time-serving creatures such as this miserable
+Zabastes, that the after-glory of perished poets was proclaimed to
+the world? ... What then was the actual worth of Fame?
+
+Shuddering, he wrenched himself away, and passed on silently,
+heedless of the savage curses the despairing scribe yelled after
+him as he went, and he involuntarily pressed the dead corpse of
+his beloved friend closer to his heart, as though he thought he
+could re-animate it by this mute expression of tenderness!
+Meanwhile the fire raged continuously,--the Temple was fast
+becoming a pillared mass of flames, . . and presently,--choked and
+giddy with the sulphurous vapors--he stopped abruptly, struggling
+for breath. His time had come at last, he thought, . . he with Sah-
+luma must die!
+
+Just then a loud muttering and rolling of thunder swept in eddying
+vibrations round him, followed by a sharp, splitting noise, . .
+raising his aching eyes, he saw straight before him, a yawning
+gloomy archway, like the solemn portal of a funeral vault.. dark,
+yet with a white glimmer of steps leading outward, and a dim
+sparkle as of stars in heaven. A rush of new vigor inspired him at
+this sight, and he resumed his way, stumbling over countless
+corpses strewn among fallen blocks of marble,--and every now and
+then looking back in awful fascination to the fiery furnace of the
+body of the Temple, where of all the vast numbers that had lately
+crowded it from end to end, there were only a hundred or so
+remaining alive,--and these were fast perishing in frightful
+agony. The Shrine of Nagaya was enveloped in thick black smoke,
+crossed here and there by flashes of flame,--the bare outline of
+its Titanic architecture was scarcely discernible! Yet the thought
+of the dreadful end of Lysia, the loveliest woman he had ever
+seen, moved him now to no emotion whatever--save..gladness! Some
+deadly evil seemed burnt out of his life, . . moreover her command
+had slain Sah-luma! ... Enough! ... no fate however horrible,
+could be more so than she in her wanton wickedness deserved! ...
+But alas! her beauty! ... He dared not think of its subtle,
+slumberous charm! ... and stung to a new sense of desperation, he
+plunged recklessly toward the dusky aperture he had seen, which
+appeared to enlarge itself mysteriously as he approached, like the
+opening gateway of some magic cavern.
+
+Suddenly a faint groan at his feet startled him,--and, looking
+down hastily, he perceived an unfortunate man lying half crushed
+under the ponderous fragment of a split column, which had fallen
+across his body in such manner that any attempt to extricate him
+would have been worse than useless. By the bright light of the
+leaping flames, Theos had no difficulty in recognizing the pallid
+countenance of his late acquaintance, the learned Professor of
+Positivism, Mira-Khabur, who was evidently very near his woeful
+and most positive end! Struck by an impulse of compassion he
+paused, . . yet what could he say? ..In such a case, where rescue
+was impossible, all comfort seemed mockery,--and while he stood
+silent and irresolute, he fancied the Professor smiled! It was a
+very ghastly smile,--nevertheless it hid in it a curious touch of
+bland and scrupulous inquiry.
+
+"Is not this...a very.. remarkable occurrence?" ... asked a voice
+so feeble and far away that it was difficult to believe it came
+from the lips of the suffering sage. "Of course...it arises
+from...a volcanic eruption! ... and the mystery of the red river..
+is.. solved!" Here an irrepressible moan of anguish broke through
+his heroic effort at equanimity;--"It is NOT a phenomenon!".. and
+a gleam of obstinate self-assertion lit up his poor glazing eyes,
+"Nothing is phenonmenal! ... only I am not able...to explain. ...
+I have no time...no time...to analyze.. my very ...
+singular...sensations!"
+
+A rush of blood choked his utterance--his throat rattled, ... he
+was dead! ... and the dreary speculative smile froze on his mouth
+in the likeness of a solemn sneer. At that moment, a terrific
+swirling, surging noise, like the furious boiling of an
+underground whirlpool, rumbled heavily through the air, . . and lo!
+with a sudden, swift shock that sent Theos reeling forward and
+almost falling, under the burdensome weight he carried, the earth
+opened, . . disclosing a huge pit of black nothingness,--an enormous
+chasm,--into which, with an appalling clamor as of a hundred
+incessant peals of thunder, the whole main area of the Temple,
+together with its mass of dead and dying human beings, sank in
+less than five seconds!--the ground closing instantaneously over
+its prey with a sullen roar, as though it were some gigantic beast
+devouring food too long denied. And instead of the vanished fane
+arose a mighty Pillar of Fire! ... a vast increasing volume of
+scarlet and gold flame that spread outward and upward,--higher and
+higher, in tapering lines and dome-like curves of living light, . .
+while Theos, being hurled along resistlessly by the force of the
+convulsion, had reached, though he knew not how, the dark and
+quiet cell-like portal with its out-leading steps, . . the only
+visible last hope and chance of safety, . . and he now leaned
+against its cold stone arch, trembling in every limb, clasping the
+dead Sah-luma close, and looking back in affrighted awe at the
+tossing vortex of fury from which he had miraculously escaped.
+And,--as he looked,--a host of spectral faces seemed to rise
+whitely out of the flames and wonder at him! ... faces that were
+solemn, wistful, warning, and beseeching by turns! ... they
+drifted through the fire and smiled, and wept, and vanished, to
+reappear again and yet again! ... and as, with painfully beating
+heart, he strove to combat the terror that seized him at this
+strange spectacular delusion, all suddenly the heavy wreaths of
+smoke that had till now hung over the Inner Shrine of Nagaya
+parted like drapery drawn aside from a picture.. and for a brief
+breathing space of direst agony he saw Lysia once more,--Lysia, in
+a torture as horrible as any ever depicted in a bigot's idea of
+his enemy's Hell! Round and round her writhing form the sacred
+Serpent was twined in all his many coils,--with both hands she had
+grasped the creature's throat in her frenzy, striving to thrust
+back its quivering fangs from her breast, whereon the evil "Eye of
+Raphon" still gleamed distinctly with its adamantine chilly
+stare, . . at her feet lay the body of the King her lover, dead and
+wrapped in a ring of flames! ... Alone--all, all alone, she
+confronted Death in its most appalling shape.. her countenance was
+distorted, yet beautiful still with the beauty of a maddened
+Medusa, . . white and glittering as a fair ghost invoked from some
+deadly gulf of pain, she stood, a phantom-figure of mingled
+loveliness and horror, circled on every side by fire!
+
+With wild, straining eyes Theos gazed upon her thus, ... for the
+last time! ... For with a crash that seemed to rend the very
+heavens, the great bronze columns surrounding her, which had, up
+to the present, resisted the repeated onslaughts of the flames,
+bent together all at once and fell in a melting ruin.. and the
+victorious fire roared loudly above them, enveloping the whole
+Shrine anew in dense clouds of smoke and jets of flame,--Lysia had
+perished! All that proud loveliness, that dazzling supremacy, that
+superb voluptuousness, that triumphant dominion, . . swept away into
+a heap of undiscoverable ashes! And Zephoranim's haughty spirit
+too had fled,--fled, stained with guilt and most unroyal dishonor,
+all for the sake of one woman's fairness--the fairness of body
+only--the brilliant mask of flesh that too often hides the
+hideousness of a devil's nature!
+
+For one moment Theos remained stupefied by the sheer horror of the
+catastrophe,--then, recalling his bewildered wits to his aid, he
+peered anxiously through the archway where he rested, . . there
+seemed to be a dim red glow at the end of the downward-leading
+steps, as well as a dusky azure tint, like a patch of midnight
+sky. The Temple was now nothing but a hissing shrieking pyramid of
+flames,--the hot and blinding glare was almost too intense for his
+eyes to endure,--yet so fascinated was he by the sublime terror
+and grandeur of the spectacle, that he could scarcely make up his
+mind to turn away from it! The thought of Sah-luma, however, gave
+the needful spur to his flagging energies, and without pausing to
+consider where he might be going, he slowly and hesitatingly
+descended the steps before him, and presently reached a sort of
+small open court paved with black marble. Here he tenderly laid
+his burden down,--a burden grown weightier with each moment of its
+bearing,--and letting his aching arms drop listlessly at his
+sides, he looked up dreamily,--not all at once comprehending the
+cause of the vast lurid light that crimsoned the air like a wide
+aurora borealis everywhere about him, . . then,--as the truth
+suddenly flashed on his mind, he uttered a loud, irrepressible cry
+of amazement and awe!
+
+Far as his gaze could see,--east, west, north, south, the whole
+city of Al-Kyris was in flames!--and the burning Temple of Nagaya
+was but a mere spark in the enormous breadth of the general
+conflagration! Palaces, domes, towers, and spires were tottering
+to red destruction, . . fire...fire everywhere! ... nothing but
+fire,--save when a furious gust of scorching wind blew aside the
+masses of cindery smoke, and showed glimpses of sky and the
+changeless shining of a few cold quiet stars. He cast one
+desperate glance from earth to heaven, . . how was it possible to
+escape from this kindling furnace of utter annihilation! ... Where
+all were manifestly doomed, how could HE expect to be saved! And
+moreover, if Sah-luma was indeed dead, what remained for him but
+to die also!
+
+     *     *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+Calming the frenzy of his thoughts by a strong effort, he began to
+vaguely wonder why and how it happened that the place where he now
+was, . . this small and insignificant court,--had so far escaped the
+fire, and was as cool and sombre as a sacred tomb set apart for
+some hero, ... or Poet? Poet!--The word acted as a stimulant to
+his tired struggling brain, and he all at once remembered what
+Sah-luma had said to him at their first meeting: "There is but one
+Poet in Al-Kyris, and I am he!"
+
+O true, true! Only one Poet! ... Only one glory of the great city,
+that now served him as funeral pyre!--only one name worth
+remembering in all its perishing history.. the name of SAH-LUMA!
+Sah-luma, the beautiful, the gifted, the famous, the beloved, . . he
+was dead! This thought, in its absorbing painfulness, straightway
+drove out all others,--and Theos, who had carried his comrade's
+corpse bravely and unshrinkingly through a fiery vortex of
+imminent peril, now sank on his knees all desolate and unnerved,
+his hot tears dropping fast on that fair, still, white face that
+he knew would never flush to the warmth of life again!
+
+"Sah-luma! Sah-luma!" he whispered, "My friend ... My more than
+brother! Would I could have died for thee! ... Would thou couldst
+have lived to fulfil the nobler promise of thy genius! ... Better
+far thou hadst been spared to the world than I! ... for I am
+Nothing, . . but thou wert Everything!"
+
+And taking the clay-cold hands in his own, he kissed them
+reverently, and, with an unconscious memory not born of his recent
+adventures, folded them on the dead Laureate's breast in the
+fashion of a Cross.
+
+As he did this an icy spasm seemed to contract his heart, . . seized
+by a sudden insufferable anxiety, he stared like one spell-bound
+into Sah-luma's wide-open, fixed, and glassy eyes. Dead eyes! ...
+yet how full of mysterious significance! ... What--WHAT was their
+weird secret, their imminent meaning! ... Why did their dark and
+frozen depths appear to retain a strange, living undergleam of
+melting, sorrowful, beseeching sweetness? ... like the eyes of one
+who prays to be remembered, though changed after long absence!
+What hot and terrible delirium was this that snatched at his
+whirling brain as he bent closer and closer over the marble quiet
+countenance, and studied with a sort of fierce intentness every
+line of those delicate, classic features, on which high thought
+had left so marked an impress of dignity and power! What a,
+marvellous, half-reproachful, half-appealing smile lingered on the
+finely-curved set lips! ... How wonderful, how beautiful, how
+beloved beyond all words was this fair dead god of poesy on whom
+he gazed with such a passion of yearning!
+
+Stooping more and more, he threw his arms round the senseless
+form, and partly lifting it from the ground, brought the wax-
+pallid face nearer to his own.. so near that the cold mouth almost
+touched his, . . then filled with an awful, unnamable misgiving, he
+scanned his murdered comrade's perished beauty in puzzled, vague
+bewilderment, much as an ignorant dullard might perplexedly scan
+the incomprehensible characters of some hieroglyphic scroll. And,
+as he looked, a sharp pang shot through him like a whizzing ball
+of fire, . . a convulsion of mental agony shook his limbs,--he could
+have shrieked aloud in the extremity of his torture, but the
+struggling cry died gasping in his throat. Still as stone he kept
+his strained, steadfast gaze fixed on Sah-luma's corpse, slowly
+absorbing the full horror of a tremendous Suggestion, that like a
+scorching lava-flood swept into every subtle channel of his brain.
+For the dead Sah-luma's eyes grew into the semblance of his own
+eyes! ... the dead Sah-luma's face smiled spectrally back at him
+in the image of his own face! ... it was as though he beheld the
+Picture of himself, slain and reflected in a magician's mirror!
+Round him the very heavens seemed given up to fire,--but he heeded
+it not,--the world might be at an end and the day of Judgment,
+proclaimed,--nothing would have stirred him from where he knelt,
+in that dreadful stillness of mystic martyrdom, drinking in the
+gradual, glimmering consciousness of a terrific Truth, . . the
+amazing, yet scarcely graspable solution of a supernatural Enigma,
+... an enigma through which, like a man lost in the depths of a
+dark forest, he had wandered up and down, seeking light, yet
+finding none!
+
+"O God!" he dumbly prayed. "Thou, with whom all things are
+possible, give eyes to this blind trouble of my heart! I am but as
+a grain of dust before thee, . . a poor perishable atom, devoid of
+simplest comprehension! ... Do Thou of Thy supernal pity teach me
+what I must know!"
+
+As he thought out this unuttered petition, a tense cord seemed to
+snap suddenly in his brain, . . a rush of tears came to his relief,
+and through their salt and bitter haze the face of Sah-luma
+appeared to melt into a thin and spiritual brightness,--a mere
+aerial outline of what it had once been, . . the glazed dark eyes
+seemed to flash living lightning into his, . . the whole lost
+Personality of the dead Poet seemed to environ him with a
+mysterious, potent, incorporeal influence.. an influence that he
+felt he must now or never repel, reject, and utterly RESIST! ...
+With a shuddering cry, he tore his reluctant arms away from the
+beloved corpse, . . with trembling, tender fingers he closed and
+pressed down the white eyelids of those love-expressive eyes, and
+kissed the broad poetic brow!
+
+"Whatever thou WERT or ART to me, Sah-luma, "he murmured in
+sobbing haste,--"thou knowest that I loved thee, though now I
+leave thee! Farewell!"--and his voice broke in its strong agony--
+"O how much easier to divide body from soul than part myself from
+thee! Sah-luma, beloved Sah-luma! God give thee rest! ... God
+pardon thy sins,--and mine!"
+
+And he pressed his lips once more on the folded rigid hands; . . as
+he did so, he inadvertently touched the writing-tablet that hung
+from the dead Laureate's girdle. The red glow of the fire around
+him enabled him to see distinctly what was written on it, . . there
+were about twenty lines of verse, in exquisitely clear and fine
+caligraphy, ... and, as he read, he knew them well, . . they were
+the last lines of the poem "Nourhalma"!
+
+He dared trust his own strength no longer, . . one wild, adoring,
+lingering, parting look at his dead rival in song, whom he had
+loved better than himself,--and then,--full of a nameless fear, he
+fled! ... fled recklessly, and with swift, mad fury as though
+demons followed in pursuit, . . fled through the burning city, as a
+lost and frenzied spirit might speed through the deserts of Hell!
+Everywhere about him resounded the crackling hiss of the flames,
+and the crash of falling buildings, . . mighty pinnacles and lofty
+domes melted and vanished before is eyes in a blaze of brilliant
+destruction! ... on--on he went, meeting confused, scattered
+crowds of people, whose rushing, white-garmented figures looked
+like ghosts flying before a storm, . . the cries and shrieks of
+women and children, and the groans of men were mingled with the
+restless roaring of lions and other wild beasts burnt out of their
+dens in the Royal Arena, the distant circle of which could be
+dimly seen, surrounded by fountain-like jets of fire. Some of
+these maddened animals ran against him, as he sped along the
+blazing thoroughfares,--but he made no attempt to avoid them, nor
+was he sensible of any other terror than that which was WITHIN
+HIMSELF and was purely mental. On! ... On!--Still on he went,--a
+desperate, lonely man, lost in a hideous nightmare of flame and
+fury, . . seeing nothing but one vast flying rout of molten red and
+gold, . . speaking to none, . . utterly reckless as to his own fate, . .
+only impelled on and on, but whither he knew not, nor cared to
+know!
+
+All at once his, strength gave way...his nerves seemed to break
+asunder like so many over-wound harp-strings, . . a sudden silvery
+clanging of bells rang in his ears, and with them came a sound of
+multitudinous soft, small voices: "Kyrie Eleison! Kyrie Eleison!"
+
+ Hush! ... What was that? ... What did it mean? ... Halting
+abruptly, he gave a wild glance round him,--up to the sky, where
+the flaring flames spread in tangled lengths and webs of light, . .
+then, straight before him to the City of Al-Kyris, now a wondrous
+vision of redly luminous columns and cupolas, with the wet gleam
+of the river enfolding its blazing streets and towers: . . and while
+he yet beheld it, lo! IT RECEDED FROM HIS VIEW! Further, . .
+further!--further away, till it seemed nothing but the toppling
+and smoldering of heavy clouds after the conflagration of the
+sunset!
+
+Hark, hark again! ... "Kyrie, Eleison! ... Kyrie, Eleison!" With a
+sense of reeling rapture and awe he listened, . . he understood! ...
+he found the NAME he had so long forgotten! "CHRIST, have mercy
+upon me!"...he cried, and in that one urgent supplication he
+uttered all the pent-up anguish of his soul! Blind and dizzy with
+the fevered whirl of his own emotions, he stumbled forward and
+fell! ... fell heavily over a block of stone, . . stunned by the
+shock, he lost consciousness, but only for a moment; . . a dull
+aching in his temples roused him,--and making a faint effort to
+rise, he turned slowly and languidly on his arm, . . and with a
+long, deep, shuddering sigh...AWOKE!
+
+ He was on the Field of Ardath. Dawn had just broken. The east was
+one wide, shimmering stretch of warm gold, and over it lay strips
+of blue and gray, like fragments of torn battle-banners. Above him
+sparkled the morning star, white and glittering as a silver lamp,
+among the delicate spreading tints of saffron and green, . . and
+beside him,--her clear, pure features flushed by the roseate
+splendor of the sky, her hands clasped on her breast, and her
+sweet eyes full of an infinite tenderness and yearning, knelt
+EDRIS!--Edris, his flower-crowned Angel, whom last he had seen
+drifting upward and away like a dove through the glory of the
+Cross in Heaven!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+SUNRISE.
+
+
+Entranced in amazed ecstasy he lay quite quiet, . . afraid to speak
+or stir! This gentle Presence,--this fair, beseeching face, might
+vanish if he moved! So he dimly fancied, as he gazed up at her in
+mute wonder and worship, his devout eyes drinking in her saintly
+loveliness, from the deep burnished gold of her hair to the soft,
+white slimness of her prayerfully folded hands. And while he
+looked, old thoughts like home-returning birds began to hover
+round his soul,--sweet and dear remembrances, like the sunset
+lighting up the windows of an empty house, began to shine on the
+before semi-darkened nooks and crannies of his brain. Clearer and
+clearer grew the reflecting mirror of his consciousness,--trouble
+and perplexity seemed passing away forever from his mind, . . a
+great and solemn peace environed him, . . and he began to believe he
+had crossed the boundary of death and had entered at last into the
+Kingdom of Heaven! O let him not break this holy silence! ... Let
+him rest so, with all the glory of that Angel-visage shed like
+summer sunbeams over him! ... Let him absorb into his innermost
+being the exquisite tenderness of those innocent, hopeful,
+watchful, starry eyes whose radiance seemed to steal into the
+golden morning and give it a sacred poetry and infinite marvel of
+meaning! So he mused, gravely contented, ... while all through the
+brightening skies overhead, came the pale, pink flushing of the
+dawn, like a far fluttering and scattering of rose-leaves.
+Everything was so still that he could hear his own heart beating
+forth healthful and regular pulsations, . . but he was scarcely
+conscious of his own existence,--he was only aware of the vast,
+beautiful, halcyon calm that encircled him shelteringly and
+soothed all care away.
+
+Gradually, however, this deep and delicious tranquillity began to
+yield to a sweeping rush of memory and comprehension, ... he knew
+WHO he was and WHERE he was,--though he did not as yet feel
+absolutely certain of life and life's so-called realities. For if
+the City of Al-Kyris, with all its vivid wonders, its distinct
+experiences, its brilliant pageantry, had been indeed a DREAM,
+then sorely it was possible he might be dreaming still! ...
+Nevertheless he was able to gather up the fragments of lost
+recollection consecutively enough to realize, by gentle degrees,
+his actual identity and position in the world, . . he was Theos
+Alwyn, . . a man of the nineteenth century after Christ. Ah! thank
+God for that! ... AFTER Christ! ... not one who had lived five
+thousand years BEFORE Christ's birth! ... And this quiet, patient
+Maiden at his side, . . who was she? A vision? ... or an actually
+existent Being? Unable to resist the craving desire of his heart,
+he spoke her name as he now remembered it, . . spoke it in a faint,
+awed whisper.
+
+"Edris!"
+
+"Theos, my Beloved!"
+
+O sweet and thrilling voice! more musical than the singing of
+birds in a sun-filled Spring!
+
+He raised himself a little, and looked at her more intently:--she
+smiled,--and that smile, so marvellous in its pensive peace and
+lofty devotion, was as though all the light of an unguessed
+paradise had suddenly flashed upon his soul!
+
+"Edris!" he said again, trembling in the excess of mingled hope
+and fear ... "Hast thou then returned again from heaven, to lift me
+out of darkness? ... Tell me, fair Angel, do I wake or sleep? ...
+Are my senses deceived? Is this land a dream? ... Am I myself a
+dream, and thou the only manifest sweet Truth in a world of
+drifting shadows! ... Speak to me, gentle Saint! ... In what vast
+mystery have I been engulfed? ... in what timeless trance of soul-
+bewilderment? ... in what blind uncertainty and pain? ... O Sweet!
+... resolve my wordless wonder! Where have I strayed? ... what have
+I seen? ... Ah, let not my rough speech fright thee back to
+Paradise! ... Stay with me! ... comfort me! ... I have lost thee
+so long! let me not lose thee now!"
+
+Smiling still, she bent over him, and pressed her warm, delicate
+ringers lightly on his brow and lips. Then softly she rose and
+stood erect.
+
+"Fear nothing, my beloved!" she answered, her silvery accents
+sending a throb of holy triumph through the air.. "Let no trouble
+disquiet thee, and no shadow of misgiving dim the brightness of
+thy waking moments! Thou hast slept ONE night on the Field of
+Ardath, in the Valley of Vision!--but lo! the Night is past!"..
+and she pointed toward the eastern horizon now breaking into waves
+of rosy gold, "Rise! and behold the dawning of thy new Day!"
+
+Roused by her touch, and fired by her tone and the grand,
+unworldly dignity of her look and bearing, he sprang up, . . but as
+he met the full, pure splendor of her divine eyes, and saw,
+wavering round her hair, a shining aureole of amber radiance like
+a wreath of woven sunbeams, his spirit quailed within him, . . he
+remembered all his doubts of her,--his disbelief, . . and falling at
+her feet, he hid his face in a shame that was better than all
+glory,--a humiliation that was sweeter than all pride.
+
+"Edris! Immortal Edris!".. he passionately prayed, "As thou art a
+crowned saint in Heaven, shed light on the chaos of my soul! From
+the depths of a penitence past thought and speech I plead with
+thee! Hear me, my Edris, thou who art so maiden-meek, so tender-
+patient! ... hear me, help me, guide me...I am all thine! Say,
+didst thou not summon me to meet thee here upon this wondrous
+Field of Ardath?--did I not come hither according to thy words?--
+and have I not seen things that I am not able to express or
+understand? Teach me, wise and beloved one! ... I doubt no more! I
+know Myself and Thee:--thou art an angel,--but I! ... alas, what
+am I? A grain of sand in thy sight and in God's, . . a mere Nothing,
+comprehending nothing,--unable even to realize the extent of my
+own nothingness! Edris, O Edris! ... THOU canst not love me! ...
+thou mayst pity me perchance, and pardon, and bless me gently in
+Christ's dear Name! ... but love! ... THY love! ... Oh let me not
+aspire to such heights of joy, where I have no place, no right, no
+worthiness!"
+
+"No worthiness!" echoed Edris! ... what a rapture trembled through
+her sweet caressing voice!--"My Theos, who is so worthy to win
+back what is thine own, as thou? All Heaven has wondered at thy
+voluntary exile,--thy place in God's supernal Sphere has long been
+vacant, . . thy right to dwell there, none have questioned, ... thy
+throne is empty--thy crown unclaimed! Thou art an Angel even as I!
+... but thou art in bonds while I am free! Ah, how sad and strange
+it is to me to see thee here thus fettered to the Sorrowful Star,
+when, countless aeons since, thou mightest have enjoyed full
+liberty in the Eternal Light of the everlasting Paradise!"
+
+He listened, ... a strong, sweet hope began to kindle in him like
+flame, . . but he made no answer. Only he caught and kissed the edge
+of her garment, . . its soft gray cloudy texture brushed his lips
+with the odorous coolness of a furled roseleaf. She seemed to
+tremble at his action, ... but he dared not look up. Presently he
+felt the pulsing pressure of her hands upon his head! and a rush
+of strange, warm vigor thrilled through his veins like an electric
+flash of new and never-ending life.
+
+"Thou wouldst seek after and know the truth!" she said, "Truth
+Celestial,--Truth Unchangeable, . . Truth that permeates and
+underlies all the mystic inward workings of the Universe, . .
+workings and secret laws unguessed by Man! Vast as Eternity is
+this Truth,--ungraspable in all its manifestations by the merely
+mortal intelligence, ... nevertheless thy spirit, being chastened
+to noble humility and repentance, hath risen to new heights of
+comprehension, whence thou canst partly penetrate into the wonders
+of worlds unseen. Did I not tell thee to 'LEARN FROM THE PERILS OF
+THE PAST, THE PERILS OF THE FUTURE'--and understandest thou not
+the lesson of the Vision of Al-Kyris? Thou hast seen the Dream-
+reflection of thy former Poet-fame and glory in old time,--THOU
+WERT SAH-LUMA!"
+
+An agony of shame possessed him as he heard. His soul at once
+seized the solution of the mystery, . . his quickened thought
+plunged plummet-like straight through the depths of the
+bewildering phantasmagoria, in which mere reason had been of no
+practical avail, and straightway sounded its whole seemingly
+complex, but actually simple meaning! HE WAS SAH-LUMA! ... or
+rather, he HAD BEEN Sah-luma in some far stretch of long-receded
+time, ... and in his Dream of a single night, he had loved the
+brilliant Phantom of his Former Self more than his own present
+Identity! Not less remarkable was the fact that, in this strange
+Sleep-Mirage, he had imagined himself to be perfectly UNselfish,
+whereas all the while he had honored, flattered, and admired the
+more Appearance of Himself more than anything or everything in the
+world! Ay!--even his occasional reluctant reproaches to Himself in
+the ghostly impersonation of Sah-luma had been far more tender
+than severe!
+
+O deep and bitter ingloriousness! ... O speechless degradation of
+all the higher capabilities of Man! to love one's own ephemeral
+Shadow-Existence so utterly as to exclude from thought and
+sympathy all other things whether human or divine! And was it not
+possible that this Spectre of Self might still be clinging to him?
+Was it dead with the Dream of Sah-luma? ... or had Sah-luma never
+truly died at all? ... and was the fine, fire-spun Essence that
+had formed the Spirit of the Laureate of Al-Kyris yet part of the
+living Substance of his present nature, ... he, a world-
+unrecognized English poet of the nineteenth century? Did all Sah-
+luma's light follies, idle passions, and careless cruelties remain
+inherent in him? Had he the same pride of intellect, the same
+vain-glory, the same indifference to God and Man? Oh, no, no! ...
+he shuddered at the thought! ... and his head sank lower and lower
+beneath the benediction touch of Her whose tenderness revived his
+noblest energies, and lit anew in his heart the pure, bright fire
+of heaven-encompassing Aspiration.
+
+"THOU WERT SAH-LUMA!" went on the mildly earnest voice, "And all
+the wide, ungrudging fame given to Earth's great poets in ancient
+days, was thine! Thy name was on all men's mouths, ... thou wert
+honored by kings, ... thou wert the chief glory of a great people,
+... great though misled by their own false opinions, ... and the
+City of Al-Kyris, of which thou wert the enshrined jewel, was
+mightier far than any now built upon the earth! Christ had not
+come to thee, save by dim types and vague prefigurements which
+only praying prophets could discern, ... but God had spoken to thy
+soul in quiet moments, and thou wouldst neither hear Him nor
+believe in Him! I had called thee, but thou wouldst not listen,
+... thou didst foolishly prefer to hearken to the clamorous
+tempting of thine own beguiling human passions, and wert
+altogether deaf to an Angel's whisper! Things of the earth earthly
+gained dominion over thee ... by them thou wert led astray,
+deceived, and at last forsaken, ... the genius God gave thee thou
+didst misuse and indolently waste, ... thy brief life came, as
+thou hast seen, to sudden-piteous end,--and the proud City of thy
+dwelling was destroyed by fire! Not a trace of it was left to mark
+the spot where once it stood. The foundations of Babylon were laid
+above it, and no man guessed that it had ever been. And thy poems,
+... the fruit of thy heaven-sent but carelessly accepted
+inspiration,--who is there that remembers them? ... No one! ...
+save THOU! THOU hast recovered them like sunken pearls from the
+profound ocean of limitless Memory, ... and to the world of To-day
+thou dost repeat the SELF-SAME MUSIC to which Al-Kyris listened
+entranced so many thousands of generations ago!"
+
+A deep sigh, that was half a groan, broke from his lips, ... he
+could now take the measurement of his own utter littleness and
+incompetency! HE COULD CREATE NOTHING NEW! Everything he had
+written, as he fancied only just lately, had been written by
+himself before! The problem of the poem "Nourhalma" ... was
+explained, ... he had designed it when he had played his part on
+the stage of life as Sah-luma,--and perhaps not even then for the
+first time! In this pride-crushing knowledge there was only one
+consolation, ... namely, that if his Dream was a true reflection
+of his Past, and exact in details as he felt it must be, then
+"Nourhalma," had not been given to Al-Kyris, ... it had been
+composed, but not made public. Hence, so far, it was new to the
+world, though not new to himself. Yet he had considered it
+wondrously new! a "perfectly original" idea! ... Ah! who dares to
+boast of any idea as humanly "original" ... seeing that all ideas
+whatsoever must be referred back to God and admitted as His and
+His only! What is the wisest man that ever lived, but a small,
+pale, ill-reflecting mirror of the Eternal Thought that controls
+and dominates all things! ... He remembered with conscience-
+stricken confusion what pleasure he had felt, what placid
+satisfaction, what unqualified admiration, when listening to his
+own works recited by the ghost-presentment of his Former Self! ...
+pleasure that had certainly exceeded whatever pain he had suffered
+by the then enigmatical and perplexing nature of the incident. O
+what a foolish Atom he now seemed, viewed by the standard of his
+newly aroused higher consciousness! ... how poor and passive a
+slave to the glittering, beckoning Phantasm of his own perishable
+Fame!
+
+Thus on the Field of Ardath he drained the cup of humility to the
+dregs,--the cup which like that offered to the Prophet of Holy
+Writ was "full as it were with water, but the color of it was like
+fire"--the water of tears.. the fire of faith, . . and with that
+prophet he might have said.. "When I had drunk of it, my heart
+uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my breast, for my spirit
+strengthened my memory."
+
+Meanwhile Edris, still keeping her gentle hands on his bent head,
+went on:
+
+"In such wise didst thou, my Beloved, as the famous Sah-luma,
+mournfully perish.. and the nations remembered thee no more! But
+thy spiritual, indestructible Essence lived on, and wandered
+dismayed and forlorn through a myriad forms of existence in the
+depths of Perpetual Darkness which MUST be, even as the
+Everlasting Light IS. Thy immortal but perverted Will bore thee
+always further from God, . . further from Him, and so far from me,
+that thou wert at times beyond even an Angel's ken! Ages upon ages
+rolled away, . . the centuries between Earth and Earths purposed
+redemption passed, ... and, . . though in Heaven these measured
+spaces of time that appear so great to men are as a mere world's
+month of summer, . . still, to me, for once God's golden days seemed
+long! I had lost THEE! Thou wert my soul's other soul. my king!--
+my immortality's completion! ... and though thou wert, alas! a
+fallen brightness, yet I held fast to my one hope, . . the hope in
+thy diviner nature, which, though sorely overcome, WAS NOT, and
+COULD NOT BE wholly destroyed. I knew the fate in store for
+thee, . . I knew that thou with other erring spirits wert bound to
+live again on earth when Christ had built His Holy Way therefrom
+to Heaven,--and never did I cease for thy dear sake to wait and
+watch and pray! At last I found thee, ... but ah! how I trembled
+for thy destiny! To thee had been delivered, as to all the
+children of men, the final message of salvation.. the Message of
+Love and Pardon which made all the angels wonder! ... but thou
+didst utterly reject it--and with the same willful arrogance of
+thy former self, Sah-luma, thou wert blindly and desperately
+turning anew into darkness! O my Beloved, that darkness might have
+been eternal! ... and crowded with memories dating from the very
+beginning of life! ... Nay, let me not speak of that Supernal Agony,
+since Christ hath died to quench its terrors! ... Enough!--by
+happy chance, through my desire, thine own roused better will, and
+the strength of one who hath many friends in Heaven, thy spirit
+was released to temporary liberty, . . and in thy vision at Dariel,
+which was NO vision, but a Truth, I bade thee meet me here. And
+why? ... SOLELY TO TEST THY POWER OF OBEDIENCE TO A DIVINE IMPULSE
+UNEXPLAINABLE BY HUMAN REASON,--and I rejoiced as only angels can
+rejoice, when of thine own Free-Will thou didst keep the tryst I
+made with thee! Yet thou knewest me not! ... or rather thou
+WOULDST NOT KNOW ME, . . till I left thee! ... 'Tis ever the way of
+mortals, to doubt their angels in disguise!"
+
+Her sweet accents shook with a liquid thrill suggestive of tears,
+--but he was silent. It seemed to him that he would be well content
+to hold his place forever, if forever he might hear her thus
+melodiously speak on! Had she not called him her "other soul, her
+king, her immortality's completion!"--and on those wondrous words
+of hers his spirit hung, impassioned, dazzled, and entranced
+beyond all Time and Space and Nature and Experience!
+
+After a brief pause, during which his ravished mind floated among
+the thousand images and vague feelings of a whole Past and Future
+merged in one splendid and celestial Present, she resumed, always
+softly and with the same exquisite tenderness of tone:
+
+"I left thee, Dearest, but a moment, ... and in that moment, He
+who hath himself shared in human sorrows and sympathies,--He who
+is the embodiment of the Essence of God's Love,--came to my aid.
+Plunging thy senses in deep sleep, as hath been done before to
+many a saint and prophet of old time here on this very field of
+Ardath,--he summoned up before thee the phantoms of a PORTION of
+thy Past, ... phantoms which, to thee, seemed far more real than
+the living presence of thy faithful Edris! ... alas, my Beloved!
+... thou art not the only one on the Sorrowful Star who accepts a
+Dream for Reality and rejects Reality as a Dream!"
+
+She paused again,--and again continued: "Nevertheless, in some
+degree thy Vision of Al-Kyris was true, inasmuch as thou wert
+shown therein as in a mirror, ONE phase, ONE only of thy former
+existence upon earth. The final episode was chosen,--as by the end
+of a man's days alone shall he be judged! As much as thy dreaming-
+sight was able to see,--as much as thy brain was able to bear,
+appeared before thee, ... but that thou, slumbering, wert yet a
+conscious Personality among Phantoms, and that these phantoms
+spoke to thee, charmed thee, bewildered thee, tempted thee, and
+swayed thee, . . this was the Divine Master's work upon thine own
+retrospective Thought and Memory. He gave the shadows of thy
+bygone life, seeming color, sense, motion, and speech,--He blotted
+out from thy remembrance His own Most Holy Name, . . and, shutting
+up the Present from thy gaze, He sent thy spirit back into the
+Past. There, thou, perplexed and sorrowful, didst painfully re-
+weave the last fragments of thy former history, . . and not till
+thou hadst abandoned the Shadow of Thyself, didst thou escape
+from the fear of destruction! Then, when apparently all alone, and
+utterly forsaken, a cloud of angels circled round thee, . . THEN, at
+thy first repentant cry for help, He who has never left an earnest
+prayer unanswered bade me descend hither, to waken and comfort
+thee! ... Oh, never was His bidding more joyously obeyed! Now I have
+plainly shown thee the interpretation of thy Dream, . . and dost
+thou not comprehend the intention of the Highest in manifesting it
+unto thee? Remember the words of God's Prophet of old:
+
+      "'Behold the Field thou thoughtest barren, how great a glory
+        hath the moon unveiled!
+      "'And I beheld and was sore amazed, for I was no longer
+        Myself, but Another
+      "'And the sword of death was in that Other's soul,--and yet
+        that Other was but Myself in pain
+      "'And I knew not the things which were once familiar, and my
+        heart failed within me for very fear!'"
+
+She spoke the quaint and mystic lines with a grave, pure, rhythmic
+utterance that was like the far-off singing of sweet psalmody;--
+and when she ceased, the stillness that followed seemed quivering
+with the rich vibrations of her voice, ... the very air was surely
+rendered softer and more delicate by such soul-moving sound!
+
+But Theos, who had listened dumbly until now, began to feel a
+sudden sorrowful aching at his heart, a sense of coming
+desolation, . . a consciousness that she would soon depart again,
+and leave him and, with a mingled reverence and passion, he
+ventured to draw one of the fair hands that rested on his brows,
+down into his own clasp. He met with no resistance, and half-
+happy, half-agonized, he pressed his lips upon its soft and
+dazzling whiteness, while the longing of his soul broke forth in
+words of fervid, irrepressible appeal.
+
+"Edris!" he implored.. "If thou dost love me give me my death!
+Here,--now, at thy feet where I kneel! ... of what avail is it for
+me to struggle in this dark and difficult world? ... O deprive me
+of this fluctuating breath called Life and let me live indeed! I
+understand.. I know all thou hast said,--I have learned my own
+sins as in a glass darkly,--I have lived on earth before, and as
+it seems, made no good use of life, ... and now: now I have found
+THEE! Then why must I lose thee? ... thou who camest to me so
+sweetly at the first? ... Nay, I cannot part from thee--I will
+not! ... If thou leavest me, I have no strength to follow thee; I
+shall but miss the way to thine abode!"
+
+"Thou canst not miss the way!"--responded Edris softly, . . "Look
+up, my Theos,--be of good cheer, thou Poet to whom Heaven's
+greatest gifts of Song are now accorded! Look up and tell me, . . is
+not the way made plain?"
+
+Slowly and in reverential fear, he obeyed, and raised his eyes,
+still holding her by the hand,--and saw behind her a distinctly
+marked shadow that seemed flung downward by the reflection of some
+brilliant light above, . . the shadow of a Cross, against which her
+delicate figure stood forth in shining outlines. Seeing, he
+understood,--but nevertheless his mind grew more and more
+disquieted. A thousand misgivings crowded upon him,--he thought of
+the world, . . he remembered what it was, . . he was living in an age
+of heresy and wanton unbelief, where not only Christ's Divinity
+was made blasphemous mock of, but where even God's existence was
+itself called in question.. and as for ANGELS! ... a sort of shock
+ran through his nerves as he reflected that though preachers
+preached concerning these supernatural beings,--though the very
+birth of Christ rested on Angels' testimony,--though poets wrote
+of them, and painters strove to delineate them on their most
+famous canvases, each and all thus PRACTICALLY DEMONSTRATING THE
+SECRET INSTINCTIVE INTUITION OF HUMANITY that such celestial Forms
+ARE,--yet it was most absolutely certain that not a man in the
+prosaic nineteenth century would, if asked, admit, to any actual
+belief in their existence! Inconsistent? ... yes!--but are not men
+more inconsistent than the very beasts of the field their tyranny
+controls? What, as a rule, DO men believe in? ... Themselves! ...
+only themselves! They are, in their own opinion, the Be-All and
+the End-All of everything! ... as if the Supreme Creative Force
+called God were incapable of designing any Higher Form of
+Thinking-Life than their pigmy bodies which strut on two legs and,
+with two eyes and a small, quickly staggered brain, profess to
+understand and weigh the whole foundation and plan of the
+Universe!
+
+Growing swiftly conscious of all that in the Purgatory of the
+Present awaited him, Theos felt as though the earth-chasm that had
+swallowed up Al-Kyris in his dream had opened again before him,
+affrighting him with its black depth of nothingness and
+annihilation,--and in a sudden agony of self-distrust he gazed
+yearningly at the fair, wistful face above him, . . the divine
+beauty that was HIS after all, if he only knew how to claim it!--
+Something, he knew not what, filled him with a fiery
+restlessness,--a passion of protest and aspiration, which for a
+moment was so strong that it seemed to him he must, with one
+fierce effort, wrench himself free from the trammels of mortality,
+and straightway take upon him the majesty of immortal nature, and
+so bear his Angel love company whithersoever she went! Never had
+the fetters of flesh weighed upon him with such-heaviness! ...
+but, in spite of his feverish longing to escape, some
+authoritative yet gentle Force held him prisoner.
+
+"God!" he muttered ... "Why am I thus bound?--why can I not be
+free?"
+
+"Because thy time for freedom has not come!" said Edris, quickly
+answering his thought ... "Because thou hast work to do that is
+not yet done! Thy poet labors have, up till now, been merely
+REPETITION, ... the repetition of thy Former Self, ... Go! the
+tired world waits for a new Gospel of Poesy, ... a new song that
+shall rouse it from its apathy, and bring it closer unto God and
+all things high and fair! Write!--for the nations wait for a
+trumpet-voice of Truth! ... the great poets are dead, . . their
+spirits are in Heaven, . . and there is none to replace them on the
+Sorrowful Star save THOU! Not for Fame do thy work--nor for
+Wealth, . . but for Love and the Glory of God!--for Love of
+Humanity, for Love of the Beautiful, the Pure, the Holy! ... let
+the race of men hear one more faithful Apostle of the Divine
+Unseen, ere Earth is lost in the withering light of a larger
+Creation! Go! ... perform thy long-neglected mission,--that
+mission of all poets worthy the name.. TO RAISE THE WORLD! Thou
+shalt not lack strength nor fervor, so long as thou dost write for
+the benefit of others. Serve God and live!--serve Self and die!
+Such is the Eternal Law of Spheres Invisible, . . the less thou
+seest of Self, the more thou seest of Heaven! ... thrust Self
+away, and lo! God invests thee with His Presence! Go forth into
+the world, . . a King uncrowned, . . a Master of Song, . . and fear not
+that I, Edris, will forsake thee,--I, who have loved thee since
+the birth of Time!"
+
+He met her beautiful, luminous, inspired eyes, with a sad
+interrogativeness in his own. What a hard fate was meted out to
+him! ... To teach the world that scoffed at teaching!--to rouse
+the gold-thirsting mass of men to a new sense of things divine! O
+vain task!--O dreary impossibility! ... Enough surely, to guide
+his own Will aright, without making any attempt to guide the wills
+of others!
+
+Her mandate seemed to him almost cruel,--it was like driving him
+into a howling wilderness, when with one touch, one kiss, she
+might transport him into Paradise! If SHE were in the world, . . if
+SHE were always with him.. ah! then how different, how easy life
+would be! Again he thought of those strange entrancing words of
+hers.. "My other soul, . . my king.. my immortality's completion!"--
+and a sudden wild idea took swift possession of his brain.
+
+"Edris!" he cried.. "If I may not yet come to thee, then come THOU
+to me! ... Dwell thou with me! ... O by the force of my love,
+which God knoweth, let me draw thee, thou fair Light, into my
+heart's gloom! Hear me while I swear my faith to thee as at some
+holy shrine! ... As I live, with all my soul I do accept thy
+Master Christ, as mine utmost good, and His Cross as my proudest
+glory! ... but yet, bethink thee, Edris, bethink thee of this
+world,--its wilful sin, its scorn of God, and all the evil that
+like a spreading thunder-cloud darkens it day by day! Oh, wilt
+thou leave me desolate and alone? ... Fight as I will, I shall
+often sink under blows, . . conquer as I may, I shall suffer the
+solitude of conquest, unless THOU art with me! Oh, speak!--is
+there no deeper divine intention in the marvellous destiny that
+has brought us together?--thou, pure Spirit, and I, weak Mortal?
+Has love, the primal mover of all things, no hold upon thee? ...
+If I am, as thou sayest, thy Beloved, loved by thee so long, even
+while forgetful of and unworthy of thy love, can I not NOW,--now
+when I am all thine,--persuade thee to compassionate the rest of
+my brief life on earth? ... Thou art in woman's shape here on this
+Field of Ardath,--and yet thou art not woman! Oh, could my love
+constrain thee in God's Name, to wear the mask of mortal body for
+my sake, would not our union even now make the Sorrowful Star seem
+fair? ... Love, love, love! Come to mine aid, and teach me how to
+shut the wings of this sweet bird of paradise in mine own breast!
+... God! Spare her to me for one of Thy sweet moments which are
+our mortal years! ... Christ, who became a mere child for pity of
+us, let me learn from Thee the mystic spell that makes Thine angel
+mine!"
+
+Carried away by his own forceful emotion he hardly knew what he
+said, . . but an unspeakable, dizzy joy flooded his soul, as he
+caught the look she gave him! ... a wild, sweet, amazed, half-
+tender, half-agonized, wholly HUMAN look, suggestive of the most
+marvellous possibilities! One effort and she released her hand
+from his, and moved a little apart, her eyes kindling with
+celestial sympathy in which there was the very faintest touch of
+self-surrender. Self-surrender? ... what! from an Angel to a
+mortal? ... Ah no! ... it could not be,--yet he felt filled all at
+once with a terrible sense of power that at the same time was
+mingled with the deepest humility and fear.
+
+"Hush!"--she said, and her lovely, low voice was tremulous,--
+"Hush!--Thou dost speak as if we were already in God's World! I
+love thee, Theos! ... and truly, because thou art prisoned here, I
+love the sad Earth also! ... but dost thou think to what thou
+wouldst so eagerly persuade me? To live a mortal life? ... to die?
+... to pass through the darkest phase of world-existence known in
+all the teeming spheres? Nay!".. and a look of pathetic sorrow
+came over her face.. "How could I, even for thee, my Theos,
+forsake my home in Heaven?"
+
+Her last words were half-questioning, half-hesitating, ... her
+manner was as of one in doubt.. and Theos, kneeling still,
+surveyed her in worshipping silence. Then he suddenly remembered
+what the Monk and Mystic, Heliobas, had said to him at Dariel on
+the morning after his trance of soul-liberty: . . "If, as I
+conjecture, you have seen one of the fair inhabitants of higher
+spheres than ours, you would not drag her spiritual and death-
+unconscious brightness down to the level of the 'reality' of a
+mere human life? ... Nay, if you would you could not!" And now,
+strange to say, he felt that he COULD but WOULD NOT; and he was
+overcome with remorse and penitence for the egotistical nature of
+his own appeal.
+
+"My love--my life!" he said brokenly,--"Forgive me,--forgive my
+selfish prayer! ... Self spoke,--not I, . . yet I had thought Self
+dead, and buried forever!" A faint sigh escaped him ... "Believe
+me, Sweet, I would not have thee lose one hour of Heaven's
+ecstasies, . . I would not have thee saddened by Earth's wilful
+miseries, ... no! not even for that lightning-moment which numbers
+up man's mortal days! Speed back to Angel-land, my Edris!--I will
+love thee till I die, and leave the Afterward to Christ. Be glad,
+thou fairest, dearest One! ... unfurl thy rainbow wings and fly
+from me! ... and wander singing through the groves of Heaven,
+making all Heaven musical, . . perchance in the silence of the night
+I may catch the echo of thy voice and fancy thou art near! And
+trust me, Edris! ... trust me! ... for my faith will not falter,
+... my hope shall not waver, ... and though in the world I may, I
+MUST have tribulation, yet will I believe in Him who hath by
+simple love overcome the world!"
+
+He ceased, . . a great quiet seemed to fall upon him,--the quiet of
+a deep and passive resignation.
+
+Edris drew nearer to him,--timidly as a shy bird, yet with a
+wonderful smile quivering on her lips, and in the clear depths of
+her starry eyes. Very gently she placed her arms about his neck
+and looked down at him with divinely compassionate tenderness.
+
+"Thou beloved one!" she said, "Thou whose spirit was formerly
+equal to mine, and to all angels, in God's sight though through
+pride it fell! Learn that thou art nearer to me now than thou hast
+been for a myriad ages! ... between us are renewed the strong,
+sweet ties that shall nevermore be broken, unless ..." and her
+voice faltered,--"Unless thou, of thine own Free Will, break them
+again in spite of all my prayers! For, BECAUSE thou art immortal
+even as I, though thou art pent up in mortality, even so must thy
+Will remain immortally unfettered, and what thou dost firmly elect
+to do, God will not prevent. The Dream of thy Past was a lesson,
+not a command,--thou art free to forget or remember it as thou
+wilt while on earth, since it is only AFTER Death that Memory is
+ineffaceable, and, with its companion Remorse, constitutes Hell.
+Obey God, or disobey Him,--He will not force thee either way, . .
+constrained love hath no value! Only this is the Universal Law,--
+that whosoever disobeys, his disobedience recoils on his own head
+as of Necessity it MUST,--whereas obedience is the working in
+perfect harmony with all Nature, and of equal Necessity brings its
+own reward. Cling to the Cross for one moment.. the moment called
+by mortals, Life, ... and it shall lift thee straightway into
+highest Heaven! There will I wait for thee,--and there thou shalt
+make me thine own forever!"
+
+He sighed and gazed at her wistfully.
+
+"Alas, my Edris! ... Not till then?" he murmured.
+
+She bent over him and kissed his forehead,--a caress as brief and
+light as the passing flutter of a bird's wing.
+
+"Not till then!"--she whispered--"Unless the longing of thy love
+compels!"
+
+He started. What did she mean? ... His eyes flashed eager inquiry
+into hers, so soft and brilliantly clear, with the light of an
+eternal peace dwelling in their liquid, mysterious loveliness,--
+and meeting his questioning look, the angelic smile brightened
+more gloriously round her lips. But there was now something
+altogether unearthly in her beauty, ... a wondrous inward
+luminousness began to transfigure her face and form, . . he saw her
+garments whiten to a sparkling radiance as of sunbeams on snow,
+... the halo round her bright hair deepened into flame-like glory
+--her stature grew loftier, and became as it were endowed with
+supreme and splendid majesty, . . and the exquisite fairness of her
+countenance waxed warmly transparent, with the delicate hue of a
+white rose, through which the pink color faintly flushes soft
+suggestions of ruddier life. His gaze dwelt upon her in
+unspeakable wondering adoration, mingled with a sense of
+irrepressible sorrow and heaviness of heart, ... he felt she was
+about to leave him, . . and was it not a parting of soul from soul?
+
+Just then the Sun stepped royally forth from between the red and
+gold curtains of the east,--and in that blaze of earth's life-
+radiance her figure became resplendently invested with vivid rays
+of roseate lustre that far surpassed the amber shining of the Orb
+of day! Awed, dazzled, and utterly overcome, he yet strove to keep
+his straining eyes steadily upon her,--conscious that her smile
+still blessed him with its tenderness, ... he made a wild effort
+to drag himself nearer to her, . . to touch once more the glittering
+edge of her robe ... to detain her one little, little moment
+longer! Ah! how wistfully, how fondly she looked upon him! ...
+Almost it seemed as if she might, after all, consent to stay! ...
+He stretched out his arms with a pathetic gesture of love, fear,
+and soul-passionate supplication.
+
+"Edris! ... Edris!".. he cried half despairingly. "Oh, by the
+strength of thine Angelhood have pity on the weakness of my
+Manhood!"
+
+Surely she heard, or seemed to hear! ... and yet she gave no
+answer! ... No sign! ... No promise!--no gesture of farewell! ...
+only a look of divine, compassionating, perfect love, . . a look so
+pure, so penetrating, so true, so rapturous, that flesh and blood
+could bear the glory of her transfigured Presence no longer,--and
+blind with the burning effulgence of her beauty, he shut his eyes
+and covered his face. He knew now, if he had never known it
+before, what was meant by "an Angel standing in the sun!"
+[Footnote: Revelation, chap, xix., 17.] Moreover, he also knew
+that what Humanity calls "miracles" ARE possible, and DO happen,--
+and that instead of being violations of the Law of Nature as we
+understand it, they are but confirmations of that Law in its
+DEEPER DEPTHS,--depths which, controlled by Spiritual Force alone,
+have not as yet been sounded by the most searching scientists. And
+what is Material Force but the visible manifestation of the
+Spiritual behind it? ... He who accepts the Material and denies
+the Spiritual, is in the untenable position of one who admits an
+Effect and denies a Cause! And if both Spiritual and Material BE
+accepted, then how can we reasonably dare to set a limit to the
+manifestations of either the one or the other?
+
+     *     *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+When he at last looked up, Edris had vanished! He was alone, . .
+alone on the Field of Ardath, ... the field that was "barren" in
+very truth, now she, his Angel, had been drawn away, as it seemed,
+into the sunlight, . . absorbed like a paradise-pearl into those
+rays of life-giving gold that lit and warmed the reddening earth
+and heaven!
+
+Slowly and dizzily he rose to his feet, and gazed about him in
+vague bewilderment. He had passed ONE NIGHT on the field! One
+night only! ... and he felt as though he had lived through years
+of experience! Now, the VISION was ended, . . Edris, the REALITY,
+had fled, . . and the World was before him, . . the World, with all
+the unsatisfying things it grudgingly offers, . . the World in which
+Al-Kyris had been a "City Magnificent" in the centuries gone,--and
+in which he, too, had played his part before, and had won fame, to
+be forgotten as soon as dead! Fame! ... how he had longed and
+thirsted for it! ... and what a foolish, undesirable distinction
+it seemed to him now!
+
+Steadying his thoughts by a few moments of calm reflection, he
+remembered what he had in charge to do, . . TO REDEEM HIS PAST. To
+use and expend whatever force was in him for the good, the help,
+the consolement, and the love of others, ... NOT to benefit
+himself! This was his task, . . and the very comprehension of it
+gave him a rush of vigor and virile energy that at once lifted the
+cloud of love-loneliness from his soul.
+
+"My Edris!" he whispered.. "Thou shalt have no cause to weep for
+me in Heaven again! ... with God's help I will win back my lost
+heritage!"
+
+As he spoke the words his eyes caught a glimpse of something white
+on the turf where, but a moment since, his Angel-love had stood,--
+he stooped toward it, . . it was one half-opened bud of the
+wonderful "Ardath-flowers" that had covered the field in such
+singular profusion on the previous night when she first appeared.
+One only! ... might he not gather it?
+
+He hesitated, . . then very gently and reverently broke it off, and
+tenderly bore it to his lips. What a beautiful blossom it was! ...
+its fragrance was unlike that of any other flower,--its whiteness
+was more pure and soft than that of the rarest edelweiss on Alpine
+snows, and its partially disclosed golden centre had an almost
+luminous brightness. As he held it in his hand, all sorts of
+vague, delicious thoughts came sweeping across his brain, ...
+thoughts that seemed to set themselves to music wild and strange
+and NEW, and suggestive of the sweetest, noblest influences! A
+thrill of expectation stirred in him, as of great and good things
+to be done,--grand changes to be wrought in the complex web of
+human destiny, brought about by the quickening and development of
+a pure, unselfish, spiritual force, that might with saving benefit
+flow into the perplexed and weary intelligence of man; . . and
+cheered, invigorated, and conscious of a circling, widening, ever-
+present Supreme Power that with all-surrounding love was ever on
+the side of work done for love's sake, he gently shut the flower
+within his breast, resolving to carry it with him wheresoever he
+went as a token and proof of the "signs and wonders" of the
+Prophet's Field.
+
+And now he prepared to quit the scene of his mystic Vision, in
+which he had followed with prescient pain the brief, bright
+career, the useless fame, the evil love-passion, and final fate of
+his Former Self,--and crossing the field with lingering tread, he
+looked back many times to the fallen block of stone where he had
+sat when he had first perceived God's maiden Edris, stepping
+softly through the bloom. When should he again meet her? Alas! ...
+not till Death, the beautiful and beneficent Herald of true
+Liberty, summoned him to those lofty heights of Paradise where she
+had habitation. Not till then, unless, ... unless, ... and his
+heart beat with a sudden tumult as he recollected her last
+words, . . "UNLESS THE LONGING OF THY LOVE COMPELS!"
+
+Could love COMPEL her, he wondered, to come to him once more while
+yet he lived on earth? Perhaps! ... and yet if he indeed had such
+power of love, would it be generous or just to exert it? No! ...
+for to draw her down from Heaven to Earth seemed to him now a sort
+of sacrilege,--dearer to him was HER joy than his own! But suppose
+the possibility of her being actually HAPPY with him in mortal
+existence, ... suppose that Love, when absolutely pure,
+unselfishly mutual, helpful, and steadfast, had it in its gift to
+make even the Sorrowful Star a Heaven in miniature, what then?
+
+He would not trust himself to think of this! ... the mere shadowy
+suggestion of such supreme delight filled him with a strong
+passion of yearning, to which in his accepted creed of Self-
+abnegation he dared not yield! Firmly restraining, resisting, and
+renouncing his own desires, he mentally raised a holy shrine for
+her in his soul, ... a shrine of pure faith, warm with eternal
+aspirations and bright with truth, wherein he hallowed the memory
+of her beauty with a sense of devout, love-like gladness. She was
+safe.. she was content, . . she blossomed flower-like in the highest
+gardens of God where all things fared well;--enough for him to
+worship her at a distance, . . to keep the clear reflection of her
+loveliness in his mind, ... and to live, so that he might deserve
+to follow and find her when his work on earth was done. Moreover,
+Heaven to him was no longer a vague, mythical realm, ill-defined
+by the prosy descriptions of church-preachers,--it was an actual
+WORLD to which HE was linked,--in which HE had possessions, of
+which HE was a native, and for the perpetuation and enlargement of
+whose splendor ALL worlds existed!
+
+Arrived at the boundary of the field, the spot marked by the
+broken half-buried pillar of red granite Heliobas had mentioned,
+he paused--thinking dreamily of the words of Esdras, who in answer
+to his Angel-visitant's inquiry: "Why art thou disquieted?" had
+replied: "Because thou hast forsaken me, and yet I did according
+to thy words, and I went into the field, and lo! I have seen and
+yet see, that I am not able to express." Whereupon the Angel had
+said, "Stand up manfully and I will advise thee!"
+
+"Stand up manfully!" Yes! ... this is what he, Theos Alwyn, meant
+to do. He would "stand up manfully" against the howling iconoclasm
+and atheism of the Age,--he would be Poet henceforth in the true
+meaning of the word, namely Maker, . . he would MAKE not BREAK the
+grand ideal hopes and heaven-climbing ambitions of Humanity! ...
+he would endeavor his utmost best to be that "Hierarch and Pontiff
+of the world"--as a modern rugged Apostle of Truth has nobly
+said,--"who Prometheus-like can shape new Symbols and bring new
+fire from heaven to fix them into the deep, infinite faculties of
+Man."
+
+With a brief silent prayer, he turned away at last, and walked
+slowly, in the lovely silence of the early Eastern morning, back
+to the place from whence he had last night wandered,--the
+Hermitage of Elzear, near the Ruins of Babylon. He soon came in
+sight of it, and also perceived Elzear himself, stooping over a
+small plot of ground in front of his dwelling, apparently
+gathering herbs. When he approached, the old man looked up and
+smiled, giving him a silent, expressively courteous morning
+greeting,--by his manner it was evident that he thought his guest
+had merely been out for an early stroll ere the heat of the day
+set in. And yet Al-Kyris! ... How real had seemed that dream-
+existence in that dream-city! The figure of Elzear looked scarcely
+more substantial than the phantom-forms of Sah-luma, Zephoranim,
+Khosrul, Zuriel, or Zabastes,--while Lysia's exquisite face and
+seductive form, Niphrata's pensive beauty, and all the local
+characteristics of the place, were stamped on the dreamer's memory
+as faithfully as scenes flashed by the sun on the plates of
+photography! True, the pictures were perhaps now slightly fading
+into the similitude of pale negatives, . . but still, would not
+everything that happened in the ACTUAL world merge into that same
+undecided dimness with the lapse of time?
+
+He thought so, . . and smiled at the thought, ... the transitory
+nature of earthly things was a subject for joy to him now,--not
+regret. With a kindly word or two to his venerable host, he went
+through the open door of the Hermitage, and entered the little
+room he had left only a few hours previously. It appeared to him
+as familiar and UNfamiliar as Al-Kyris itself! ... till raising
+his eyes he saw the great Crucifix against the wall,--the sacred
+Symbol whose meaning he had forgotten and hopelessly longed for in
+his Dream,--and from which, before his visit to the field of
+Ardath, he had turned with a sense of bitter scorn and proud
+rejection. But NOW! ... Now he gazed upon it in unspeakable
+remorse,--in tenderest desire to atone, ... the sweet, grave,
+patient Eyes of the holy Figure seemed to meet his with a wondrous
+challenge of love, longing, and most fraternal, sympathetic
+comprehension of his nature. ... he paused, looking, ... and the
+pre-eminently false words of George Herbert suddenly occurred to
+him, "Thy Saviour sentenced joy!" O blasphemy! ... SENTENCED joy?
+Nay!--rather re-created it, and invested it with divine
+certainties, beyond all temporal change or evanishment! ...
+Yielding to a swift impulse, he threw himself on his knees, and
+with clasped hands, leaned his brows against the feet of the
+sculptured Christ. There he rested in wordless peace,--his whole
+soul entranced in a divine passion of faith, hope, and love ...
+there with the "Ardath flower" in his breast, he consecrated his
+life to the Highest Good,--and there in absolute humility, and
+pure, child-like devotion, he crucified SELF forever!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PART III.--POET AND ANGEL.
+
+
+ "O Golden Hair! ... O Gladness of an Hour
+  Made flesh and blood!"
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+ "Who speaks of glory and the force of love
+  And thou not near, my maiden-minded dove!
+  With all the coyness, all the beauty sheen
+  Of thy rapt face? A fearless virgin-queen,
+  A queen of peace art thou,--and on thy head
+  The golden light of all thy hair is shed
+  Most nimbus-like, and most suggestive too
+  Of youthful saints enshrined and garlanded."
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+ "Our thoughts are free,--and mine have found at last
+  Their apt solution; and from out the Past
+  There seems to shine as 'twere a beacon-fire:
+  And all the land is lit with large desire
+  Of lambent glory; all the quivering sea
+  Is big with waves that wait the Morn's decree
+  As I, thy vassal, wait thy beckoning smile
+  Athwart the splendors of my dreams of thee!"
+
+          --"A Lover's Litanies."--ERIC MACKAY.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+FRESH LAURELS.
+
+
+It was a dismal March evening. London lay swathed in a melancholy
+fog,--a fog too dense to be more than temporarily disturbed even
+by the sudden gusts of the bitter east wind. Rain fell steadily,
+sometimes changing to sleet, that drove in sharp showers on the
+slippery roads and pavements, bewildering the tired horses, and
+stirring up much irritation in the minds of those ill-fated foot-
+passengers whom business, certainly not pleasure, forced to
+encounter the inconveniences of the weather. Against one house in
+particular--an old-fashioned, irregular building situated in a
+somewhat out-of-the-way but picturesque part of Kensington--the
+cold, wet blast blew with specially keen ferocity, as though it
+were angered by the sounds within,--sounds that in truth rather
+resembled its own cross groaning. Curious short grunts and
+plaintive cries, interspersed with an occasional pathetic long-
+drawn whine, suggested dimly the idea that somebody was playing,
+or trying to play, on a refractory stringed instrument, the well-
+worn composition known as Raff's "Cavatina." And, in fact, had the
+vexed wind been able to break through the wall and embody itself
+into a substantial being, it would have discovered the producer of
+the half-fierce, half-mournful noise, in the person of the
+Honorable Frank Villiers, who, with that amazingly serious ardor
+so often displayed by amateur lovers of music, was persistently
+endeavoring to combat the difficulties of the violoncello. He
+adored his big instrument,--the more unmanageable it became in his
+hands, the more he loved it. Its grumbling complaints at his
+unskilful touch delighted him,--when he could succeed in awakening
+a peevish dull sob from its troubled depths, he felt a positive
+thrill of almost professional triumph,--and he refused to be
+daunted in his efforts by the frequently barbaric clamor his
+awkward bowing wrung from the tortured strings. He tried every
+sort of music, easy and intricate--and his happiest hours were
+those when, with glass in eye and brow knitted in anxious
+scrutiny, he could peer his way through the labyrinth of a sonata
+or fantasia much too complex for any one but a trained artist,
+enjoying to the full the mental excitement of the discordant
+struggle, and comfortably conscious that as his residence was
+"detached," no obtrusive neighbor could either warn him to desist,
+or set up an opposition nuisance next door by constant practice on
+the distressingly over-popular piano. One thing very much in his
+favor was, that he never manifested any desire to perform in
+public. No one had ever heard him play, . . he pursued his favorite
+amusement in solitude, and was amply satisfied, if when questioned
+on the subject of music, he could find an opportunity to say with
+a conscious-modest air, "MY instrument is the 'cello." That was
+quite enough self-assertion for him, . . and if any one ever urged
+him to display his talent, he would elude the request with such
+charming grace and diffidence, that many people imagined he must
+really be a great musical genius who only lacked the necessary
+insolence and aplomb to make that genius known.
+
+The 'cello apart, Villiers was very generally recognized as a
+discerning dilettante in most matters artistic. He was an
+excellent judge of literature, painting, and sculpture, . . his
+house, though small, was a perfect model of taste in design and
+adornment, . . he knew where to pick up choice bits of antique
+furniture, dainty porcelain, bronzes, and wood-carvings, while in
+the acquisition of rare books he was justly considered a notable
+connoisseur. His delicate and fastidious instincts were displayed
+in the very arrangement of his numerous volumes, ... none were
+placed on such high shelves as to be out of hand reach, . . all were
+within close touch and ready to command, ranged in low, carved oak
+cases or on revolving stands, ... while a few particularly rare
+editions and first folios were shut in curious little side niches
+with locked glass-doors, somewhat resembling small shrines such as
+are used for the reception of sacred relics. The apartment he
+called his "den"--where he now sat practising the "Cavatina" for
+about the two-hundredth time--was perhaps the most fascinating
+nook in the whole house, inasmuch as it contained a little bit of
+everything, arranged with that perfect attention to detail which
+makes each object, small and great, appear not only ornamental,
+but positively necessary. In one corner a quaint old jar
+overflowed with the brightness of fresh yellow daffodils; in
+another a long, tapering Venetian vase held feathery clusters of
+African grass and fern, . . here the medallion of a Greek
+philosopher or Roman Emperor gleamed whitely against the sombrely
+painted wall; there a Rembrandt portrait flashed out from the
+semi-obscure background of some rich, carefully disposed fold of
+drapery,--while a few admirable casts from the antique lit up the
+deeper shadows of the room, such as the immortally youthful head
+of the Apollo Belvedere, the wisely serene countenance of the
+Pallas Athene that Goethe loved, and the Cupid of Praxiteles.
+
+Judging from his outward appearance only, few would have given
+Villiers credit for being the man of penetrative and almost
+classic refinement he really was,--he looked far more athletic
+than aesthetic. Broad-shouldered and deep-chested, with a round,
+blunt head firmly set on a full, strong throat, he had, on the
+whole, a somewhat obstinate and pugilistic air which totally
+belied his nature. His features, open and ruddy, were, without
+being handsome, decidedly attractive--the mouth was rather large,
+yet good-tempered; the eyes bright, blue, and sparklingly
+suggestive of a native inborn love of humor. There was something
+fresh and piquant in the very expression of naive bewilderment
+with which he now adjusted his eyeglass--a wholly unnecessary
+appendage--and set himself strenuously to examine anew the chords
+of that extraordinary piece of music which others thought so easy
+and which he found so puzzling, . . he could manage the simple
+melody fairly well, but the chords!
+
+"They are the very devil!".. he murmured plaintively, staring at
+the score, and hitching up his unruly instrument more securely
+against his knee, . . "Perhaps the bow wants a little rosin."
+
+This was one of his minor weaknesses,--he would never quite admit
+that false notes were his own fault. "They COULDN'T be, you know!"
+he mildly argued, addressing the obtrusive neck of the 'cello,
+which had a curious, stubborn way of poking itself into his chin,
+and causing him to wonder how it got there, . . surely the manner in
+which he held it had nothing to do with this awkward occurrence!
+"I'm not such a fool as not to understand how to find the right
+notes, after all my practice! There's something wrong with the
+strings,--or the bridge has gone awry,--or"--and this was his last
+resource--"the bow wants more rosin!"
+
+Thus he hugged himself in deliciously wilful ignorance of his own
+shortcomings, and shut his ears to the whispered reproaches of
+musical conscience. Had he been married his wife would no doubt
+have lost no time in enlightening him,--she would have told him he
+was a wretched player, that his scrapings on the 'cello were
+enough to drive one mad, and sundry other assurances of the
+perfectly conjugal type of frankness,--but as it chanced he was a
+happy bachelor, a free and independent man with more than
+sufficient means to gratify his particular tastes and whims. He
+was partner in a steadily prosperous banking concern, and had just
+enough to do to keep him pleasantly and profitably occupied. Asked
+why he did not marry, he replied with blunt and almost brutal
+honesty, that he had never yet met a woman whose conversation he
+could stand for more than an hour.
+
+"Silly or clever," he said, "they are all possessed of the same
+infinite tedium. Either they say nothing, or they say everything;
+they are always at the two extremes, and announce themselves as
+dunces or blue-stockings. One wants the just medium,--the dainty
+commingling of simplicity and wisdom that shall yet be pure
+womanly,--and this is precisely the jewel 'far above rubies' that
+one cannot find. I've given up the search long ago, and am
+entirely resigned to my lot. I like women very well--I may say
+very much--as friends, but to take one on chance as a comrade for
+life! ... No, thank you!"
+
+Such was his fixed opinion and consequent rejection of matrimony;
+and for the rest, he studied art and literature and became an
+authority on both; so much so that on one occasion he kept a
+goodly number of people away from visiting the Royal Academy
+Exhibition, he having voted it a "disgrace to Art."
+
+"English artists occupy the last grade in the whole school of
+painting," he had said indignantly, with that decisive manner of
+his which somehow or other carried conviction, . . "The very Dutch
+surpass them; and instead of trying to raise their standard, each
+year sees them grovelling in lower depths. The Academy is becoming
+a mere gallery of portraits, painted to please the caprices of
+vain men and women, at a thousand or two thousand guineas apiece;
+ugly portraits, too, woodeny portraits, utterly uninteresting
+portraits of prosaic nobodies. Who cares to see 'No. 154. Mrs.
+Flummery in her presentation-dress'.. except Mrs. Flummery's own
+particular friends? ... or '283. Miss Smox, eldest daughter of
+Professor A. T. Smox,' or '516. Baines Bryce, Esq.'? ... Who IS
+Baines Bryce? ... Nobody ever heard of him before. He may be a
+retired pork-butcher for all any one knows! Portraits, even of
+celebrities, are a mistake. Take Algernon Charles Swinburne, for
+instance, the man who, when left to himself, writes some of the
+grandest lines in the English language, HE had his portrait in the
+Academy, and everybody ran away from it, it was such an
+unutterable hideous disappointment. It was a positive libel of
+course, . . Swinburne has fine eyes and a still finer brow, but
+instead of idealizing the POET in him, the silly artist painted
+him as if he had no more intellectual distinction than a bill-
+sticker! ... English art! ... pooh! ... don't speak to me about it!
+Go to Spain, Italy, Bavaria--see what THEY can do, and then say a
+Miserere for the sins of the R A's!"
+
+Thus he would talk, and his criticisms carried weight with a
+tolerably large circle of influential and wealthy persons, who
+when they called upon him, and saw the perfection of his house and
+the rarity of his art collections, came at once to the conclusion
+that it would be wise, as well as advantageous to themselves, to
+consult him before purchasing pictures, books, statues, or china,
+so that he occupied the powerful position of being able with a
+word to start an artist's reputation or depreciate it, as he
+chose,--a distinction he had not desired, and which was often a
+source of trouble to him, because there were so few, so very few,
+whose work he felt he could conscientiously approve and encourage.
+He was eminently good-natured and sympathetic; he would not give
+pain to others without being infinitely more pained himself; and
+yet, for all his amiability, there was a stubborn instinct in him
+which forbade him to promote, by word or look, the fatal
+nineteenth century spread of mediocrity. Either a thing must be
+truly great and capable of being measured by the highest
+standards, or for him it had no value. This rule he carried out in
+all branches of art,--except his own 'cello-playing. That was NOT
+great,--that would never be great,--but it was his pet pastime; he
+chose it in preference to the billiards, betting, and bar-lounging
+that make up the amusements of the majority of the hopeful manhood
+of London, and, as has already been said, he never inflicted it
+upon others.
+
+He rubbed the rosin now thoughtfully up and down his bow, and
+glanced at the quaint old clock--an importation from Nurnberg--
+that ticked solemnly in one corner near the deep bay-window,
+across which the heavy olive green plush curtains were drawn, to
+shut out the penetrating chill of the wind. It wanted ten minutes
+to nine. He had given orders to his man servant that he was on no
+account to be disturbed that evening, . . no matter what visitors
+called for him, none were to be admitted. He had made up his mind
+to have a long and energetic practice, and he felt a secret
+satisfaction as he heard the steady patter of the rain outside, . .
+the very weather favored his desire for solitude,--no one was
+likely to venture forth on such a night.
+
+Still gravely rubbing his brow, his eyes travelled from the clock
+in the corner to a photograph on the mantel-shelf--the photograph
+of a man's face, dark, haughty, beautiful, yet repellent in its
+beauty, and with a certain hard sternness in its outline--the face
+of Theos Alwyn. From this portrait his glance wandered to the
+table, where, amid a picturesque litter of books and papers, lay a
+square, simply bound volume, with an ivory leaf-cutter thrust in
+it to mark the place where the reader left off, and its title
+plainly lettered in gold at the back--"NOURHALMA."
+
+"I wonder where he is!" ... he mused, his thoughts naturally
+reverting to the author of the book.. "He cannot know what all
+London knows, or surely he would be back here like a shot! It is
+six months ago now since I received his letter and that poem in
+manuscript from Tiflis in Armenia,--and not another line has he
+sent to tell me of his whereabouts! Curious fellow he is! ... but,
+by Jove, what a genius! No wonder he has besieged Fame and taken
+it by storm! I don't remember any similar instance, except that of
+Byron, in which such an unprecedented reputation was made so
+suddenly! And in Byron's case it was more the domestic scandal
+about him than his actual merit that made him the rage, . . now the
+world knows literally nothing about Alwyn's private life or
+character--there's no woman in his history that I know of--no
+vice, ... he hasn't outraged the law, upset morals, flouted at
+decency, or done anything that according to modern fashions OUGHT
+to have made him famous--no! ... he has simply produced a perfect
+poem, stately, grand, pure, and pathetic,--and all of a sudden
+some secret spring in the human heart is touched, some long-closed
+valve opened, and lo and behold, all intellectual society is
+raving about him,--his name is in everybody's mouth, his book in
+every one's hands. I don't altogether like his being made the
+subject of a 'craze';--experience shows me it's a kind of thing
+that doesn't last. In fact, it CAN'T last.. the reaction
+invariably sets in. And the English public is, of all publics, the
+most insane in its periodical frenzies, and the most capricious.
+Now, it is all agog for a 'shilling sensational'--then it
+discusses itself hoarse over a one-sided theological novel made up
+out of theories long ago propounded and exhaustively set forth by
+Voltaire, and others of his school,--anon it revels in the gross
+descriptions of shameless vice depicted in an 'accurately
+translated' romance of the Paris slums,--now it writes thousands
+of letters to a black man, to sympathize With him because he has
+been CALLED black!--could anything be more absurd! ... it has even
+followed the departure of an elephant from the Zoo in weeping
+crowds! However, I wish all the crazes to which it is subject were
+as harmless and wholesome as the one that has seized it for
+Alwyn's book,--for if true poetry were brought to the front,
+instead of being, as it often is, sneered at and kept in the
+background, we should have a chance of regaining the lost Divine
+Art, that, wherever it has been worthily followed, has proved the
+glory of the greatest nations. And then we should not have to put
+up with such detestable inanities as are produced every day by
+persons calling themselves poets, who are scarcely fit to write
+mottoes for dessert crackers, . . and we might escape for good and
+all from the infliction of 'magazine-verse,' which is emphatically
+a positive affront to the human intelligence. Ah me! what wretched
+upholders we are of Shakespeare's standard! ... Keats was our last
+splendor,--then there is an unfilled gap, bridged in part by
+Tennyson.. ... and now comes Alwyn blazing abroad like a veritable
+meteor,--only I believe he will do more than merely flare across
+the heavens,--he promises to become a notable fixed star."
+
+Here he smiled, somewhat pleased with his own skill in metaphor,
+and having rubbed his bow enough, he drew it lingeringly across
+the 'cello strings. A long, sweet, shuddering sound rewarded him,
+like the upward wave of a wind among high trees, and he heard it
+with much gratification. He would try the Cavatina again now, he
+decided, and bringing his music-stand closer, he settled himself
+in readiness to begin. Just then the Nurnberg clock commenced
+striking the hour, accompanying each stroke with a very soft and
+mellow little chime of bells that sent fairy-like echoes through
+the quiet room. A bright flame started up from the glowing fire in
+the grate, flinging ruddy flashes along the walls,--a rattling
+gust of rain dashed once at the windows,--the tuneful clock
+ceased, and all was still. Villiers waited a moment; then with
+heedful earnestness, started the first bar of Raff's oft-murdered
+composition, when a knock at the door disturbed him and
+considerably ruffled his equanimity.
+
+"Come in!" he called testily.
+
+His man-servant appeared, a half-pleased, half-guilty look on his
+staid countenance.
+
+"Please, sir, a gentleman called--"
+
+"Well!--you said I was out?"
+
+"No, sir! leastways I thought you might be at home to him, sir!"
+
+"Confound you!" exclaimed Villiers petulantly, throwing down his
+bow in disgust,--"What business had you to think anything about
+it? ... Didn't I tell you I wasn't at home to ANYBODY?"
+
+"Come, come, Villiers!".. said a mellow voice outside, with a
+ripple of suppressed laughter in its tone, . . "Don't be
+inhospitable! I'm sure you are at home to ME!"
+
+And passing by the servant, who at once retired, the speaker
+entered the apartment, lifted his hat, and smiled. Villiers sprang
+from his chair in delighted astonishment.
+
+"Alwyn!" he cried; and the two friends--whose friendship dated
+from boyhood--clasped each other's hands heartily, and were for a
+moment both silent,--half-ashamed of those affectionate emotions
+to which impulsive women may freely give vent, but to which men
+may not yield without being supposed to lose somewhat of the
+dignity of manhood.
+
+"By Jove!" said Villiers at last, drawing a deep breath. "This IS
+a surprise! Only a few minutes ago I was considering whether we
+should not have to note you down in the newspaper as one of the
+'mysterious disappearances' grown common of late! Where do you
+come from, old fellow?"
+
+"From Paris just directly," responded Alwyn, divesting himself of
+his overcoat, and stepping outside the door to hang it on an
+evidently familiar nail in the passage, and then re-entering,--
+"But from Bagdad in the first instance. I visited that city,
+sacred to fairy-lore, and from thence journeyed to Damascus like
+one of our favorite merchants in the Arabian Nights,--then I went
+to Beyrout, and Alexandria, from which latter place I took ship
+homeward, stopping at delicious Venice while on my way."
+
+"Then you did the Holy Land, I suppose?" queried Villiers,
+regarding him with sudden and growing inquisitiveness.
+
+"My dear fellow, certainly NOT! The Holy Land, invested by touts,
+and overrun by tourists, would neither appeal to my imagination
+nor my sentiments--and in its present state of vulgar abuse and
+unchristian sacrilege, it is better left unseen by those who wish
+to revere its associations, . . don't you think so?"
+
+He smiled as he put the question, and drawing up an old-fashioned
+oak chair to the fire, seated himself. Villiers meanwhile stared
+at him in unmitigated amazement, . . what had come to the fellow, he
+wondered? How had he managed to invest himself with such an
+overpowering distinction of look and grace of bearing? He had
+always been a handsome man,--yes, but there was certainly
+something more than handsome about him now. There was a singular
+magnetism in the flash of the fine soft eyes, a marvellous
+sweetness in the firm lines of the perfect mouth, a royal grandeur
+and freedom in the very poise of his well-knit figure and noble
+head, that certainly had not before been apparent in him.
+Moreover, that was an odd remark for him to make about "wishing to
+revere" the associations of the Holy Land,--very odd, considering
+his formerly skeptical theories!
+
+Rousing himself from his momentary bewilderment, Villiers
+remembered the duties of hospitality.
+
+"Have you dined, Alwyn?" he asked, with his hand on the bell.
+
+"Excellently!" was the response, accompanied by a bright upward
+glance; "I went to that big hotel opposite the Park, had dinner,
+left the surplus of my luggage in charge, selected one small
+portmanteau, took a hansom and came on here, resolved to pass one
+night at least under your roof ..."
+
+"One night!" interrupted Villiers; "You're very much mistaken, if
+you think you are going to get off so easily! You'll not escape
+from me for a month, I tell you! Consider yourself a prisoner!"
+
+"Good! Send for the luggage to-morrow!" laughed Alwyn, flinging
+himself back in his chair in an attitude of lazy comfort, "I give
+in!--I resign myself to my fate! But what of the 'cello?"
+
+And he pointed to the bulgy-looking casket of sweet sleeping
+sounds--sleeping generally so far as Villiers was concerned, but
+ready to wake at the first touch of the master-hand. Villiers
+glanced at it with a comical air of admiring vanquishment.
+
+"Oh, never mind the 'cello!" he said indifferently, "that can bear
+being put by for a while. It's a most curious instrument,--
+sometimes it seems to sound better when I have let it rest a
+little. Just like a human thing, you know--it gets occasionally
+tired of me, I suppose! But I say, why didn't you come straight
+here, bag, baggage, and all? ... What business had you to stop on
+the way at any hotel? ... Do you call that friendship?"
+
+Alwyn laughed at his mock injured tone.
+
+"I apologize, Villiers! ... I really do! But I felt it would be
+scarcely civil of me to come down upon you for bed, board, and
+lodging, without giving you previous notice, and at the same time
+I wanted to take you by surprise, as I DID. Besides I wasn't sure
+whether I should find you in town--of course I knew I should be
+welcome if you were!"
+
+"Rather!" assented Villiers shortly and with affected gruffness..
+"If you were sure of nothing else in this world, you might be sure
+of that!".. He paused squared his shoulders, and put up his
+eyeglass, through which he scanned his friend with such a
+persistently scrutinizing air, that Alwyn was somewhat amused.
+
+"What are you staring at me for?" he demanded gayly,--"Am I so
+bronzed?"
+
+"Well--you ARE rather brown," admitted Villiers slowly ... "But that
+doesn't surprise me. The fact is, it's very odd and I can't
+altogether explain it, but somehow I find you changed, . .
+positively very much changed too!"
+
+"Changed? In appearance, do you mean? How?"
+
+"'Look here upon this picture and on this,'" quoted Villiers
+dramatically, taking down Alwyn's portrait from the mantleshelf,
+and mentally comparing it with the smiling original. "No two heads
+were ever more alike, and yet more distinctly UNlike. Here"--and
+he tapped the photograph--"you have the appearance of a modern
+Timon or Orestes.. but now, as you actually ARE, I see more
+resemblance in your face to THAT"--and he pointed to the serene
+and splendid bust of the "Apollo"--"than to this 'counterfeit
+presentment,' of your former self."
+
+Alwyn flushed,--not so much at the implied compliment, as at the
+words "FORMER SELF." But quickly shaking off his embarrassment, he
+glanced round at the "Apollo" and lifted his eyebrows
+incredulously.
+
+"Then all I can say, my dear boy, is, that that eyeglass of yours
+represents objects to your own view in a classic light which is
+entirely deceptive, for I fail to trace the faintest similitude
+between my own features and that of the sunborn Lord of Laurels."
+
+"Oh, YOU may not trace it," said Villiers calmly, "but
+nevertheless others will. Some people say that no man knows what
+he really is like, and that even his own reflection in the glass
+deceives him. Besides, it is not so much the actual contour for
+the features that impresses one, it is the LOOK,--you have the
+LOOK of the Greek god, the look of conscious power and inward
+happiness."
+
+He spoke seriously, thoughtfully,--surveying his friend with a
+vague feeling of admiration akin to reverence.
+
+Alwyn stooped, and stirred the fire into a brighter blaze. "Well,
+so far, my looks do not belie me," he said gently, after a pause..
+"I AM conscious of both power and joy!"
+
+"Why, naturally!" and Villiers laid one hand affectionately on his
+shoulder.. "Of course the face of the whole world has changed for
+you, now that you have won such tremendous fame!"
+
+"FAME!"--Alwyn sprang upright so suddenly that Villiers was quite
+startled,--"Fame! Who says I am famous?" And his eyes flashed
+forth an amazed, almost haughty resentment.
+
+His friend stared--then laughed outright.
+
+"Who says it? ... Why, all London says it. Do you mean to tell me,
+Alwyn, that you've not seen the English papers and magazines,
+containing all the critical reviews and discussions on your poem
+of 'Nourhalma?"
+
+Alwyn winced at the title,--what a host of strange memories it
+recalled!
+
+"I have seen nothing," he replied hurriedly, "I have made it a
+point to look at no papers, lest I should chance on my own name
+coupled, as it has been before, with the languid abuse common to
+criticism in this country. Not that I should have cared,--NOW! ..."
+and a slight smile played on his lips.. "In fact I have ceased
+to care. Moreover, as I know modern success in literature is
+chiefly commanded by the praise of a 'clique,' or the services of
+'log-rollers,' and as I am not included in any of the journalistic
+rings, I have neither hoped nor expected any particular favor or
+recognition from the public."
+
+"Then," said Villiers excitedly, seizing him by the hand, "let me
+be the first to congratulate you! It is often the way that when we
+no longer specially crave a thing, that thing is suddenly thrust
+upon us whether we will or no,--and so it has happened in YOUR
+case. Learn, therefore, my dear fellow, that your poem, which you
+sent to me from Tiflis, and which was published under my
+supervision about four months ago, has already run through six
+editions, and is now in its seventh. Seven editions of a poem,---a
+POEM, mark you!--in four months, isn't bad, . . moreover, the demand
+continues, and the long and the short of it is, that your name is
+actually at the present moment the most celebrated in all London,
+--in fact, you are very generally acknowledged the greatest poet of
+the day! And," continued Villiers, wringing his friend's hand with
+uncommon fervor.. "I say, God bless you, old boy! If ever a man
+deserved success, YOU do! 'Nourhalma' is magnificent!--such a
+genius as yours will raise the literature of the age to a higher
+standard than it has known since the death of Adonais [Footnote:
+Keats.] You can't imagine how sincerely I rejoice at your
+triumph!"
+
+Alwyn was silent,--he returned his companion's cordial hand-
+pressure almost unconsciously. He stood, leaning against the
+mantelpiece, and looking gravely down into the fire. His first
+emotion was one of repugnance,--of rejection, . . what did he need
+of this will-o'-the-wisp called Fame, dancing again across his
+path,--this transitory torch of world-approval! Fame in London!
+... What was it, what COULD it be, compared to the brilliancy of
+the fame he had once enjoyed as Laureate of Al-Kyris! As this
+thought passed across his mind, he gave a quick interrogative
+glance at Villiers, who was observing him with much wondering
+intentness, and his handsome face lighted with sudden laughter.
+
+"Dear old boy!" he said, with a very tender inflection in his
+mellow, mirthful voice--"You are the best of good fellows, and I
+thank you heartily for your news, which, if it seems satisfactory
+to you, ought certainly to be satisfactory to me! But tell me
+frankly, if I am as famous as you say, how did I become so? ...
+how was it worked up?"
+
+"Worked up!" Villiers was completely taken back by the oddity of
+this question.
+
+"Come!" continued Alwyn persuasively, his fine eyes sparkling with
+mischievous good-humor.. "You can't make me believe that 'All
+England' took to me suddenly of its own accord,--it is not so
+romantic, so poetry-loving, so independent, or so generous as
+THAT! How was my 'celebrity' first started? If my book,--which has
+all the disadvantage of being a poem instead of a novel,--has so
+suddenly leaped into high favor and renown, why, then, some
+leading critic or other must have thought that I myself was dead!"
+
+The whimsical merriment of his face seemed to reflect itself on
+that of Villiers.
+
+"You're too quick-witted, Alwyn, positively you are!" he
+remonstrated with a frankly humorous smile.. "But as it happens,
+you're perfectly right! Not ONE critic, but THREE,--three of our
+most influential men, too--thought you WERE dead!--and that
+'Nourhalma' was a posthumous work of PERISHED GENIUS!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+ZABASTESISM AND PAULISM.
+
+
+The delighted air of triumphant conviction with which Alwyn
+received this candid statement was irresistible, and Villiers's
+attempt at equanimity entirely gave way before it. He broke into a
+roar of laughter,--laughter in which his friend joined,--and for a
+minute or two the room rang with the echoes of their mutual mirth.
+
+"It wasn't MY doing," said Villiers at last, when he could control
+himself a little,--"and even now I don't in the least know how the
+misconception arose! 'Nourhalma' was published, according to your
+instructions, as rapidly as it could be got through the press, and
+I had no preliminary 'puffs' or announcements of any kind
+circulated in the papers. I merely advertised it with a notable
+simplicity, thus: 'Nourhalma. A Love-Legend of the Past. A Poem.
+By Theos Alwyn.' That was all. Well, when it came out, copies of
+it were sent, according to custom, round to all the leading
+newspaper offices, and for about three weeks after its publication
+I saw not a word concerning it anywhere. Meanwhile I went on
+advertising. One day at the Constitutional Club, while glancing
+over the Parthenon, I suddenly spied in it a long review,
+occupying four columns, and headed 'A Wonder-Poem'; and just out
+of curiosity, I began to read it. I remember--in fact I shall
+never forget,--its opening sentence, . . it was so original!" and he
+laughed again. "It commenced thus: 'It has been truly said that
+those whom the gods love die young!' and then on it went, dragging
+in memories of Chatterton and Shelley and Keats, till I found
+myself yawning and wondering what the deuce the writer was driving
+at. Presently, about the end of the second column, I came to the
+assertion that 'the posthumous poem of "Nourhalma" must be
+admitted as one of the most glorious productions in the English
+language.' This woke me up considerably, and I read on, groping my
+way through all sorts of wordy phrases and used-up arguments, till
+my mind gradually grasped the fact that the critic of the
+Parthenon had evidently never heard of Theos Alwyn before, and
+being astonished, and perhaps perplexed, by the original beauty
+and glowing style of 'Nourhalma,' had jumped, without warrant, to
+the conclusion that its author must be dead. The wind-up of his
+lengthy dissertation was, as far as I can recollect, as follows:
+
+"'It is a thousand pities this gifted poet is no more. Splendid as
+the work of his youthful genius is, there is no doubt but that,
+had he lived, he would have endowed the world anew with an
+inheritance of thought worthy of the grandest master-minds.' Well,
+when I had fully realized the situation, I began to think to
+myself, Shall I enlighten this Sir Oracle of the Press, and tell
+him the 'DEAD' author he so enthusiastically eulogizes, is alive
+and well, or was so, at any rate, the last time I heard from him?
+I debated the question seriously, and, after much cogitation,
+decided to leave him, for the present, in ignorance. First of all,
+because critics like to consider themselves the wisest men in the
+world, and hate to be told anything,--secondly, because I rather
+enjoyed the fun. The publisher of 'Nourhalma'--a very excellent
+fellow--sent me the critique, and wrote asking me whether it was
+true that the author of the poem was really dead, and if not,
+whether he should contradict the report. I waited a bit before
+answering that letter, and while I waited two more critiques
+appeared in two of the most assertively pompous and dictatorial
+journals of the day, echoing the eulogies of the Parthenon,
+declaring 'this dead poet' worthy 'to rank with the highest of the
+Immortals,' and a number of other similar grandiose declarations.
+One reviewer took an infinite deal of pains to prove 'that if the
+genius of Theos Alwyn had only been spared to England, he must
+have infallibly been elected Poet Laureate as soon as the post
+became vacant, and that too, without a single dissentient voice,
+save such as were raised in envy or malice. But, being dead '--
+continued this estimable scribe--'all we can say is that he yet
+speaketh, and that "Nourhalma" is a poem of which the literary
+world cannot be otherwise than justly proud. Let the tears that we
+shed for this gifted singer's untimely decease be mingled with
+gratitude for the priceless value of the work his creative genius
+has bequeathed to us!'"
+
+Here Villiers paused, his blue eyes sparkling with inward
+amusement, and looked at Alwyn, whose face, though perfectly
+serene, had now the faintest, softest shadow of a grave pathos
+hovering about it.
+
+"By this time," he continued.. "I thought we had had about enough
+sport, so I wrote off to the publisher to at once contradict the
+erroneous rumor. But now that publisher had HIS story to tell. He
+called upon me, and with a blandly persuasive air, said, that as
+'Nourhalma' was having an extraordinary sale, was it worth while
+to deny the statement of your death just yet? ... He was very
+anxious, . . but I was firm, . . and lest he should waver, I wrote
+several letters myself to the leading journals, to establish the
+certainty, so far as I was aware, of your being in the land of the
+living. And then what do you think happened?"
+
+Alwyn met his bright, satirical glance with a look that was half-
+questioning, half-wistful, but said nothing.
+
+"It was the most laughable, and at the same time the most
+beautifully instructive, lesson ever taught by the whole annals of
+journalism! The Press turned round like a weathercock with the
+wind, and exhausted every epithet of abuse they could find in the
+dictionaries. 'Nourhalma' was a 'poor, ill-conceived work,'--'an
+outrage to intellectual perception,'--'a good idea, spoilt in the
+treatment; an amazingly obscure attempt at sublimity'--et
+cetera, . . but there! you can yourself peruse all the criticisms,
+both favorable and adverse, for I have acted the part of the fond
+granny to you in the careful cutting out and pasting of everything
+I could find written concerning you and your work in a book
+devoted to the purpose, . . and I believe I've missed nothing. Mark
+you, however, the Parthenon never reversed its judgment, nor did
+the other two leading journals of literary opinion,--it wouldn't
+do for such bigwigs to confess they had blundered, you know! ...
+and the vituperation of the smaller fry was just the other weight
+in the balance which made the thing equal. The sale of 'Nourhalma'
+grew fast and furious; all expenses were cleared three times over,
+and at the present moment the publisher is getting conscientiously
+anxious (for some publishers are more conscientious than some
+authors will admit!) to hand you over a nice little check for an
+amount which is not to be despised in this workaday world, I
+assure you!"
+
+"I did not write for money,"--interrupted Alwyn quietly.. "Nor
+shall I ever do so."
+
+"Of course not," assented Villiers promptly. "No poet, and indeed
+no author whatsoever, who lays claim to a fraction of conscience,
+writes for money ONLY. Those with whom money is the first
+consideration debase their Art into a coarse huckstering trade,
+and are no better than contentious bakers and cheesemongers, who
+jostle each other in a vulgar struggle as to which shall sell
+perishable goods at the highest profit. None of the lasting works
+of the world were written so. Nevertheless, if the public
+voluntarily choose to lavish what they can of their best on the
+author who imparts to them inspired thoughts and noble teachings,
+then that author must not be churlish, or slow to accept the
+gratitude implied. I think the most appropriate maxim for a poet
+to address to his readers is, 'Freely ye have received, freely
+give.'"
+
+There was a moment's silence. Alwyn resumed his seat in the chair
+near the fire, and Villiers, leaning one arm on the mantelpiece,
+still stood, looking down upon him.
+
+"Such, my dear fellow," he went on complacently.. "is the history
+of the success of 'Nourhalma.' It certainly began with the belief
+that you were no longer able to benefit by the eulogy received.--
+but all the same that eulogy has been uttered and cannot be
+UNuttered. It has led all the lovers of the highest literature to
+get the book for themselves, and to prove your actual worth,
+independently of press opinions,--and the result is an immense and
+steadily widening verdict in your favor. Speaking personally, I
+have never read anything that gave me quite so much artistic
+pleasure as this poem of yours except 'Hyperion,'--only 'Hyperion'
+is distinctly classical, while 'Nourhalma' takes us back into some
+hitherto unexplored world of antique paganism, which, though
+essentially pagan, is wonderfully full of pure and lofty
+sentiment. When did the idea first strike you?"
+
+"A long time ago!" returned Alwyn with a slight, serious smile--"I
+assure you it is by no means original!"
+
+Villiers gave him a quick, surprised glance.
+
+"No? Well, it seems to me singularly original!" he said.. "In
+fact, one of your critics says you are TOO original! Mind you,
+Alwyn, that is a very serious fault in this imitative age!"
+
+Alwyn laughed a little. His thoughts were very busy. Again in
+imagination he beheld the burning "Temple of Nagaya" in his Dream
+of Al-Kyris,--again he saw himself carrying the corpse of his
+FORMER Self through fire and flame,--and again he heard the last
+words of the dying Zabastes--"I was the Poet's adverse Critic, and
+who but I should write his Eulogy? Save me, if only for the sake
+of Sah-luma's future honor!--thou knowest not how warmly, how
+generously, how nobly, I can praise the dead!"
+
+True! ... How easy to praise the poor, deaf, stirless clay when
+sense and spirit have fled from it forever! No fear to spoil a
+corpse by flattery,--the heavily sealed-up eyes can never more
+unclose to lighten with glad hope or fond ambition; the quiet
+heart cannot leap with gratitude or joy at that "word spoken in
+due season" which aids its noblest aspirations to become realized!
+The DEAD poet?--Press the cold clods of earth over him, and then
+rant above his grave,--tell him how great he was, what infinite
+possibilities were displayed in his work, what excellence, what
+merit, what subtlety of thought, what grace of style! Rant and
+rave!--print reams of acclaiming verbosity, pronounce orations,
+raise up statues, mark the house he lived and starved in, with a
+laudatory medallion, and print his once-rejected stanzas in every
+sort of type and fashion, from the cheap to the costly,--teach the
+multitude how worthy he was to be loved, and honored,--and never
+fear that he will move from his rigid and chill repose to be happy
+for once in his life, and to learn with amazement that the world
+he toiled so patiently for is actually learning to be grateful for
+his existence! Once dead and buried he can be safely made
+glorious,--he cannot affront us either with his superior
+intelligence, or make us envy the splendors of his fame!
+
+Some such thoughts as these passed through Alwyn's mind as he
+dreamily gazed into the red hollows of the fire, and reconsidered
+all that his friend had told him. He had no personal acquaintances
+on the press,--no literary club or clique to haul him up into the
+top-gallant mast of renown by persistent puffery; he was not
+related, even distantly, to any great personage, either statesman,
+professor, or divine--he had not the mysterious recommendation of
+being a "university man"; none of the many "wheels" within wheels
+which are nowadays so frequently set in motion to make up a
+momentary literary furore, were his to command,--and yet--the
+Parthenon had praised him! ... Wonder of wonders! The Parthenon
+was a singularly obtuse journal, which glanced at the whole world
+of letters merely through the eyes of three or four men of
+distinctly narrow and egotistical opinions, and these three or
+four men kept it as much as possible to themselves, using its
+columns chiefly for the purpose of admiring one another. As a
+consequence of this restricted arrangement, very few outsiders
+could expect to be noticed for their work, unless they were in the
+"set," or at least had occasionally dined with one of the mystic
+Three or Four, . . and so it had chanced that Alwyn's first venture
+into literature had been totally disregarded by the Parthenon. In
+fact, that first venture, being a small and unobtrusive book, had,
+most probably, been thrown into the waste-paper basket, or sold
+for a few pence to the second-hand dealer. And now,--now because
+he had been imagined DEAD,--the Parthenon's leading critic had
+singled him out and held him up for universal admiration!
+
+Well, well! ... after all, Nourhalma WAS a posthumous work,--it
+had been written before, ages since, when he, as Sah-luma, had
+perished ere he had had time to give it to the world! He had
+merely REMEMBERED it.. drawn it forth again, as it were, from the
+dim, deep vistas of past deeds;--so those who had reviewed it as
+the production of one dead in youth, were right in their judgment,
+though they did not know it! ... It was old,--nothing but
+repetition,--but now he had something new and true and passionate
+to say, . . something that, if God pleased, it should be his to
+utter with the clearness and forcibleness common to the Greek
+thunderers of yore, who spoke out what was in them, grandly,
+simply, and with the fearless majesty of thought that reeked
+nothing of opinions. Oh, he would rouse the hearts of men from
+paltry greed and covetousness, . . from lust, and hatred, and all
+things evil,--no matter if he lost his own life in the effort, he
+would still do his utmost best to lift, if only in a small degree,
+the deepening weight of self-wrought agony from self-blinded
+mankind! Yes! ... he must work to fulfil the commands and deserve
+the blessings of Edris!
+
+Edris! ... ah, the memory of her pure angel-loveliness rushed upon
+him like a flood of invigorating warmth and light, and when he
+looked up from his brief reverie, his countenance, beautiful, and
+kindling with inward ardor, affected Villiers strangely,--almost
+as a very grand and perfect strain of music might affect and
+unsteady one's nerves. The attraction he had always felt for his
+poet-friend deepened to quite a fervent intensity of admiration,
+but he was not the man to betray his feelings outwardly, and to
+shake off his emotion he rushed into speech again.
+
+"By the by, Alwyn, your old acquaintance, Professor Moxall, is
+very much 'down' on your book. You know he doesn't write reviews,
+except on matters connected with evolutionary phenomena, but I met
+him the other day, and he was quite upset about you. 'Too
+transcendental'! he said, dismally shaking his bald pate to and
+fro--'The whole poem is a vaporous tissue of absurd
+impossibilities! Ah dear, dear me! what a terrible falling-off in
+a young man of such hopeful ability! I thought he had done with
+poetry forever!--I took the greatest pains to prove to him what a
+ridiculous pastime it was, and how unworthy to be considered for a
+moment seriously as an ART,--and he seemed to understand my
+reasoning thoroughly. Indeed he promised to be one of our most
+powerful adherents, . . he had an excellent grasp of the material
+sciences, and a fine contempt for religion. Why, with such a
+quick, analytical brain as his, he might have carried on Darwin's
+researches to an extremer point of the origination of species than
+has yet been reached! All a ruin, sir! a positive ruin,--a man who
+will in cold blood write such lines as these ...
+
+'"Grander is Death than Life, and sweeter far The splendors of the
+Infinite Future, than our eyes, Weary with tearful watching, yet
+can see"--
+
+condemns himself as a positive lunatic! And young Alwyn too!--he
+who had so completely recognized the foolishness and futility of
+expecting any other life than this one! Good heavens! ...
+"Nourhalma," as I understand it, is a sort of pagan poem--but with
+such incredible ideas and sentiments as are expressed in it, the
+author might as well go and be a Christian at once!' And with that
+he hobbled off, for it was Sunday afternoon, and he was on his way
+to St. George's Hall to delight the assembled skeptics, by telling
+them in an elaborate lecture what absurd animalculae they all
+were!"
+
+Alwyn smiled. There was a soft light in his eyes, an expression of
+serene contentment on his face.
+
+"Poor old Moxall!" he said gently--"I am sorry for him! He makes
+life very desolate, both for himself and others who accept his
+theories. I'm afraid his disappointment in me will have to
+continue, . . for as it happens I AM a Christian,--that is, so far
+as I can, in my unworthiness, be a follower of a faith so grand,
+and pure, and TRUE!"
+
+Villiers started, . . his month opened in sheer astonishment, . . he
+could scarcely believe his own ears, and he uttered some sound
+between a gasp and an exclamation of incredulity. Alwyn met his
+widely wondering gaze with a most sweet and unembarrassed calm.
+
+"How amazed you look!" he observed, half playfully,--"Religion
+must be at a very low ebb, if in a so-called Christian country you
+are surprised to hear a man openly acknowledge himself a disciple
+of the Christian creed!"
+
+There was a brief pause, during which the chiming clock rang out
+the hour musically on the stillness. Then Villiers, still in a
+state of most profound bewilderment, sat down deliberately in a
+chair opposite Alwyn's, and placed one hand familiarly on his
+knee.
+
+"Look here, old fellow," he said impressively, "do you really MEAN
+it! ... Are you 'going over' to some Church or other?"
+
+Alwyn laughed--his friend's anxiety was so genuine.
+
+"Not I!"--he responded promptly.. "Don't be alarmed, Villiers,--I
+am not a 'convert' to any particular set FORM of faith,--what I
+care for is the faith itself. One can follow and serve Christ
+without any church dogma. He has Himself told us plainly, in words
+simple enough for a child to understand, what He would have us to
+do, . . and though I, like many others, must regret the absence of a
+true Universal Church where the servants of Christ may meet
+altogether without a shadow of difference in opinion, and worship
+Him as He should be worshipped, still that is no reason why I
+should refrain from endeavoring to fulfil, as far as in me lies,
+my personal duty toward Him. The fact is, Christianity has never
+yet been rightly taught, grasped or comprehended,--moreover, as
+long as men seek through it their own worldly advantage, it never
+will be,--so that the majority of the people are really as yet
+ignorant of its true spiritual meaning, thanks to the quarrels and
+differences of sects and preachers. But, notwithstanding the
+unhappy position of religion at the present day, I repeat, I am a
+Christian, if love for Christ, and implicit belief in Him, can
+make me so."
+
+He spoke simply, and without the slightest affectation of reserve.
+Villiers was still puzzled.
+
+"I thought, Alwyn," he ventured to say presently with some little
+diffidence,--"that you entirely rejected the idea of Christ's
+Divinity, as a mere superstition?"
+
+"In dense ignorance of the extent of God's possibilities, I
+certainly did so," returned Alwyn quietly,--"But I have had good
+reason to see that my own inability to comprehend supernatural
+causes was entirely to blame for that rejection. Are we able to
+explain all the numerous and complex variations and manifestations
+of Matter? No. Then why do we dare to doubt the certainly
+conceivable variations and manifestations of Spirit? ... The
+doctrine of a purely HUMAN Christ is untenable,--a Creed founded
+on that idea alone would make no way with the immortal aspirations
+of the soul, . . what link could there be between a mere man like
+ourselves and heaven? None whatever,--it needs the DIVINE in
+Christ to overleap the darkness of the grave, . . to serve us as the
+Symbol of certain Resurrection, to teach us that this life is not
+the ALL, but only ONE loop in the chain of existence, . . only ONE
+of the 'many mansions' in the Father's House. Human teachers of
+high morals there have always been in the world,--Confucius,
+Buddha, Zoroaster, Socrates, Plato, . . there is no end to them, and
+their teachings have been valuable so far as they went, but even
+Plato's majestic arguments in favor of the Immortality of the Soul
+fall short of anything sure and graspable. There were so many
+prefigurements of what WAS to come, . . just as the sign of the
+Cross was used in the Temple of Serapis, and was held in singular
+mystic veneration by various tribes of Egyptians, Arabians, and
+Indians, ages before Christ came. And now that these
+prefigurements have resolved themselves into an actual Divine
+Symbol, the doubting world still hesitates, and by this hesitation
+paralyzes both its Will and Instinct--so that it fails to cut out
+the core of Christianity's true solution, or to learn what Christ
+really meant when He said 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,
+--no man cometh to the Father but by Me.' Have you ever considered
+the particular weight of that word 'MAN' in that text? It is
+rightly specified that 'no MAN cometh '--for there are hosts of
+other beings, in other universes, who are not of our puny race,
+and who do not need to be taught either the way, truth, or life,
+as they know all three, and have never lost their knowledge from
+the beginning."
+
+His voice quivered a little, and he paused,--Villiers watched him
+with a strange sense of ever-deepening fascination and wonder.
+
+"I have lately studied the whole thing carefully,".. he resumed
+presently, . . "and I see no reason why we, who call ourselves a
+progressive generation, should revert back to the old theory of
+Corinthus, who, as early as sixty-seven years after Christ, denied
+His Divinity. There is nothing new in the hypothesis--it is no
+more original than the doctrine of evolution, which was skilfully
+enough handled by Democritus, and probably by many another before
+him. Voltaire certainly threshed out the subject exhaustively, . .
+and I think Carlyle's address to him on the uselessness of his
+work is one of the finest of its kind. Do you remember it?"
+
+Villiers shook his head in the negative, whereupon Alwyn rose, and
+glancing along an evidently well-remembered book-shelf, took from
+thence "Sartor Resartus"--and turned over the pages quickly.
+
+"Here it is,"--and he read out the following passage.. "'Cease, my
+much-respected Herr von Voltaire, . . shut thy sweet voice; for the
+task appointed thee seems finished. Sufficiently hast thou
+demonstrated this proposition, considerable or otherwise: That the
+Mythus of the Christian Religion looks not in the eighteenth
+century as it did in the eighth. Alas, were thy six-and-thirty
+quartos, and the six-and-thirty thousand other quartos and folios
+and flying sheets or reams, printed before and since on the same
+subject, all needed to convince us of so little! But what next?
+Wilt thou help us to embody the Divine Spirit of that Religion in
+a new Mythus, in a new vehicle and vesture, that our Souls,
+otherwise too like perishing, may live? What! thou hast no faculty
+in that kind? Only a torch for burning and no hammer for building?
+Take our thanks then--and thyself away!'"
+
+Villiers smiled, and straightened himself in military fashion, as
+was his habit when particularly gratified.
+
+"Excellent old Teufelsdrockh!" he murmured sotto-voce--"He had a
+rugged method of explaining himself, but it was decisive enough,
+in all conscience!"
+
+"Decisive, and to the point,".. assented Alwyn, putting the book
+back in its place, and then confronting his friend.--"And he
+states precisely what is wanted by the world to-day,--wanted
+pressingly, eagerly, . . namely that the 'Divine Spirit' of the
+Christian Religion should be set forth in a 'new vehicle and
+vesture' to keep pace with the advancing inquiry and scientific
+research of man. And truly for this, it need only be expounded
+according to its old, pure, primal, spiritual intention, and then,
+the more science progresses the more true will it be proved.
+Christ distinctly claimed His Divinity, and everywhere gave
+manifestations of it. Of course it can be said that these
+manifestations rest on TESTIMONY,--and that the 'testimony' was
+drawn up afterward and is a spurious invention--but we have no
+more proof that it IS spurious than we have of [Footnote: See
+Chapter XIII. "In Al-Kyris"--the allusion to "Oruzel."] Homer's
+Iliad being a compilation of several writers and not the work of a
+Homer at all. Nothing--not even the events of the past week--can
+be safely rested on absolute, undiffering testimony, inasmuch as
+no two narrators tell the same story alike. But all the same we
+HAVE the Iliad,--it cannot be taken from us by any amount of
+argument, . . and we have the FRUITS of Christ's gospel, half
+obscured as it is, visible among us. Everywhere civilization of a
+high and aspiring order has followed Christianity even at the cost
+of blood and tears, ..slavery has been abolished, and women lifted
+from unspeakable degradation to honor and reverence,--and had men
+been more reasonable and self-controlled, the purifying work would
+have been done peacefully and without persecution. It was St.
+Paul's preaching that upset all the beautiful, pristine simplicity
+of the faith,--it is very evident he had no 'calling or election'
+such as he pretended, . . I wonder Jeremy Bentham's conclusive book
+on the subject is not more universally known. Paul's sermonizing
+gave rise to a thousand different shades of opinion and argument,
+--and for a mere hair's-breadth of needless discussion, nation has
+fought against nation, and man against man, till the very name of
+religion has been made a ghastly mockery. That, however, is not
+the fault of Christianity, but the fault of those who PROFESS to
+follow it, like Paul, while merely following a scheme of their own
+personal advantage or convenience, . . and the result of it all is
+that at this very moment, there is not a church in Christendom
+where Christ's actual commands are really and to the letter
+fulfilled."
+
+"Strong!" ejaculated Villiers with a slight smile.. "Mustn't say
+that before a clergyman!"
+
+"Why not?" demanded Alwyn.. "Why should not clerics be told, once
+and for all, how ill they perform their sacred mission? Look at
+the wilderness of spreading Atheism to-day! ... and look at the
+multitudes of men and women who are hungering and thirsting for a
+greater comprehension of spiritual things than they have hitherto
+had!--and yet the preachers trudge drowsily on in the old ruts
+they have made for themselves, and give neither sympathy nor heed
+to the increasing pain, feverish bewilderment, and positive WANT
+of those they profess to guide. Concerning science, too, what is
+the good of telling a toiling, more or less suffering race, that
+there are eighteen millions of suns in the Milky Way, and that
+viewed by the immensity of the Universe, man is nothing but a
+small, mean, and perishable insect? Humanity hears the statement
+with dull, perplexed brain, and its weight of sorrow is doubled,--
+it demands at once, why, if an insect, its insect life should BE
+at all, if nothing is to come of it but weariness and woe? The
+marvels of scientific discovery offer no solace to the huge
+Majority of the Afflicted, unless we point the lesson that the
+Soul of Man is destined to live through more than these wonders;
+and that the millions of planetary systems in the Milky Way are
+but the ALPHA BETA of the sublime Hereafter which is our natural
+heritage, if we will but set ourselves earnestly to win it.
+Moreover, we should not foolishly imagine that we are to lead good
+lives MERELY for the sake of some suggested reward or wages,--no,
+--but simply because in practising progressive good we are
+equalizing ourselves and placing ourselves in active working
+harmony with the whole progressive good of the Creator's plan. We
+have no more right to do a deliberately evil thing, than a
+musician has a right to spoil a melody by a false note on his
+instrument. Why should we willfully JAR God's music, of which we
+are a part? I tell you that religion, as taught to-day, is rather
+one of custom and fear than love and confidence,--men cower and
+propitiate, when they should be full of thankfulness and praise,--
+and as for any reserve on these matters, I have none,--in fact, I
+fail to see why truth, . . spiritual truth, . . should not be openly
+proclaimed now, even as it is sure to be proclaimed hereafter."
+
+His manner had warmed with his words, and he lifted his head with
+an involuntary gesture of eloquent resolve, his eyes flashing
+splendid scorn for all things hypocritical and mean. Villiers
+looked at him, feeling curiously moved and impressed by his
+fervent earnestness.
+
+"Well, I was right in one thing, at any rate, Alwyn"--he said
+softly.. "you ARE changed,--there's not a doubt about it! But it
+seems to me the change is distinctly for the better. It does my
+heart good to hear you speak with such distinct and manly emphasis
+on a subject, which, though it is one of the burning questions of
+the day, is too often treated irreverently, or altogether
+dismissed with a few sentences of languid banter or cheap sarcasm.
+
+"As regards myself personally, I must say that a man without faith
+in anything but himself, has always seemed to me exactly in
+keeping with the description given of an atheist by Lady Ashburton
+to Carlyle,--namely 'a person who robs himself, not only of
+clothes, but of flesh as well, and walks about the world in his
+bones.' And, oddly enough in spite of all the controversies going
+on about Christianity, I have always really worshipped Christ in
+my heart of hearts, . . and yet.. I CAN'T go to church! I seem to
+lose the idea of Him altogether there: . . but".. and his frank
+face took upon itself a dreamy light of deep feeling--"there are
+times when, walking alone in the fields, or through a very quiet
+grove of trees, or on the sea-shore, I begin to think of His
+majestic life and death, and the immense, unfailing sympathy He
+showed for every sort of human suffering, and then I can really
+believe in him as Divine friend, comrade, Teacher, and King, and I
+am scarcely able to decide which is the deepest emotion in my mind
+toward Him--love, or reverence."
+
+He paused,--Alwyn's eyes rested upon him with a quick,
+comprehensive friendliness,--in one exchange of looks the two men
+became mutually aware of the strong undercurrents of thought that
+lay beneath each other's individual surface history, and that
+perhaps had never been so clearly recognized before,--and a kind
+of swift, speechless, satisfactory agreement between their two
+separate natures seemed suddenly drawn up, ratified, and sealed in
+a glance.
+
+"I have often thought," continued Villiers more lightly, and
+smiling as he spoke--"that we are all angels or devils,--angels in
+our best moments, devils in our worst. If we could only keep the
+best moments always uppermost! 'Ah, poor deluded human nature!' as
+old Moxall says,--while in the same breath he contradicts himself
+by asserting that human Reason is the only infallible means of
+ascertaining anything! How it can be 'deluded' and 'infallible' at
+the same time, I can't quite understand! But, Alwyn, you haven't
+told me how you like the 'get-up' of your book?"
+
+And he handed the volume in question to its author, who turned it
+over with the most curious air of careless recognition--in his
+fancy he again saw Zabastes writing each line of it down to Sah-
+luma's dictation!
+
+"It's very well printed"--he said at last,--"and very tastefully
+bound. You have superintended the work con amore, Villiers, . . and
+I am as obliged to you as friendship will let me be. You know what
+that means?"
+
+"It means no obligation at all"--declared Villiers gayly..
+"because friends who are the least worthy the name take delight in
+furthering each other's interests and have no need to be thanked
+for doing what is particularly agreeable to them. You really like
+the appearance of it, then? But you've got the sixth edition. This
+is the first."
+
+And he took up from a side-table a quaint small quarto, bound is a
+very superb imitation of old embossed leather, which Alwyn,
+beholding, was at once struck by the resemblance it bore to the
+elaborate designs that had adorned the covers of the papyrus
+volumes possessed by his Shadow-Self, Sahluma!
+
+"This is very sumptuous!" he said with a dreamy smile--"It looks
+quite antique!"
+
+"Doesn't it!" exclaimed Villiers, delighted--"I had it copied from
+a first edition of Petrarca which happens to be in my collection.
+This specimen of 'Nourhalma' has become valuable and unique. It
+was published at ten-and-six, and can't be got anywhere under five
+or six guineas, if for that. Of course a copy of each edition has
+been set aside for YOU."
+
+Alwyn laid down the book with a gentle indifference.
+
+"My dear fellow, I've had enough of 'Nourhalma,'" ... he said ...
+"I'll keep a copy of the first edition, if only as a souvenir of
+your good-will and energy in bringing it out so admirably--but for
+the rest! ... the book belongs to me no more, but to the public,--
+and so let the public do with it what they will!"
+
+Villiers raised his eyebrows perplexedly.
+
+"I believe, after all, Alwyn, you don't really care for your
+fame!"
+
+"Not in the least!" replied Alwyn, laughing. "Why should I?"
+
+"You longed for it once as the utmost good!"
+
+"True!--but there are other utmost goods, my friend, that I desire
+more keenly."
+
+"But are they attainable?"--queried Villiers. "Men, and specially
+poets, often hanker after what is not possible to secure."
+
+"Granted!" responded Alwyn cheerfully--"But I do not crave for the
+impossible. I only seek to recover what I have lost."
+
+"And that is?"
+
+"What most men have lost, or are insanely doing their best to
+lose"--said Alwyn meditatively.. "A grasp of things eternal,
+through the veil of things temporal."
+
+There was a short silence, during which Villiers eyed his friend
+wistfully.
+
+"What was that 'adventure' you spoke about in your letter from the
+Monastery on the Pass of Dariel?" he asked after a while--"You
+said you were on the search for a new sensation-did you experience
+it?"
+
+Alwyn smiled. "I certainly DID!"
+
+"Did it arise from a contemplation of the site of the Ruins of
+Babylon?"
+
+"Not exactly. Babylon,--or rather the earth-mounds which are now
+called Babylon,--had very little to do with it."
+
+"Don't you want to tell me about it?" demanded Tilliers abruptly.
+
+"Not just yet"--answered Alwyn, with good-humored frankness,--"Not
+to-night, at any rate! But I WILL tell you, never fear! For the
+present we've talked enough, . . don't you think bed suggests itself
+as a fitting conclusion to our converse?"
+
+Villiers laughed and acquiesced, and after pressing his friend to
+partake of something in the way of supper, which refreshment was
+declined, he preceded him to a small, pleasantly cosy room,--his
+"guest-chamber" as he called it, but which was really almost
+exclusively set apart for Alwyn's use alone, and was always in
+readiness for him whenever he chose to occupy it. Turning on the
+pretty electric lamp that lit the whole apartment with a soft and
+shaded lustre, Villiers shook hands heartily with his old school-
+fellow and favorite comrade, and bidding him a brief but cordial
+good-night left him to repose.
+
+As soon as he was alone Alwyn took out from his breast pocket a
+small velvet letter-case, from which he gently drew forth a
+slightly pressed but unfaded white flower. Setting this in a glass
+of water he placed it near his bed, and watched it for a moment.
+Delicately and gradually its pressed petals expanded, . . its golden
+corolla brightened in hue, . . a subtle, sweet odor permeated the
+air, . . and soon the angelic "immortelle" of the Field of Ardath
+shone wondrously as a white star in the quiet room. And when the
+lamp was extinguished and the poet slept, that strange, fair
+blossom seemed to watch him like a soft, luminous eye in the
+darkness,--a symbol of things divine and lasting,--a token of far
+and brilliant worlds where even flowers cannot fade!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+REALISM.
+
+
+At the end of about a week or so, it became very generally known
+among the mystic "Upper Ten" of artistic and literary circles,
+that Theos Alwyn, the famous author of "Nourhalma" was, to put it
+fashionably, "in town." According to the classic phrasing of a
+leading society journal, "Mr. Theos Alwyn, the poet, whom some of
+our contemporaries erroneously reported as dead, has arrived in
+London from his tour in the East. He is for the present a guest of
+the Honorable Francis Villiers." The consequence of this and other
+similar announcements was, that the postman seemed never to be
+away from Villiers's door; and every time he came he was laden
+with letters and cards of invitation, addressed, for the most
+part, to Villiers himself, who, with something of dismay, saw his
+study table getting gradually covered with accumulating piles of
+society litter, such as is comprised in the various formal
+notifications of dinners, dances, balls, soirees, "at homes," and
+all the divers sorts of entertainment with which the English
+"s'amusent moult tristement." Some of these invitations, less
+ceremonious, were in form of pretty little notes from great
+ladies, who entreated their "DEAR Mr. Villiers" to give them the
+"EXTREME honor and pleasure" of his company at certain select and
+extra brilliant receptions where Royalty itself would be
+represented, adding, as an earnest postscript--"and DO bring the
+LION, you know, your VERY interesting friend, Mr. Alwyn, with
+you!"--A good many such billets-doux were addressed to Alwyn
+personally, and as he opened and read them he was somewhat amused
+to see how many who had formerly been mere bowing acquaintances
+were now suddenly, almost magically, transformed into apparently
+eager, admiring, and devoted friends.
+
+"One would think these people really liked me for myself,"--he
+said one morning, tossing aside a particularly gushing, pressing
+note from a lady who was celebrated for the motley crowds she
+managed to squeeze into her rooms, regardless of any one's comfort
+or convenience,--"And yet, as the matter stands, they actually
+know nothing of me. I might be a villain of the deepest dye, a
+kickable cad, or a coarse ruffian, but so long as I have written a
+'successful' book and am a 'somebody'--a literary 'notable'--what
+matter my tastes, my morals, or my disposition! If this sort of
+thing is Fame, all I can say is, that it savors of very detestable
+vulgarity!"
+
+"Of course it does!"--assented Villiers-"But what else do you
+expect from modern society? ... What CAN you expect from a
+community which is chiefly ruled by moneyed parvenus, BUT
+vulgarity? If you go to this woman's place, for instance"--and he
+glanced at the note Alwyn had thrown on the table,--"you will
+share the honors of the evening with the famous man-milliner of
+Bond Street, an 'artist' in gowns, the female upholsterer and
+house decorator, likewise an 'artist,'--the ladies who 'compose'
+sonnets in Regent Street, also 'artists,--' and chiefest among the
+motley crowd, perhaps, the so-called new 'Apostle' of
+aestheticism, a ponderous gentleman who says nothing and does
+nothing, and who, by reason of his stupendous inertia and
+taciturnity, is considered the greatest 'gun' of all! ... it's no
+use YOUR going among such people,--in fact, no one who has any
+reverence left in him for the TRUTH of Art CAN mix with those
+whose profession of it is a mere trade and hypocritical sham. Such
+dunderheads would see no artistic difference between Phidias and
+the man of to-day who hews out and sets up a common marble mantel-
+piece! I'm not a fellow to moan over the 'good old times,'--no,
+not a bit of it, for those good old times had much in them that
+was decidedly bad,--but I wish progress would not rob us
+altogether of refinement."
+
+"But society professes to be growing more and more cultured every
+day," observed Alwyn.
+
+"Oh, it PROFESSES! ... yes, that's just the mischief of it. Its
+professions are not worth a groat. It PROFESSES to be one thing
+while anybody with eyes can see that it actually is another! The
+old style of aristocrat and gentleman is dying out,--the new style
+is the horsey lord, the betting Duke, the coal-dealing Earl, the
+stock-broking Viscount! Trade is a very excellent thing,--a very
+necessary and important thing,--but its influence is distinctly
+NOT refining. I have the greatest respect for my cheesemonger, for
+instance (and he has an equal respect for me, since he has found
+that I know the difference between real butter and butterine), but
+all the same I don't want to see him in Parliament. I am arrogant
+enough to believe that I, even I, having studied somewhat, know
+more about the country's interest than he does. I view it by the
+light of ancient and modern historical evidence,--he views it
+according to the demand it makes on his cheese. We may both be
+narrow and limited in judgment,--nevertheless, I think, with all
+due modesty, that HIS judgment is likely to be more limited than
+mine. But it's no good talking about it,--this dear old land is
+given up to a sort of ignorant democracy, which only needs time to
+become anarchy, . . and we haven't got a strong man among us who
+dares speak out the truth of the inevitable disasters looming
+above us all. And society is not only vulgar, but demoralized,--
+moreover, what is worse is, that, aided by its preachers and
+teachers, it is sinking into deeper depths of demoralization with
+every passing month and year of time."
+
+Alwyn leaned hack in his chair thoughtfully, a sorrowful
+expression clouding his face.
+
+"Surely things are not so bad as they seem, Villiers,"--he said
+gently--"Are you not taking a pessimistic view of affairs?"
+
+"Not at all!" and Villiers, warming with his subject, walked up
+and down the room excitedly ... "Nor am I judging by the narrow
+observation of any particular 'set' or circle. I look at the
+expressive visible outcome of the whole,--the plainly manifest
+signs of the threatening future. Of course there are ever so many
+good people,--earnest people,--thinking people,--but they are a
+mere handful compared to the overpowering millions opposed to
+them, and whose motto is 'Evil, be thou my good.' Now you, for
+instance, are full of splendid ideas, and lucid plans of check and
+reform,--you are seized with a passionate desire to do something
+great for the world, and you are ready to speak the truth
+fearlessly on all occasions. But just think of the enormous task
+it would be to stir to even half an inch of aspiring nobleness,
+the frightful mass of corruption in London to-day! In all trades
+and professions it is the same story,--everything is a question of
+GAIN. To begin with, look at the Church, the 'Pillar of the
+State!' There, all sorts of worthless, incompetent men are hastily
+thrust into livings by wealthy patrons who care not a jot as to
+whether they are morally or intellectually fit for their sacred
+mission,--and a disgraceful universal muddle is the result. From
+this muddle, which resembles a sort of stagnant pool, emerge the
+strangest fungus-growths,--clergymen who take to acting a
+'miracle-play,' ostensibly for the purposes of charity, but really
+to gratify their own tastes and leanings toward the mummer's art,
+--all the time utterly regardless of the effect their behavior is
+likely to have on the minds of the unthinking populace, who are
+led by the newspapers, and who read therein bantering inquiries as
+to whether the Church is coquetting with the Stage? whether the
+two are likely to become one? and whether Religion will in the
+future occupy no more serious consideration than the Drama? What
+is one to think, when one sees clerical notabilities seated in the
+stalls of a theatre complacently looking on at the representation
+of a 'society play' degrading in plot, repulsive in detail, and in
+nearly every case having to do with a married woman who indulges
+in a lover as a matter of course,--a play full of ambiguous side
+hits and equivocal jests, which, if the men of the Church were
+staunch to their vocation, they would be the first to condemn.
+Why, I saw the other day, in a fairly reliable journal, that some
+of these excellent 'divines' were going to start 'smoking
+sermons'--a sort of imitation of smoking concerts, I suppose,
+which are vile enough, in all conscience,--but to mix up religious
+matters with the selfish 'smoke mania' is viler still. I say that
+any clergyman who will allow men to smoke in his presence, while
+he is preaching sacred doctrine, is a coarse cad, and ought to be
+hounded out of the Church!"
+
+He paused, his face flushing with vigorous, righteous wrath.
+Alwyn's eyes grew dark with an infinite pain. His thoughts always
+fled back to his Dream of Al-Kyris, with a tendency to draw
+comparisons between the Past and the Present. The religion of that
+long-buried city had been mere mummery and splendid outward show,
+--what was the religion of London? He moved restlessly.
+
+"How all the warnings of history repeat themselves!" he said
+suddenly.. "An age of mockery, sham sentiment, and irreverence has
+always preceded a downfall,--can it be possible that we are
+already receiving hints of the downfall of England?"
+
+"Aye, not only of England, but of a good many other nations
+besides," said Villiers--"or if not actual downfall, change and
+terrific upheaval. France and England particularly are the prey of
+the Demon of Realism,--and all the writers who SHOULD use their
+pens to inspire and elevate the people, assist in degrading them.
+When their books are not obscene, they are blasphemous. Russia,
+too, joins in the cry of Realism!--Realism! ... Let us have the
+filth of the gutters, the scourgings of dustholes, the corruption
+of graves, the odors of malaria, the howlings of drunkards, the
+revellings of sensualists, . . the worst side of the world in its
+vilest aspect, which is the only REAL aspect of those who are
+voluntarily vile! Let us see to what a reeking depth of
+unutterable shameless brutality man can fall if he chooses--not as
+formerly, when it was shown to what glorious heights of noble
+supremacy he could rise! For in this age, the heights are called
+'transcendental folly'--and the reeking depths are called
+Realism!"
+
+"And yet what IS Realism really?" queried Alwyn.--"Does anybody
+know? ... It is supposed to be the actuality of everyday
+existence, without any touch of romance or pathos to soften its
+frequently hideous Commonplace; but the fact is, the Commonplace
+is not the Real. The highest flights of imagination in the human
+being fail to grasp the Reality of the splendors everywhere
+surrounding him,--and, viewed rightly, Realism would become
+Romance and Romance Realism. We see a ragged woman in the streets
+picking up scraps for her daily food, . . that is what we may call
+realistic,--but we are not looking at the ACTUAL woman, after all!
+We cannot see her Inner Self, or form any certain comprehension of
+the possible romance or tragedy which that Inner Self HAS
+experienced, or IS experiencing. We see the outer Appearance of
+the woman, but what of that? ... The REALISM of the suffering
+creature's hidden history lies beyond us,--so far beyond us that
+it is called ROMANCE, because it seems so impossible to fathom or
+understand."
+
+"True, most absolutely true!" said Villiers emphatically--"But it
+is a truth you will get very few to admit! ... Everything to-day
+is in a state of substantiality and sham;--we have even sham
+Realism, as well as sham sentiment, sham religion, sham art, sham
+morality. We have a Parliament that sits and jabbers lengthy
+platitudes that lead to nothing, while Army and Navy are slowly
+slipping into a state of helpless desuetude, and the mutterings of
+discontented millions are almost unregarded; the spectre of
+Revolution, assuming somewhat of the shape in which it appalled
+the French in 1789, is dimly approaching in the distance, . . even
+our London County Council hears the far-off, faint shadow of a
+very prosaic resemblance to the National Assembly of that era, . .
+and our weak efforts to cure cureless grievances, and to deafen
+our ears to crying evils, are very similar to the clumsy attempts
+made by Louis XVI. and his partisans to botch up a terribly bad
+business. Oh, the people, the people! ... They are unquestionably
+the flesh, blood, bone, and sinew of the country,--and the English
+people, say what sneerers will to the contrary, are a GOOD
+people,--patient, plodding, forbearing, strong, and, on the whole,
+most equable-tempered,--but their teachers teach them wrongly, and
+confuse their brains instead of clearing them, and throw a weight
+of Compulsory Education at their heads, without caring how they
+may use it, or how such a blow from the clenched fist of Knowledge
+may stupefy and bewilder them, . . and the consequence is that now,
+were a strong man to arise, with a lucid brain, an eloquent power
+of expressing truth, a great sympathy with his kind, and an
+immense indifference to his own fate in the contest, he could lead
+this vast, waiting, wandering, growling, hydra-headed London
+wheresoever he would!"
+
+"What an orator you are, Villiers!".. said Alwyn, with a half-
+smile. "I never heard you come out so strongly before!"
+
+"My dear fellow," replied Villiers, in a calmer tone--"it's enough
+to make any man with warm blood in his veins FEEL! Everywhere
+signs of weakness, cowardice, compromise, hesitation, vacillation,
+incompetency, and everywhere, in thoughtful minds, the keen sense
+of a Fate advancing like the giant in the seven-leagued boots, at
+huge strides every day. The ponderous Law and the solid Police hem
+us in on each side, as though the nation were a helpless infant,
+toddling between two portly nurses,--we dare not denounce a
+scoundrel and liar, but must needs put up with him, lest we should
+be involved in an action for libel; and we dare not knock down a
+vulgar bully, lest we should be given in charge for assault.
+Hence, liars, and scoundrels, and vulgar bullies abound, and men
+skulk and grin, and play the double-face, till they lose all
+manfulness. Society sits smirking foolishly on the top of a
+smouldering volcano,--and the chief Symbols of greatness among us,
+Religion, Poesy, Art, are burning as feebly as tapers in the
+catacombs, . . the Church resembles a drudge, who, tired of routine,
+is gradually sinking into laziness and inertia, . . and the Press!
+... ye gods! ... the Press!"
+
+Here speech seemed to fail him,--he threw himself into a chair,
+and, to relieve his mind, kicked away the advertisement sheet of
+the morning's newspaper with so much angry vehemence that Alwyn
+laughed outright.
+
+"What ails you now, Villiers?" he demanded mirthfully.. "You are a
+regular fire-eater--a would-be Crusader against a modern Saracen
+host! Why are you choked with such seemingly unutterable wrath!
+... what of the Press? ... it is at any rate free."
+
+"Free!" cried Villiers, sitting bolt upright and shooting out the
+word like a bullet from a gun,--"Free? ... the Press? It is the
+veriest bound slave that was ever hampered by the chains of party
+prejudice,--and the only attempt at freedom it ever makes in its
+lower grades is an occasional outbreak into scurrility! And yet
+think what a majestic power for good the true, REAL Liberty of the
+Press might wield over the destinies of nations! Broadly viewed,
+the Press should be the strong, practical, helping right hand of
+civilization, dealing out equal justice, equal sympathy, equal
+instruction,--it should be the fosterer of the arts and sciences,
+--the everyday guide of the morals and culture of the people,--it
+should not specially advocate any cause save Honor,--it should be
+as far as possible the unanimous voice of the Nation. It SHOULD
+be,--but what IS it? Look round and judge for yourself. Every
+daily paper panders more or less to the lowest tastes of the mob,
+--while if the higher sentiments of man are not actually sneered
+at, they are made a subject for feeble surprise, or vapid 'gush.'
+An act of heroic unselfishness meets with such a cackling chorus
+of amazed, half-bantering approval from the leading-article
+writers, that one is forced to accept the suggestion implied,--
+namely that to BE heroic or unselfish is evidently an outbreak of
+noble instinct that is entirely unexpected and remarkable,--nay,
+even eccentric and inexplicable! The spirit of mockery pervades
+everything,--and while the story of a murder is allowed to occupy
+three and four columns of print, the account of some great
+scientific discovery, or the report of some famous literary or
+artistic achievement is squeezed into a few lukewarm and
+unsatisfactory lines. I have seen a female paragraphist's idiotic
+description of an actress's gown allowed to take more space in a
+journal than the review of a first-class book! Moreover, if an
+honest man, desirous of giving vent to an honest opinion on some
+crying abuse of the day, were to set forth that opinion in letter
+form and try to get it published in a leading and important
+newspaper, the chances are ten to one that it would never he
+inserted, unless he happened to know the editor, or one of the
+staff, and perhaps not even then, because, mark you! his opinion
+MUST be in accordance with the literary editor's opinion, or it
+will be considered of no value to the world! Consider THAT
+gigantic absurdity! ... consider, that when we read our newspapers
+we are not learning the views of Europe on a certain point,--we
+are absorbing the ideas of the EDITOR, to whom everything must be
+submitted before insertion in the oracular columns we pin our
+faith on! Thus it is that criticism,--literary criticism, at any
+rate,--is a lost art,--YOU know that. A man must either be dead
+(or considered dead) or in a 'clique' to receive any open
+encouragement at all from the so-called 'crack' critics. And the
+cliquey men are generally such stupendous bigots for their own
+particular and restricted form of 'style.' Anything new they
+hate,--anything daring they treat with ridicule. Some of them have
+no hesitation in saying they prefer Matthew Arnold (remember he's
+dead!) to Tennyson and Swinburne (as yet living).. while, as a
+fact, if we are to go by the high standards of poetical art left
+us by Shakespeare, Keats, Shelley, and Byron, Matthew Arnold is
+about the very tamest, most unimaginative, bald bard that ever
+kindled a lucifer match of verse and fancied it the fire of
+Apollo! It's utterly impossible to get either a just or broad view
+of literature out of cliques,--and the Press, like many of our
+other 'magnificent' institutions, is working entirely on a wrong
+system. But who is going to be wise, or strong, or diplomatic
+enough to reform it? ... No one, at present,--and we shall jog
+along, and read up the details of vice in our dailies and
+weeklies, till we almost lose the savor of virtue, and till the
+last degraded end comes of it all, and blatant young America
+thrones herself on the shores of Britain and sends her eagle
+screech of conquest echoing over Old World and New."
+
+"Don't think it, Villiers!" exclaimed Alwyn impetuously.. "There
+is a mettle in the English that will never be conquered!"
+
+Villiers shrugged his shoulders. "We will hope so, my dear boy!"
+he said resignedly. "But the 'mettle' under bad government, with
+bad weapons, and more or less untried ships, can scarcely be
+blamed if it should not be able to resist a tremendous force
+majeure. Besides, all the Parliaments in the world cannot upset
+the laws of the universe. If things are false and corrupt, they
+MUST be swept away,--Nature will not have them,--she will
+transmute and transform them somehow, no matter at what cost. It
+is the cry of the old Prophets over again,--'Because ye have not
+obeyed God's Law, therefore shall ye meet with destruction.'
+Egoism is certainly NOT God's Law, and we shall have to return on
+our imagined progressive steps, and be beaten with rods of
+affliction, till we understand what His Law IS. It is, for one
+thing, the wheel that keeps this Universe going--OUR laws are no
+use whatever in the management of His sublime cosmos! Nations,
+like individuals, are punished for their own wilful misdeeds--the
+punishment may be tardy, but sure as death it comes. And I fancy
+America will be our 'scourge in the Lord's hand'--as the Bible
+hath it. That pretty, dollar-crusted young Republican wants an
+aristocracy, . . she will engraft it on the old roots here,--in
+fact, she has already begun to engraft it. It is even on the cards
+that she may need a Monarchy--if she does, she will plant it..
+HERE! Then it will be time for Englishmen to adopt another
+country, and forget, if they can, their own disgraced nationality.
+And yet, if, as Shakespeare says, England were to herself but
+true,--if she had great statesmen as of yore,--intellectual,
+earnest, self-abnegating, fearless, unhesitating workers, who
+would devote themselves heart and soul to her welfare, she might
+gather, not only her Colonies, but America also, to her knee, as a
+mother gathers children, and the most magnificent Christian Empire
+the world has ever seen might rise up, a supreme marvel of
+civilization and union that would make all other nations wonder
+and revere. But the selfishness of the day, and the ruling passion
+of gain, are the fatal obstructions in the path of such a
+desirable millennium."
+
+He ended abruptly--he had unburdened his mind to one who he knew
+understood him and sympathized with him, and he turned to the
+perusal of some letters just received.
+
+The two friends were sitting that morning in the breakfast-room,--
+a charming little octagonal apartment, looking out on a small,
+very small garden, which, despite the London atmosphere, looked
+just now very bright with tastefully arranged parterres of white
+and yellow crocuses, mingled with the soft blue of the dainty
+hepatica,--that frank-faced little blossom which seems to express
+such an honest confidence in the goodness of God's sky. A few
+sparrows of dissipated appearance were bathing their sooty plumes
+in a pool of equally sooty water left in the garden as a token of
+last night's rain, and they splashed and twittered and debated and
+fussed with each other concerning their ablutions, with almost as
+much importance as could have been displayed by the effeminate
+Romans of the Augustan era when disporting themselves in their
+sumptuous Thermae. Alwyn's eyes rested on them unseeingly,--his
+thoughts were very far away from all his surroundings. Before his
+imagination rose a Gehenna-like picture of the world in which he
+had to live,--the world of fashion and form and usage,--the world
+he was to try and rouse to a sense of better things. A Promethean
+task indeed! to fill human life with new symbols of hope,--to set
+up a white standard of faith amid the swift rushing on and
+reckless tramping down of desperate battle,--to pour out on all,
+rich or poor, worthy or unworthy, the divine-born balm of
+Sympathy, which, when given freely and sincerely from man to man,
+serves often as a check to vice--a silent, yet all eloquent,
+rebuke to crime,--and can more easily instill into refractory
+intelligences things of God and desires for good, than any
+preacher's argument, no matter how finely worded. To touch the
+big, wayward, BETTER heart of Humanity! ... could he in very truth
+do it? ... Or was the work too vast for his ability? Tormented by
+various cross-currents of feeling, he gave vent to a troubled sigh
+and looked dubiously at his friend.
+
+"In such a state of things as you describe, Villiers," he aid,
+"what a useless unit _I_ am! A Poet!--who wants me in this age of
+Sale and Barter? ... Is not a producer of poems always considered
+more or less of a fool nowadays, no matter how much his works may
+be in fashion for the moment? I am sure, in spite of the success
+of 'Nourhalma,' that the era of poetry has passed; and, moreover,
+it certainly seems to have given place to the very baldest and
+most unbeauteous forms of prose! As, for instance, if a book is
+written which contains what is called 'poetic prose' the critics
+are all ready to denounce it as 'turgid,' 'overladen,' 'strained
+for effect,' and 'hysterical sublime.' Heine's Reisebilder, which
+is one of the most exquisite poems in prose ever given to the
+world, is nearly incomprehensible to the majority of English
+minds; so much so, indeed, that the English translators in their
+rendering of it have not only lost the delicate glamour of its
+fairy-like fancifulness, but have also blunted all the fine points
+of its dazzling sarcasm and wealth of imagery. It is evident
+enough that the larger mass of people prefer mediocrity to high
+excellence, else such a number of merely mediocre works of art
+would not, and could not, be tolerated. And as long as mediocrity
+is permitted to hold ground, it is almost an impossibility to do
+much toward raising the standard of literature. The few who love
+the best authors are as a mere drop in the ocean of those who not
+only choose the worst, but who also fail to see any difference
+between good and bad."
+
+"True enough!" assented Villiers,--"Still the 'few' you speak of
+are worth all the rest. For the 'few' Homer wrote,--Plato, Marcus
+Aurelius, Epictetus,--and the 'few' are capable of teaching the
+majority, if they will only set about it rightly. But at present
+they are setting about it wrongly. All children are taught to
+read, but no child is guided in WHAT to read. This is like giving
+a loaded gun to a boy and saying, 'Shoot away! ... No matter in
+which direction you point your aim, . . shoot yourself if you like,
+and others too,--anyhow, you've GOT the gun!' Of course there are
+a few fellows who have occasionally drawn up a list of books as
+suitable for everybody's perusal,--but then these lists cannot be
+taken as true criterions, as they all differ from one another as
+much as church sects. One would-be instructor in the art of
+reading says we ought all to study 'Tom Jones'--now I don't see
+the necessity of THAT! And, oddly enough, these lists scarcely
+ever include the name of a poet,--which is the absurdest mistake
+ever made. A liberal education in the highest works of poesy is
+absolutely necessary to the thinking abilities of man. But, Alwyn,
+YOU need not trouble yourself about what is good for the million
+and what isn't, . . whatever you write is sure to be read NOW--
+you've got the ear of the public,--the 'fair, large ear' of the
+ass's head which disguises Bottom the Weaver, who frankly says of
+himself, 'I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I
+must scratch!'"
+
+Alwyn smiled. He was thinking of what his Shadow-Self had said on
+this very subject--"A book or poem, to be great, and keep its
+greatness hereafter, must be judged by the natural instinct of
+PEOPLES. This world-wide decision has never yet been, and never
+will be, hastened by any amount of written criticism,--it is the
+responsive beat of the enormous Pulse of Life that thrills through
+all mankind, high and low, gentle and simple,--its great throbs
+are slow and solemnly measured, yet if once it answers to a Poet's
+touch, that Poet's name is made glorious forever!" He.. in the
+character of Sah-luma.. had seemed to utter these sentiments many
+ages ago,--and now the words repeated themselves in his thoughts
+with a new and deep intensity of meaning.
+
+"Of course," added Villiers suddenly--"you must expect plenty of
+adverse criticism now, as it is known beyond all doubt that you
+are alive and able to read what is written concerning you,--but if
+you once pay attention to critics, you may as well put aside pen
+altogether, as it is the business of these worthies never to be
+entirely satisfied with anything. Even Shelley and Byron, in the
+critical capacity, abused Keats, till the poor, suffering youth,
+who promised to be greater then either of them, died of a broken
+heart as much as disease. This sort of injustice will go on to the
+end of time, or till men become more Christianized than Paul's
+version of Christianity has ever yet made them."
+
+Here a knock at the door interrupted the conversation. The servant
+entered, bringing a note gorgeously crested and coroneted in gold.
+Villiers, to whom it was addressed, opened and read it.
+
+"What shall we do about this?" he asked, when his man had retired.
+"It is an invitation from the Duchess de la Santoisie. She asks us
+to go and dine with her next week,--a party of twenty--reception
+afterward. I think we'd better accept,--what do you say?"
+
+Alwyn roused himself from his reverie. "Anything to please you, my
+dear boy!" he answered cheerfully--"But I haven't the faintest
+idea who the Duchess de la Santoisie is!"
+
+"No? ... Well, she's an Englishwoman who has married a French
+Duke. He is a delightful old fellow, the pink of courtesy, and the
+model of perfect egotism. A true Parisian, and of course an
+atheist,--a very polished atheist, too, with a most charming
+reliance on his own infallibility. His wife writes novels which
+have a SLIGHT leaning toward Zolaism,--she is an extremely witty
+woman sarcastic, and cold-blooded enough to be a female
+Robespierre, yet, on the whole, amusing as a study of what curious
+nondescript forms the feminine nature can adopt unto itself, if it
+chooses. She has an immense respect for GENIUS,--mind, I say
+genius advisedly, because she really is one of those rare few who
+cannot endure mediocrity. Everything at her house is the best of
+its kind, and the people she entertains are the best of theirs.
+Her welcome of you will be at any rate a sincerely admiring one,--
+and as I think, in spite of your desire for quiet, you will have
+to show yourself somewhere, it may as well be there."
+
+Alwyn looked dubious, and not at all resigned to the prospect of
+"showing himself."
+
+"Your description of her does not strike me as particularly
+attractive,"--he said--"I cannot endure that nineteenth-century
+hermaphroditic production, a mannish woman."
+
+"Oh but she isn't altogether mannish,"--declared Villiers, . .
+"Besides, I mustn't forget to add, that she is extremely
+beautiful."
+
+Alwyn shrugged his shoulders indifferently. His friend noticed the
+gesture and laughed.
+
+"Still impervious to beauty, old boy?"--he said gayly--"You always
+were, I remember!"
+
+Alwyn flushed a little, and rose from his chair.
+
+"Not always,"--he answered steadily,--"There have been times in my
+life when the beauty of women,--mere physical beauty--has
+exercised great influence over me. But I have lately learned how a
+fair face may sometimes mask a foul mind,--and unless I can see
+the SUBSTANCE of Soul looking through the SEMBLANCE of Body, then
+I know that the beauty I SEEM to behold is mere Appearance, and
+not Reality. Hence, unless your beautiful Duchess be like the
+'King's daughter' of David's psalm, 'all glorious WITHIN'--her
+APPARENT loveliness will have no charm for me!--Now"--and he
+smiled, and spoke in a less serious tone.. "if you have no
+objection, I am off to my room to scribble for an hour or so. Come
+for me if you want me--you know I don't in the least mind being
+disturbed."
+
+But Villiers detained him a moment, and looked inquisitively at
+him full in the eyes.
+
+"You've got some singular new attraction about you, Alwyn,"--he
+said, with a strange sense of keen inward excitement as he met his
+friend's calm yet flashing glance,--"Something mysterious, . .
+something that COMPELS! What is it? ... I believe that visit of
+yours to the Ruins of Babylon had a more important motive than you
+will admit, . . moreover.. I believe you are in love!"
+
+"IN love!"--Alwyn laughed a little as he repeated the words..
+"What a foolish term that is when you come to think of it! For to
+be IN love suggests the possibility of getting OUT again,--which,
+if love be true, can never happen. Say that I LOVE!--and you will
+be nearer the mark! Now don't look so mystified, and don't ask me
+any more questions just now--to-night, when we are sitting
+together in the library, I'll tell you the whole story of my
+Babylonian adventure!"
+
+And with a light parting wave of the hand he left the room, and
+Villiers heard him humming a tune softly to himself as he ascended
+the stairs to his own apartments, where, ever since he arrived, he
+had made it his custom to do two or three hours' steady writing
+every morning. For a moment or so after he had gone Villiers stood
+lost in thought, with knitted brows and meditative eyes, then,
+rousing himself, he went on to his study, and sitting down at his
+desk wrote an answer to the Duchess de la Santoisie accepting her
+invitation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+REWARDS OF FAME.
+
+
+An habitual resident in London who is gifted with a keen faculty
+of hearing and observation, will soon learn to know instinctively
+the various characteristics of the people who call upon him, by
+the particular manner in which each one handles his door-bell or
+knocker. He will recognize the timid from the bold, the modest
+from the arrogant, the meditative thinker from the bustling man of
+fashion, the familiar friend from the formal acquaintance. Every
+individual's method of announcing his or her arrival to the
+household is distinctly different,--and Villiers, who studied a
+little of everything, had not failed to take note of the curiously
+diversified degrees of single and double rapping by means of which
+his visitors sought admittance to his abode. In fact, he rather
+prided himself on being able to guess with almost invariable
+correctness what special type of man or woman was at his door,
+provided he could hear the whole diapason of their knock from
+beginning to end. When he was shut in his "den," however, the
+sounds were muffled by distance, and he could form no just
+judgment,--sometimes, indeed, he did not hear them at all,
+especially if he happened to be playing his 'cello at the time. So
+that this morning he was considerably startled, when, having
+finished his letter to the Duchess de la Santoisie, a long and
+persistent rat-tat-tatting echoed noisily through the house, like
+the smart, quick blows of a carpenter's hammer--a species of knock
+that was entirely unfamiliar to him, and that, while so emphatic
+in character, suggested to his mind neither friend nor foe. He
+laid down his pen, listened and waited. In a minute or two his
+servant entered the room.
+
+"If you please, sir, a lady to see Mr. Alwyn. Shall I show her
+up?"
+
+Villiers rose slowly out of his chair, and stood eyeing his man in
+blank bewilderment.
+
+"A LADY! ... To see Mr. Alwyn!"--he repeated, his thoughts
+instantly reverting to his friend's vaguely hinted love-affair,--
+"What name?"
+
+"She gives no name, sir. She says it isn't needed,--Mr. Alwyn will
+know who she is."
+
+"Mr. Alwyn will know who she is, will he?" murmured Villiers
+dubiously.--"What is she like? Young and pretty?"
+
+Over the man-servant's staid countenance came the glimmer of a
+demure, respectful smile.
+
+"Oh no, sir,--not young, sir! A person about fifty, I should say."
+
+This was mystifying. A person about fifty! Who could she be?
+Villiers hastily considered,--there must be some mistake, he
+thought,--at any rate, he would see the unknown intruder himself
+first, and find out what her business was, before breaking in upon
+Alwyn's peaceful studies upstairs.
+
+"Show the lady in here"--he said--"I can't disturb Mr. Alwyn just
+now."
+
+The servant retired, and soon re-appeared, ushering in a tall,
+gaunt, black-robed female, who walked with the stride of a dragoon
+and the demeanor of a police-inspector, and who, merely nodding
+briskly in response to Villiers's amazed bow, selected with one
+comprehensive glance the most comfortable chair in the room, and
+seated herself at ease therein. She then put up her veil,
+displaying a long, narrow face, cold, pale, arrogant eyes, a nose
+inclined to redness at the tip, and a thin, close-set mouth lined
+with little sarcastic wrinkles, which came into prominent and
+unbecoming play as soon as she began to speak, which she did
+almost immediately.
+
+"I suppose I had better introduce myself to you, Mr. Alwyn"--she
+said with a condescending and confident air--"Though really we
+know each other so well by reputation that there seems scarcely
+any necessity for it! Of course you have heard of 'Tiger-Lily!'"
+
+Villiers gazed at her helplessly,--he had never felt so
+uncomfortable in all his life. Here was a strange woman, who had
+actually taken bodily possession of his apartment as though it
+were her own,--who had settled herself down in his particular pet
+Louis Quatorze chair,--who stared at him with the scrutinizing
+complacency of a professional physiognomist,--and who seemed to
+think no explanation of her extraordinary conduct was necessary,
+inasmuch as "of course" he, Villiers, had heard of "TIGER-LILY!"
+It was very singular! ... almost like madness! ... Perhaps she WAS
+mad! How could he tell? She had a remarkably high, knobby brow,--a
+brow with an unpleasantly bald appearance, owing to the
+uncompromising way in which her hair was brushed well off it--he
+had seen such brows before in certain "spiritualists" who
+believed, or pretended to believe, in the suddenly willed
+dematerialization of matter, and THEY were mad, he knew, or else
+very foolishly feigning madness!
+
+Endeavoring to compose his bewildered mind, he fixed glass in eye,
+and regarded her through it with an inquiring solemnity,--he would
+have spoken, but before he could utter a word, she went on
+rapidly:
+
+"You are not in the least like the person I imagined you to be!
+... However, that doesn't matter. Literary celebrities are always
+so different to what we expect!"
+
+"Pardon me, madam,"--began Villiers politely.. "You are making a
+slight error,--my servant probably did not explain. I am not Mr.
+Alwyn, . . my name is Villiers. Mr. Alwyn is my guest,--but he is at
+present very much occupied,--and unless your business is extremely
+urgent..."
+
+"Certainly it is urgent"--said the lady decisively.. "otherwise I
+should not have come. And so you are NOT Mr. Alwyn! Well, I
+thought you couldn't be! Now then, will you have the kindness to
+tell Mr. Alwyn I am here?"
+
+By this time Villiers had recovered his customary self-possession,
+and he met her commanding glance with a somewhat defiant coolness.
+
+"I am not aware to whom I have the honor of speaking," he said
+frigidly. "Perhaps you will oblige me with your name?"
+
+"My name doesn't in the least matter," she replied calmly--"though
+I will tell you afterward if you wish. But you don't seem to
+understand I..._I_ am 'Tiger-Lily'!"
+
+The situation was becoming ludicrous. Villiers felt strongly
+disposed to laugh.
+
+"I'm afraid I am very ignorant!"--he said, with a humorous sparkle
+in his blue eyes,--"But really I am quite in the dark as to your
+meaning. Will you explain?"
+
+The lady's nose grew deeper of tint, and the look she shot at him
+had quite a killing vindictiveness. With evident difficulty she
+forced a smile.
+
+"Oh, you MUST have heard of me!"--she declared, with a ponderous
+attempt at playfulness--"You read the papers, don't you?"
+
+"Some of them," returned Villiers cautiously--"Not all. Not the
+Sunday ones, for instance."
+
+"Still, you can't possibly have helped seeing my descriptions of
+famous people 'At Home,' you know! I write for ever so many
+journals. I think"--and she became complacently reflective--"I
+think I may say with perfect truth that I have interviewed
+everybody who has ever done anything worth noting, from our
+biggest provision dealer to our latest sensational novelist! And
+all my articles are signed 'Tiger-Lily.' NOW do you remember? Oh,
+you MUST remember? ... I am so VERY well known!"
+
+There was a touch of genuine anxiety in her voice that was almost
+pathetic, but Villiers made no attempt to soothe her wounded
+vanity.
+
+"I have no recollection whatever of the name," he said bluntly--
+"But that is easily accounted for, as I never read newspaper
+descriptions of celebrities. So you are an 'interviewer' for the
+Press?"
+
+"Exactly!" and the lady leaned back more comfortably in the Louis
+Quatorze fauteuil--"And of course I want to interview Mr. Alwyn. I
+want..." here drawing out a business looking note-book from her
+pocket she opened it and glanced at the different headings therein
+enumerated,--"I want to describe his personal appearance,--to know
+when he was born, and where he was educated,--whether his father
+or mother had literary tastes,--whether he had, or has, brothers
+or sisters, or both,--whether he is married, or likely to be, and
+how much money he has made by his book." She paused and gave an
+upward glance at Villiers, who returned it with a blank and stony
+stare.
+
+"Then,"--she resumed energetically--"I wish to know what are his
+methods of work;--WHERE he gets his ideas and HOW he elaborates
+them,--how many hours he writes at a time, and whether he is an
+early riser,--also what he usually takes for dinner,--whether he
+drinks wine or is a total abstainer, and at what hour he retires
+to rest. All this is so INTENSELY interesting to the public!
+Perhaps he might be inclined to give me a few notes of his recent
+tour in the East, and of course I should be very glad if he will
+state his opinions on the climate, customs, and governments of the
+countries through which he has passed. It's a great pity this is
+not his own house,--it is a pretty place and a description of it
+would read well. Let me see!"--and she meditated,--" I think I
+could manage to insert a few lines about this apartment, . . it
+would be easy to say 'the picturesque library in the house of the
+Honble. Francis Villiers, where Mr. Alwyn received me,' etc.,--
+Yes! that would do very well!--very well indeed! I should like to
+know whether he has a residence of his own anywhere, and if not,
+whether he intends to take one in London, because in the latter
+case it would be as well to ascertain by whom he intends to have
+it furnished. A little discussion on upholstery is so specially
+fascinating to my readers! Then, naturally, I am desirous to learn
+how the erroneous rumor of his death was first started, . . whether
+in the course of his travels he met with some serious accident, or
+illness, which gave rise to the report. Now,"--and she shut her
+note-book and folded her hands,--"I don't mind waiting an hour or
+more if necessary,--but I am sure if you will tell Mr. Alwyn who I
+am, and what I have come for, he will be only too delighted to see
+me with as little delay as possible."
+
+She ceased. Villiers drew a long breath,--his compressed lips
+parted in a slightly sarcastic smile. Squaring his shoulders with
+that peculiar pugnacious gesture of his which always indicated to
+those who knew him well that his mind was made up, and that
+nothing would induce him to alter it, he said in a tone of stiff
+civility:
+
+"I am sorry, madam, . . very sorry! ... but I am compelled to inform
+you that your visit here is entirely useless! Were I to tell my
+friend of the purpose you have in view concerning him, he would
+not feel so much flattered as you seem to imagine, but rather
+insulted! Excuse my frankness,--you have spoken plainly,--I must
+speak plainly too. Provision dealers and sensational story writers
+may find that it serves their purpose to be interviewed, if only
+as a means of gaining extra advertisement, but a truly great and
+conscientious author like Theos Alwyn is quite above all that sort
+of thing."
+
+The lady raised her pale eyebrows with an expression of
+interrogative scorn.
+
+"ABOVE all that sort of thing!" she echoed incredulously--"Dear
+me! How very extraordinary! I have always found all our
+celebrities so exceedingly pleased to be given a little additional
+notoriety! ... and I should have thought a POET," this with much
+depreciative emphasis--"would have been particularly glad of the
+chance! Because, of course you know that unless a very astonishing
+success is made, as in the case of Mr. Alwyn's 'Nourhalma,' people
+really take such slight interest in writers of verse, that it is
+hardly ever worth while interviewing them!"
+
+"Precisely!" agreed Villiers ironically,--"The private history of
+a prize-fighter would naturally be much more thrilling!" He
+paused,--his temper was fast rising, but, quickly reflecting that,
+after all, the indignation he felt was not so much against his
+visitor as against the system she represented, he resumed quietly,
+"May I ask you, madam, whether you have ever 'interviewed' Her
+Majesty the Queen?"
+
+Her glance swept slightingly over him.
+
+"Certainly not! Such a thing would be impossible!"
+
+"Then you have never thought," went on Villiers, with a thrill of
+earnestness in his manly, vibrating voice--"that it might be quite
+as impossible to 'interview' a great Poet?--who, if great indeed,
+is in every way as royal as any Sovereign that ever adorned a
+throne! I do not speak of petty verse-writers,--I say a great
+Poet, by which term I imply a great creative genius who is
+honestly faithful to his high vocation. Such an one could no more
+tell you his methods of work than a rainbow could prattle about
+the way it shines,--and as for his personal history, I should like
+to know by what right society is entitled to pry into the sacred
+matters of a man's private life, simply because he happens to be
+famous? I consider the modern love of prying and probing into
+other people's affairs a most degrading and abominable sign of the
+times,--it is morbid, unwholesome, and utterly contemptible.
+Moreover, I think that writers who consent to be 'interviewed'
+condemn themselves as literary charlatans, unworthy of the
+profession they have wrongfully adopted. You see I have the
+courage of my opinions on this matter,--in fact, I believe, if
+every one were to speak their honest mind openly, a better state
+of things might be the result, and 'interviewing' would gradually
+come to be considered in its true light, namely, as a vulgar and
+illegitimate method of advertisement. I mean no disrespect to you,
+madam,"--this, as the lady suddenly put down her veil, thrust her
+note-book in her pocket, and rose somewhat bouncingly from her
+chair--"I am only sorry you should find such an occupation as that
+of the 'interviewer' open to you. I can scarcely imagine such work
+to be congenial to a lady's feelings, as, in the case of really
+distinguished personages, she must assuredly meet with many a
+rebuff! I hope I have not offended you by my bluntness, ... "--
+here he trailed off into inaudible polite murmurs, while the
+"Tiger-Lily" marched steadily toward the door.
+
+"Oh dear, no, I am not in the least offended!" she retorted
+contemptuously,--"On the contrary, this has been a most amusing
+experience!--most amusing, I assure you! and quite unique! Why--"
+and suddenly stopping short, she turned smartly round and
+gesticulated with one hand ... "I have interviewed all the
+favorite actors and actresses in London! The biggest brewers in
+Great Britain have received me at their country mansions, and have
+given me all the particulars of their lives from earliest
+childhood! The author of 'Hugger Mugger's Curse' took the greatest
+pains to explain to me how he first collected the materials for
+his design. The author of that most popular story, 'Darling's
+Twins,' gave me a description of all the houses he has ever lived
+in,--he even told me where he purchased his writing-paper, pens,
+and ink! And to think that a POET should be too grand to be
+interrogated! Oh, the idea is really very funny! ... quite too
+funny for anything! "She gave a short laugh,--then relapsing into
+severity, she added ... "You will, I hope, tell Mr. Alwyn I
+called?"
+
+Villiers bowed. "Assuredly!"
+
+"Thank you! Because it is possible he may have different opinions
+to yours,--in that case, if he writes me a line, fixing an
+appointment, I shall be very pleased to call again. I will leave
+my card,--and if Mr. Alwyn is a sensible man, he will certainly
+hold broader ideas on the subject of 'interviewing' than YOU
+appear to entertain. You are QUITE sure I cannot see him?"
+
+"Quite!"--There was no mistake about the firm emphasis of this
+reply.
+
+"Oh, very well!"--here she opened the door, rattling the handle
+with rather an unnecessary violence,--"I'm sorry to have taken up
+any of your time, Mr. Villiers. Good-morning!"
+
+"Good-morning!" ... returned Villiers calmly, touching the bell
+that his servant might be in readiness to show her out. But the
+baffled "Tiger-Lily" was not altogether gone. She looked back, her
+face wrinkling into one of those strangely unbecoming expressions
+of grim playfulness.
+
+"I've half a mind to make an 'At Home' out of YOU!" she said,
+nodding at him energetically. "Only you're not important enough!"
+
+Villiers burst out laughing. He was not proof against this touch
+of humor, and on a sudden good-natured impulse, sprang to the door
+and shook hands with her.
+
+"No, indeed, I am not!" he said, with a charming smile--"Think of
+it!--I haven't even invented a new biscuit! Come, let me see you
+into the hall,--I'm really sorry if I've spoken roughly, but I
+assure you Alwyn's not at all the sort of man you want for
+interviewing,--he's far too modest and noble-hearted. Believe me!
+--I'm not romancing a bit--I'm in earnest. There ARE some few fine,
+manly, gifted fellows left in the world, who do their work for the
+love of the work alone, and not for the sake of notoriety, and he
+is one of them. Now I'm not certain, if you were quite candid with
+me, you'd admit that you yourself don't think much of the people
+who actually LIKE to be interviewed?"
+
+His amiable glance, his kindly manner, took the gaunt female by
+surprise, and threw her quite off her guard. She laughed,--a
+natural, unforced laugh in which there was not a trace of
+bitterness. He was really a delightful young man, she thought, in
+spite of his old-fashioned, out-of-the-way notions!
+
+"Well, perhaps I don't!" she replied frankly--"But you see it is
+not my business to think about them at all. I simply 'interview'
+them,--and I generally find they are very willing, and often
+eager, to tell me all about themselves, even to quite trifling and
+unnecessary details. And, of course, each one thinks himself or
+herself the ONLY or the chief 'celebrity' in London, or, for that
+matter, in the world. I have always to tone down the egotistical
+part of it a little, especially with authors, for if I were to
+write out exactly what THEY separately say of their
+contemporaries, it would be simply frightful! They would be all at
+daggers drawn in no time! I assure you 'interviewing' is often a
+most delicate and difficult business!"
+
+"Would it were altogether impossible!" said Villiers heartily--
+"But as long as there is a plethora of little authors, and a
+scarcity of great ones, so long, I suppose, must it continue--for
+little men love notoriety, and great ones shrink from it, just in
+the same way that good women like flattery, while bad ones court
+it. I hope you don't bear me any grudge because I consider my
+friend Alwyn both good and great, and resent the idea of his being
+placed, no matter with what excellent intention soever, on the
+level of the small and mean?"
+
+The lady surveyed him with a twinkle of latent approval in her
+pale-colored eyes.
+
+"Not in the least!" she replied in a tone of perfect good-humor.
+"On the contrary, I rather admire your frankness! Still, I think,
+that as matters stand nowadays, you are very odd,--and I suppose
+your friend is odd too,--but, of course, there must be exceptions
+to every rule. At the same time, you should recollect that, in
+many people's opinion, to be 'interviewed' is one of the chiefest
+rewards of fame!--" Villiers shrugged his shoulders expressively.
+"Oh, yes, it seems a poor reward to you, no doubt,"--she continued
+smilingly,--"but there are no end of authors who would do anything
+to secure the notoriety of it! Now, suppose that, after all, Mr.
+Alwyn DOES care to submit to the operation, you will let me know,
+won't you?"
+
+"Certainly I will!"--and Villiers, accepting her card, on which
+was inscribed her own private name and address, shook hands once
+more, and bowed her courteously out. No sooner had the door closed
+upon her than he sprang upstairs, three steps at a time, and broke
+impetuously in upon Alwyn, who, seated at a table covered with
+papers, looked up with a surprised smile at the abrupt fashion of
+his entrance. In a few minutes he had disburdened himself of the
+whole story of the "Tiger-Lily's" visit, telling it in a whimsical
+way of his own, much to the amusement of his friend, who listened,
+pen in hand, with a half-laughing, half-perplexed light in his
+fine, poetic eyes.
+
+"Now did I express the proper opinion?" he demanded in conclusion.
+"Was I not right in thinking you would never consent to be
+interviewed?"
+
+"Right? Why of course you were!"--responded Alwyn quickly. "Can
+you imagine me calmly stating the details of my personal life and
+history to a strange woman, and allowing her to turn it into a
+half-guinea article for some society journal! But, Villiers, what
+an extraordinary state of things we are coming to, if the Press
+can actually condescend to employ a sort of spy, or literary
+detective, to inquire into the private experience of each man or
+woman who comes honorably to the front!"
+
+"Honorably or DIShonorably,--it doesn't matter which,"--said
+Villiers, "That is just the worst of it. One day it is an author
+who is 'interviewed,' the next it is a murderer,--now a
+statesman,--then a ballet dancer,--the same honor is paid to all
+who have won any distinct notoriety. And what is so absurd is,
+that the reading million don't seem able to distinguish between
+'notoriety' and 'fame.' The two things are so widely, utterly
+apart! Byron's reputation, for instance, was much more notoriety
+during his life than fame--while Keats had actually laid hold on
+fame while as yet deeming himself unfamous. It's curious, but
+true, nevertheless, that very often the writers who thought least
+of themselves during their lifetime have become the most
+universally renowned after their deaths. Shakespeare, I dare say,
+had no very exaggerated idea of the beauty of his own plays,--he
+seems to have written just the best that was in him, without
+caring what anybody thought of it. And I believe that is the only
+way to succeed in the end."
+
+"In the end!" repeated Alwyn dreamily--"In the end, no worldly
+success is worth attaining,--a few thousand years and the greatest
+are forgotten!"
+
+"Not the GREATEST,"--said Villiers warmly--"The greatest must
+always be remembered."
+
+"No, my friend!--Not even the greatest! Do you not think there
+must have been great and wise and gifted men in Tyre, in Sidon, in
+Carthage, in Babylon?--There are five men mentioned in Scripture,
+as being 'ready to write swiftly'--Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ecanus,
+and Ariel--where is the no doubt admirable work done by these?
+Perhaps ... who knows? ... one of them was as great as Homer in
+genius,--we cannot tell!"
+
+"True,--we cannot tell!" responded Villiers meditatively--"But,
+Alwyn, if you persist in viewing things through such tremendous
+vistas of time, and in measuring the Future by the Past, then one
+may ask what is the use of anything?"
+
+"There IS no use in anything, except in the making of a strong,
+persistent, steady effort after good," said Alwyn earnestly ...
+"We men are cast, as it were, between two swift currents, Wrong
+and Right,--Self and God,--and it seems more easy to shut our eyes
+and drift into Self and Wrong, than to strike out brave arms, and
+swim, despite all difficulty, toward God and Right, yet if we once
+take the latter course, we shall find it the most natural and the
+least fatiguing. And with every separate stroke of high endeavor
+we carry others with us,--we raise our race,--we bear it onward,--
+upward! And the true reward, or best result of fame, is, that
+having succeeded in winning brief attention from the multitude, a
+man may be able to pronounce one of God's lightning messages of
+inspired Truth plainly to them, while they are yet willing to
+stand and listen. This momentary hearing from the people is, as I
+take it, the sole reward any writer can dare to hope for,--and
+when he obtains it, he should remember that his audience remains
+with him but a very short while,--so that it is his duty to see
+that he employ his chance WELL, not to win applause for himself,
+but to cheer and lift others to noble thought, and still more
+noble fulfilment."
+
+Villiers regarded him wistfully.
+
+"Alwyn, my dear fellow, do you want to be the Sisyphus of this
+era?--You will find the stone of Evil heavy to roll upward,--
+moreover, it will exhibit the usually painful tendency to slip
+back and crush you!"
+
+"How can it crush me?" asked his friend with a serene smile. "My
+heart cannot be broken, or my spirit dismayed, and as for my body,
+it can but die,--and death comes to every man! I would rather try
+to roll up the stone, however fruitless the task, than sit idly
+looking at it, and doing nothing!"
+
+"Your heart cannot be broken? Ah! how do you know" ... and
+Villiers shook his head dubiously--"What man can be certain of his
+own destiny?"
+
+"Everyman can WILL his own destiny,"--returned Alwyn firmly. "That
+is just it. But here we are getting into a serious discussion, and
+I had determined to talk no more on such subjects till to-night."
+
+"And to-night we are to go in for them thoroughly, I suppose?"--
+inquired Villiers with a quick look. "To-night, my dear boy, you
+will have to decide whether you consider me mad or sane," said
+Alwyn cheerfully--"I shall tell you truths that seem like
+romances--and facts that sound like fables,--moreover, I shall
+have to assure you that miracles DO happen whenever God chooses,
+in spite of all human denial of their possibility. Do you remember
+Whately's clever skit--'Historical Doubts of Napoleon I'?--showing
+how easy it was to logically prove that Napoleon never existed?--
+That ought to enlighten people as to the very precise and
+convincing manner in which we can, if we choose, argue away what
+is nevertheless an incontestible FACT. Thus do skeptics deny
+miracles--yet we live surrounded by miracles! ... do you think me
+crazed for saying so?"
+
+Villiers laughed. "Crazed! No, indeed!--I wish every man in London
+were as sane and sound as you are!"
+
+"Ah, but wait till to-night!" and Alwyn's eyes sparkled
+mirthfully--"Perhaps you will alter your opinion then!"--Here,
+collecting his scattered manuscripts, he put them by--"I've done
+work for the present,"--he said--"Shall we go for a walk
+somewhere?"
+
+Villiers assented, and they left the room together.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+ONE AGAINST MANY.
+
+
+The beautiful and socially popular Duchess de la Santoisie sat her
+at brilliantly appointed dinner-table, and flashed her bright eyes
+comprehensively round the board,--her party was complete. She had
+secured twenty of the best-known men and women of letters in all
+London, and yet she was not quite satisfied with the result
+attained. One dark, splendid face on her right hand had taken the
+lustre out of all the rest,--one quiet, courteous smile on a mouth
+haughty, yet sweet, had somehow or other made the entertainment of
+little worth in her own estimation. She was very fair to look
+upon, very witty, very worldly-wise,--but for once her beauty
+seemed to herself defective and powerless to charm, while the
+graceful cloak of social hypocrisy she was always accustomed to
+wear would not adapt itself to her manner tonight so well as
+usual. The author of "Nourhalma" the successful poet whose
+acquaintance she had very eagerly sought to make, was not at all
+the kind of man she had expected,--and now, when he was beside her
+as her guest, she did not quite know what to do with him.
+
+She had met plenty of poets, so called, before,--and had, for the
+most part, found them insignificant looking men with an enormous
+opinion of themselves, and a suave, condescending contempt for all
+others of their craft; but this being,--this stately, kingly
+creature with the noble head, and far-gazing, luminous eyes,--this
+man, whose every gesture was graceful, whose demeanor was more
+royal than that of many a crowned monarch,--whose voice had such a
+singular soft thrill of music in its tone,--he was a personage for
+whom she had not been prepared,--and in whose presence she felt
+curiously embarrassed and almost ill at ease. And she was not the
+only one present who experienced these odd sensations. Alwyn's
+appearance, when, with his friend Villiers, he had first entered
+the Duchess's drawing-room that evening, and had there been
+introduced to his hostess, had been a sort of revelation to the
+languid, fashionable guests assembled; sudden quick whispers were
+exchanged--surprised glances,--how unlike he was to the general
+type of the nervous, fagged, dyspeptic "literary" man!
+
+And now that every one was seated at dinner, the same impression
+remained on all,--an impression that was to some disagreeable and
+humiliating, and that yet could not be got over,--namely, that
+this "poet," whom, in a way, the Duchess and her friends had
+intended to patronize, was distinctly superior to them all.
+Nature, as though proud of her handiwork, proclaimed him as such,
+--while he, quite unconscious of the effect he produced, wondered
+why this bevy of human beings, most of whom were more or less
+distinguished in the world of art and literature, had so little to
+say for themselves. Their conversation was BANAL,--tame,--
+ordinary; they might have been well-behaved, elegantly dressed
+peasants for aught they said of wise, cheerful, or witty. The
+weather,--the parks,--the theatres,--the newest actress, and the
+newest remedies for indigestion,--these sort of subjects were
+bandied about from one to the other with a vaguely tame
+persistence that was really irritating,--the question of remedies
+for indigestion seemed to hold ground longest, owing to the
+variety of opinions expressed thereon.
+
+The Duchess grew more and more inwardly vexed, and her little foot
+beat an impatient tattoo under the table, as she replied with
+careless brevity to a few of the commonplace observations
+addressed to her, and cast an occasional annoyed glance at her
+lord, M le Duc, a thin, military-looking individual, with a well
+waxed and pointed mustache, whose countenance suggested an
+admirably executed mask. It was a face that said absolutely
+nothing,--yet beneath its cold impassiveness linked the satyr-
+like, complex, half civilized, half brutish mind of the born and
+bred Parisian,--the goblin-creature with whom pure virtues,
+whether in man or woman, are no more sacred than nuts to a monkey.
+The suave charm of a polished civility sat on M le Due's smooth
+brow, and beamed in his urbane smile,--his manners were exquisite,
+his courtesy irreproachable, his whole demeanor that of a very
+precise and elegant master of deportment. Yet, notwithstanding his
+calm and perfectly self-possessed exterior, he was, oddly enough,
+the frequent prey of certain extraordinary and ungovernable
+passions; there were times when he became impossible to himself,--
+and when, to escape from his own horrible thoughts, he would
+plunge headlong into an orgie of wild riot and debauchery, such as
+might have made the hair of his respectable English acquaintances
+stand on end, had they known to what an extent he carried his
+excesses. But at these seasons of moral attack, he "went abroad
+for his health," as he said, delicately touching his chest in
+order to suggest some interesting latent weakness there, and in
+these migratory excursions his wife never accompanied him, nor did
+she complain of his absence. When he returned, after two or three
+months, he looked more the "chevalier sans peur et sans reproche"
+than ever; and neither he, nor the fair partner of his joys and
+sorrows, even committed such a breach of politeness as to inquire
+into each other's doings during the time of their separation. So
+they jogged on together, presenting the most delightful outward
+show of wedded harmony to the world,--and only a few were found to
+hazard the remark, that the "racy" novels Madame la Duchesse wrote
+to wile away her duller hours were singularly "bitter" in tone,
+for a woman whose lot in life was so extremely enviable!
+
+On this particular evening, the Duke affected to be utterly
+unconscious of the meaning looks his beautiful spouse shot at him
+every now and then,--looks which plainly said--"Why don't you
+start some interesting subject of conversation, and stop these
+people from talking such every-day twaddle?" He was a clever man
+in his way, and his present mood was malign and mischievous;
+therefore he went on eating daintily, and discussing mild
+platitudes in the most languidly amiable manner imaginable,
+enjoying to the full the mental confusion and discomfort of his
+guests,--confusion and discomfort which, as he very well knew, was
+the psychological result of their having one in their midst whose
+life and character were totally opposite to, and distinctly
+separate from, their own. As Emerson truly says, "Let the world
+beware when a Thinker comes into it!".. and here WAS this
+Thinker,--this type of the Godlike in Man,--this uncomfortably
+sincere personage, whose eyes were clear of falsehood, whose
+genius was incontestable, whose fame had taken society by assault,
+and who, therefore, was entitled to receive every attention and
+consideration.
+
+Everybody had desired to see him, and here he was,--the great man,
+the new "celebrity"--and now that he was actually present, no one
+knew what to say to him; moreover, there was a very general
+tendency in the company to avoid his direct gaze. People fidgeted
+on their chairs and looked aside or downward, whenever his glance
+accidentally fell on them,--and to the analytical Voltairean mind
+of M. le Duc there was something grimly humorous in the whole
+situation. He was a great admirer of physical strength and beauty,
+and Alwyn's noble face and fine figure had won his respect, though
+of the genius of the poet he knew nothing, and cared less. It was
+enough for all the purposes of social usage that the author of
+"Nourhalma" was CONSIDERED illustrious,--no matter whether he
+deserved the appellation or not. And so the Duke, satirically
+amused at the obvious embarrassment of the other "notabilities"
+assembled, did nothing whatsoever to relieve or to lighten the
+conversation, which remained so utterly dull and inane that Alwyn,
+who had been compelled, for politeness' sake, to appear interested
+in the account of a bicycle race detailed to him by a very
+masculine looking lady-doctor whose seat at table was next his
+own, began to feel a little weary, and to wonder dismally how long
+this "feast of reason and flow of soul" was going to last.
+
+Villiers, too, whose easy, good-natured, and clever talk generally
+gave some sparkle and animation to the dreariest social gathering,
+was to-night unusually taciturn:--he was bored by his partner, a
+middle-aged woman with a mania for philology, and, moreover, his
+thoughts, like those of most of the persons present, were centered
+on Alwyn, whom every now and then he regarded with a certain
+wistful wonder and reverence. He had heard the whole story of the
+Field of Ardath; and he knew not how much to accept of it as true,
+or how much to set down to his friend's ardent imagination. He had
+come to a fairly logical explanation of the whole matter,--namely,
+that as the City of Al-Kyris had been proved a dream, so surely
+the visit of the Angel-maiden Edris must have been a dream
+likewise,--that the trance at the Monastery of Dariel, followed by
+the constant reading of the passages from Esdras, and the treatise
+of Algazzali, had produced a vivid impression on Alwyn's
+susceptible brain, which had resolved itself into the visionary
+result narrated.
+
+He found in this the most practical and probable view of what must
+otherwise be deemed by mortal minds incredible; and, being a frank
+and honest fellow, he had not scrupled to openly tell his friend
+what he thought. Alwyn had received his remarks with the most
+perfect sweetness and equanimity,--but, all the same, had remained
+unchanged in his opinion as to the REALITY of his betrothal to his
+Angel-love in Heaven. And one or two points had certainly baffled
+Villiers, and perplexed him in his would-be precise analysis of
+the circumstances: first, there was the remarkable change in
+Alwyn's own nature. From an embittered, sarcastic, disappointed,
+violently ambitious man, he had become softened, gracious,
+kindly,--showing the greatest tenderness and forethought for
+others, even in small, every-day trifles; while for himself he
+took no care. He wore his fame as lightly as a child might wear a
+flower, just plucked and soon to fade,--his intelligence seemed to
+expand itself into a broad, loving, sympathetic comprehension of
+the wants and afflictions of human-kind; and he was writing a new
+poem, of which Villiers had seen some lines that had fairly amazed
+him by their grandeur of conception and clear passion of
+utterance. Thus it was evident there was no morbidness in him,--no
+obscurity,--nothing eccentric,--nothing that removed him in any
+way from his fellows, except that royal personality of his,--that
+strong, beautiful, well-balanced Spirit in him, which exercised
+such a bewildering spell on all who came within its influence, He
+believed himself loved by an Angel! Well,--if there WERE angels,
+why not? Villiers argued the proposition thus:
+
+"Whether we are Christians, Jews, Buddhists, or Mahometans, we are
+supposed to accept angels as forming part of the system of our
+Faith. If we are nothing,--then, of course, we believe in nothing.
+But granted we are SOMETHING, then we are bound in honor, if
+consistent, to acknowledge that angels help to guide our
+destinies. And if, as we are assured by Holy Writ, such loftier
+beings DO exist, why should they not communicate with, and even
+love, human creatures, provided those human creatures are worthy
+of their tenderness? Certainly, viewed by all the chief religions
+of the world, there is nothing new or outrageous in the idea of an
+angel descending to the help of man."
+
+Such thoughts as these were in his mind now, as he ever and anon
+glanced across the glittering table, with its profusion of lights
+and flowers, to where his poet-friend sat, slightly leaning back
+in his chair, with a certain half-perplexed, half-disappointed
+expression on his handsome features, though his eyes brightened
+into a smile as he caught Villiers's look, and he gave the
+smallest, scarcely perceptible shrug, as who should say, "Is this
+your brilliant Duchess?--your witty and cultured society?"
+
+Villiers flashed back an amused, responsive glance, and then
+conscientiously strove to pay more attention to the irrepressible
+feminine philologist beside him, determining to take her, as he
+said to himself, by way of penance for his unremembered sins.
+After a while there came one of those extraordinary, sudden rushes
+of gabble that often occur at even the stiffest dinner-party,--a
+galloping race of tongues, in which nothing really distinct is
+heard, but in which each talks to the other as though moved by an
+impulse of sheer desperation. This burst of noise was a relief
+after the strained murmurs of trite commonplaces that had hitherto
+been the order of the hour, and the fair Duchess, somewhat easier
+in her mind, turned anew to Alwyn, with greater grace and
+gentleness of manner than she had yet shown.
+
+"I am afraid," she said smilingly, "you must find us all very
+stupid after your travels abroad? In England we ARE dull,--our
+tristesse cannot be denied. But, really, the climate is
+responsible,--we want more sunshine. I suppose in the East, where
+the sun is so warm and bright, the people are always cheerful?"
+
+"On the contrary, I have found them rather serious and
+contemplative than otherwise," returned Alwyn,--"yet their gravity
+is certainly of a pleasant, and not of a forbidding type. I don't
+myself think the sun has much to do with the disposition of man,
+after all,--I fancy his temperament is chiefly moulded by the life
+he leads. In the East, for instance, men accept their existence as
+a sort of divine command, which they obey cheerfully, yet with a
+consciousness of high responsibility:--on the Continent they take
+it as a bagatelle, lightly won, lightly lost, hence their
+indifferent, almost childish, gayety;--but in Great Britain"--and
+he smiled,--"it looks nowadays as if it were viewed very generally
+as a personal injury and bore,--a kind of title bestowed without
+the necessary money to keep it up! And this money people set
+themselves steadily to obtain, with many a weary grunt and groan,
+while they are, for the most part, forgetful of anything else life
+may have to offer."
+
+"But what IS life without plenty of money?" inquired the Duchess
+carelessly--"Surely, not worth the trouble of living!"
+
+Alwyn looked at her steadily, and a swift flush colored her smooth
+cheek. She toyed with the magnificent diamond spray at her breast,
+and wondered what strange spell was in this man's brilliant gray-
+black eyes!--did he guess that she--even she--had sold herself to
+the Duc de la Santoisie for the sake of his money and title as
+easily and unresistingly as though she were a mere purchasable
+animal?
+
+"That is an argument I would rather not enter into," he said
+gently--"It would lead us too far. But I am convinced, that
+whether dire poverty or great riches be our portion, life,
+considered apart from its worldly appendages, is always worth
+living, if lived WELL."
+
+"Pray, how can you separate life from its worldly appendages?"--
+inquired a satirical-looking gentleman opposite--"Life IS the
+world, and the things of the world; when we lose sight of the
+world, we lose ourselves,--in short, we die,--and the world is at
+an end, and we with it. That's plain practical philosophy."
+
+"Possibly it may he called philosophy"--returned Alwyn--"It is not
+Christianity."
+
+"Oh, Christianity!"--and the gentleman gave a portentous sniff of
+contempt--"That is a system of faith that is rapidly dying out;
+fast falling into contempt!--In fact, with the scientific and
+cultured classes, it is already an exploded doctrine."
+
+"Indeed!"--Alwyn's glance swept over him with a faint, cold scorn
+--"And what religion do the scientific and cultured classes propose
+to invent as a substitute?"
+
+"There's no necessity for any substitute,"--said the gentleman
+rather impatiently.. For those who want to believe in something
+supernatural, there are plenty of different ideas afloat, Esoteric
+Buddhism for example,--and what is called Scientific Religion and
+Natural Religion,--any, or all, of these are sufficient to gratify
+the imaginative cravings of the majority, till they have been
+educated out of imagination altogether:--but, for advanced
+thinkers, religion is really not required at all." [Footnote: The
+world is indebted to Mr. Andrew Lang for the newest "logical"
+explanation of the Religious Instinct in Man:--namely, that the
+very idea of God first arose from the terror and amazement of an
+ape at the sound of the thunder! So choice and soul-moving a
+definition of Deity needs no comment!]
+
+"Nay, I think we must worship SOMETHING!" retorted Alwyn, a fine
+satire in his rich voice, "if it be only SELF!--Self is an
+excellent deity!--accommodating, and always ready to excuse sin,--
+why should we not build temples, raise altars, and institute
+services to the glory and honor of SELF?--Perhaps the time is ripe
+for a public proclamation of this creed?--It will be easily
+propagated, for the beginnings of it are in the heart of every
+man, and need very little fostering!"
+
+His thrilling tone, together with the calm, half-ironical
+persuasiveness of his manner, sent a sudden hush down the table.
+Every one turned eagerly toward him,--some amused, some wondering,
+some admiring, while Villiers felt his heart beating with
+uncomfortable quickness,--he hated religious discussions, and
+always avoided them, and now here was Alwyn beginning one, and he
+the centre of a company of persons who were for the most part
+avowed agnostics, to whose opinions his must necessarily be in
+direct and absolute opposition! At the same time, he remembered
+that those who were sure of their faith never lost their temper
+about it,--and as he glanced at his friend's perfectly serene and
+coldly smiling countenance, he saw there was no danger of his
+letting slip, even for a moment, his admirable power of self-
+command. The Duc de la Santoisie, meanwhile, settling his
+mustache, and gracefully waving one hand, on which sparkled a
+large diamond ring, bent forward a little with a courteous,
+deprecatory gesture.
+
+"I think"--he said, in soft, purring accents,--"that my friend,
+Dr. Mudley"--here he bowed toward the saturnine looking individual
+who had entered into conversation with Alwyn--"takes a very
+proper, and indeed a very lofty, view of the whole question. The
+moral sense"--and he laid a severely weighty emphasis on these
+words,--"the moral sense of each man, if properly trained, is
+quite sufficient to guide him through existence, without any such
+weakness as reliance on a merely supposititious Deity."
+
+The Duke's French way of speaking English was charming; he gave an
+expressive roll to his r's, especially when he said "the moral
+sense," that of itself almost carried conviction. His wife smiled
+as she heard him, and her smile was not altogether pleasant.
+Perhaps she wondered by what criterion of excellence he measured
+his own "moral sense," or whether, despite his education and
+culture, he had any "moral sense" at all, higher than that of the
+pig, who eats to be eaten! But Alwyn spoke, and she listened
+intently, finding a singular fascination in the soft and quiet
+modulation of his voice, which gave a vaguely delicious suggestion
+of music underlying speech.
+
+"To guide people by their moral sense alone"--he said--"you must
+first prove plainly to them that the moral sense exists, together
+with moral responsibility. You will find this difficult,--as the
+virtue implied is intangible, unseeable;--one cannot say of it, lo
+here!--or lo there!--it is as complicated and subtle as any other
+of the manifestations of pure Spirit. Then you must decide on one
+universal standard, or reasonable conception of what 'morality'
+is. Again, you are met by a crowd of perplexities,--as every
+nation, and every tribe, has a totally different idea of the same
+thing. In some countries it is 'moral' to have many wives; in
+others, to drown female children; in others, to solemnly roast
+one's grandparents for dinner! Supposing, however, that you
+succeed, with the aid of all the philosophers, teachers, and
+scientists, in drawing up a practical Code of Morality--do you not
+think an enormous majority will be found to ask you by whose
+authority you set forth this Code?--and by what right you deem it
+necessary to enforce it? You may say, 'By the authority of
+Knowledge and by the right of Morality'--but since you admit to
+there being no spiritual or divine inspiration for your law, you
+will be confronted by a legion of opponents who will assure you,
+and probably with perfect justice, that their idea of morality is
+as good as yours, and their knowledge as excellent,--that your
+Code appears to them faulty in many respects, and that, therefore,
+they purpose making another one, more suited to their liking.
+Thus, out of your one famous Moral System would spring thousands
+of others, formed to gratify the various tastes of different
+individuals, precisely in the same manner as sects have sprung out
+of the wholly unnecessary and foolish human arguments on
+Christianity;--only that there would lack the one indestructible,
+pure Selfless Example that even the most quarrelsome bigot must
+inwardly respect,--namely, Christ Himself. And 'morality' would
+remain exactly where it is:--neither better nor worse for all the
+trouble taken concerning it. It needs something more than the
+'moral' sense to rightly ennoble man,--it needs the SPIRITUAL
+sense;--the fostering of the INSTINCTIVE IMMORTAL ASPIRATION OF
+THE CREATURE, to make him comprehend the responsibility of his
+present life, as a preparation for his higher and better destiny.
+The cultured, the scholarly, the ultra-refined, may live well and
+uprightly by their 'moral sense,'--if they so choose, provided
+they have some great ideal to measure themselves by,--but even
+these, without faith in God, may sometimes slip, and fall into
+deeper depths of ruin than they dreamed of, when self-centred on
+those heights of virtue where they fancied themselves exempt from
+danger."
+
+He paused,--there was a curious stillness in the room,--many eyes
+were lowered, and M. le Duc's composure was evidently not quite so
+absolute as usual.
+
+"Taken at its best"--he continued--"the world alone is certainly
+not worth fighting for;--we see the fact exemplified every day in
+the cases of those who, surrounded by all that a fair fortune can
+bestow upon them, deliberately hurl themselves out of existence by
+their own free will and act,--indeed, suicide is a very general
+accompaniment of Agnosticism. And self-slaughter, though it may be
+called madness, is far more often the result of intellectual
+misery."
+
+"Of course, too much learning breeds brain disease"--remarked Dr.
+Mudley sententiously--"but only in weak subjects,--and in my
+opinion the weak are better out of the world. We've no room for
+them nowadays."
+
+"You say truly, sir,"--replied Alwyn--"we have no room for them,
+and no patience! They show themselves feeble, and forthwith the
+strong oppress them;--they can hope for little comfort here, and
+less help. It is well, therefore, that some of these 'weak' should
+still believe in God, since they can certainly pin no faith on the
+justice of their fellow-man! But I cannot agree with you that much
+learning breeds brain disease. Provided the learning be
+accompanied by a belief in the Supreme Wisdom,--provided every
+step of study be taken upward toward that Source of all
+Knowledge,--one cannot learn too much, since hope increases with
+discernment, and on such food the brain grows stronger, healthier,
+and more capable of high effort. But dispense with the Spirit of
+the Whole, and every movement, though it SEEM forward, is in truth
+BACKWARD;--study involves bewilderment,--science becomes a reeling
+infinitude of atoms, madly whirling together for no purpose save
+death, or, at the best, incessant Change, in which mortal life is
+counted as nothing:--and Nature frowns at us, a vast Question, to
+which there is no Answer,--an incomprehensible Force, against
+which wretched Man, gifted with all manner of splendid and Godlike
+capacities, battles forever and forever in vain! This is the
+terrible material lesson you would have us learn to-day, the
+lesson that maddens pupil and teacher alike, and has not a glimmer
+of consolation to offer to any living soul! What a howling
+wilderness this world would be if given over entirely to
+Materialism!--Scarce a line of division could be drawn between men
+and the brute beasts of the field! I consider,--though possibly I
+am only one among many of widely differing opinion,--that if you
+take the hope of an after-joy and blessedness away from the weary,
+perpetually toiling Million, you destroy at one wanton blow their
+best, purest, and noblest aspirations. As for the Christian
+Religion, I cannot believe that so grand and holy a Symbol is
+perishing among us,--we have a monarch whose title is 'Defender of
+the Faith,'--we live in an age of civilization which is primarily
+the result of that faith,--and if, as this gentleman assures me,"
+--and he made a slight, courteous inclination toward his opposite
+neighbor--"Christianity is exploded,--then certainly the greatness
+of this hitherto great nation is exploding with it! But I do not
+think that because a few skeptics uplift their wailing 'All is
+vanity' from their self-created desert of Agnosticism, THEREFORE
+the majority of men and women are turning renegades from the
+simplest, most humane, most unselfish Creed that ever the world
+has known. It may be so,--but, at present, I prefer to trust in
+the higher spiritual instincts of man at his best, rather than
+accept the testimony of the lesser Unbelieving against the greater
+Many, whose strength, comfort, patience, and endurance, if these
+virtues come not from God, come not at all."
+
+His forcible, incisive manner of speaking, together with his
+perfect equanimity and concise clearness of argument, had an
+evident effect on those who listened. Here was no rampant fanatic
+for particular forms of doctrine or pietism,--here was a man who
+stated his opinions calmly, frankly, and with an absolute setting-
+forth of facts which could scarcely be denied,--a man, who firmly
+grounded himself, made no attempt to force any one's belief, but
+who simply took a large view of the whole, and saw, as it were in
+a glance, what the world might become without faith in a Divine
+Cause and Principle of Creation. And once GRANT this Divine Cause
+and Principle to be actually existent, then all other divine and
+spiritual things become possible, no matter how IMPOSSIBLE they
+seem to dull mortal comprehension.
+
+A brief pause followed his words,--a pause of vague embarrassment.
+The Duchess was the first to break it.
+
+"You have very noble ideas, Mr. Alwyn,"--she said with a faint,
+wavering smile--"But I am afraid your conception of things, both
+human and divine, is too exalted, and poetically imaginative, to
+be applied to our every-day life. We cannot close our ears to the
+thunders of science,--we cannot fail to perceive that we mortals
+are of as small account in the plan of the Universe as grains of
+sand on the seashore. It is very sad that so it should be, and yet
+so it is! And concerning Christianity, the poor system has been so
+belabored of late with hard blows, that it is almost a wonder it
+still breathes. There is no end to the books that have been
+written disproving and denouncing it,--moreover, we have had the
+subject recently treated in a novel which excites our sympathies
+in behalf of a clergyman, who, overwhelmed by scholarship, finds
+he can no longer believe in the religion he is required to teach,
+and who renounces his living in consequence. The story is in parts
+pathetic,--it has had a large circulation,--and numbers of people
+who never doubted their Creed before, certainly doubt it now."
+
+Alwyn shrugged his shoulders. "Faith uprooted by a novel!" he
+said--"Alas, poor faith! It could never have been well established
+at any time, to be so easy of destruction! No book in the world,
+whether of fact or fiction, could persuade me either TO or FROM
+the consciousness of what my own individual Spirit instinctively
+KNOWS. Faith cannot be taught or forced,--neither, if TRUE, can it
+be really destroyed,--it is a God-born, God-fostered INTUITION,
+immortal as God Himself. The ephemeral theories set forth in books
+should not be able to influence it by so much as a hair's
+breadth."
+
+"Truth is, however, often conveyed through the medium of
+fiction,"--observed Dr. Mudley--"and the novel alluded to was
+calculated to disturb the mind, and arouse trouble in the heart of
+many an ardent believer. It was written by a woman."
+
+"Nay, then"--said Alwyn quickly, with a darkening flash in his
+eyes,--"if women give up faith, let the world prepare for strange
+disaster! Good, God-loving women,--women who pray,--women who
+hope,--women who inspire men to do the best that is in them,--
+these are the safety and glory of nations! When women forget to
+kneel,--when women cease to teach their children the 'Our Father,'
+by whose grandly simple plea Humanity claims Divinity as its
+origin,--then shall we learn what is meant by 'men's hearts
+failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are
+coming on the earth.' A woman who denies Christ repudiates Him,
+who, above all others, made her sex as free and honored as
+everywhere in Christendom it IS. He never refused woman's prayer,
+--He had patience for her weakness,--pardon for her sins,--and any
+book written by woman's hand that does Him the smallest shadow of
+wrong is to me as gross an act, as that of one who, loaded with
+benefits, scruples not to murder his benefactor!"
+
+The Duchess de la Santoisie moved uneasily,--there was a vibration
+in Alwyn's voice that went to her very heart. Strange thoughts
+swept cloud-like across her mind,--again she saw in fancy a little
+fair, dead child that she had loved,--her only one, on whom she
+had spent all the tenderness of which her nature was capable. It
+had died at the prettiest age of children,--the age of lisping
+speech and softly tottering feet, when a journey from the
+protecting background of a wall to outstretched maternal arms
+seems fraught with dire peril to the tiny adventurer, and is only
+undertaken with the help of much coaxing, sweet laughter, and
+still sweeter kisses. She remembered how, in spite of her "free"
+opinions, she had found it impossible not to teach her little one
+a prayer;--and a sudden mist of tears blurred her sight, as she
+recollected the child's last words,--words uttered plaintively in
+the death grasp of a cruel fever, "Suffer me.. to come to Thee!"--
+A quick sigh escaped her lips,--the diamonds on her breast heaved
+restlessly,--lifting her eyes, grown soft with gentle memory, she
+encountered those of Alwyn, and again she asked herself, could he
+read her thoughts? His steadfast gaze seemed to encompass her, and
+absorb in a grave, compassionate earnestness the entire
+comprehension of her life. Her husband's polite, mellifluous
+accents roused her from this half-reverie.
+
+"I confess I am surprised, Mr. Alwyn,"--he was saying--"that you,
+a man of such genius and ability, should be still in the leading
+strings of the Church!"
+
+"There is NO Church"--returned Alwyn quietly,--"The world is
+waiting for one! The Alpha Beta of Christianity has been learned
+and recited more or less badly by the children of men for nearly
+two thousand years,--the actual grammar and meaning of the whole
+Language has yet to be deciphered. There have been, and are, what
+are CALLED Churches,--one especially, which, if it would bravely
+discard mere vulgar superstition, and accept, absorb, and use the
+discoveries of Science instead, might, and possibly WILL, blossom
+into the true, universal, and pure Christian Fabric. Meanwhile, in
+the shaking to and fro of things,--the troublous sifting of the
+wheat from the chaff,--we must be content to follow by the Way of
+the Cross as best we can. Christianity has fallen into disrepute,
+probably because of the Self-Renunciation it demands,--for, in
+this age, the primal object of each individual is manifestly to
+serve Self only. It is a wrong road,--a side-lane that leads
+nowhere,--and we shall inevitably have to turn back upon it and
+recover the right path--if not now, why then hereafter!"
+
+His voice had a tremor of pain within it;--he was thinking of the
+millions of men and women who were voluntarily wandering astray
+into a darkness they did not dream of,--and his heart, the great,
+true heart of the Poet, became filled with an indescribable
+passion of yearning.
+
+"No wonder," he mused--"no wonder that Christ came hither for the
+sake of Love! To rescue, to redeem, to save, to bless! ... O
+Divine sympathy for sorrow! If I--a man--can feel such aching pity
+for the woes of others, how vast, how limitless, how tender, must
+be the pity of God!"
+
+And his eyes softened,--he almost forgot his surroundings. He was
+entirely unaware of the various deep and wistful emotions he had
+wakened in the hearts of his hearers. There was a great
+attractiveness in him that he was not conscious of,--and while all
+present certainly felt that he, though among them, was not of
+them, they were at the same time curiously moved by an impression
+that notwithstanding his being, as it were, set apart from their
+ways of existence, his sympathetic influence surrounded them as
+resistlessly as a pure atmosphere in which they drew long
+refreshing breaths of healthier life.
+
+"I should like,"--suddenly said a bearded individual who was
+seated half-way down the table, and who had listened attentively
+to everything--"I should like to tell you a few things about
+Esoteric Buddhism!--I am sure it is a faith that would suit you
+admirably!"
+
+Alwyn smiled, courteously enough. "I shall be happy to hear your
+views on the subject, sir," he answered gently--"But I must tell
+you that before I left England for the East, I had studied that
+theory, together with many others that were offered as substitutes
+for Christianity, and I found it totally inadequate to meet the
+highest demands of the spiritual intelligence. I may also add,
+that I have read carefully all the principal works against
+Religion,--from the treatises of the earliest skeptics down to
+Voltaire and others of our own day. Moreover, I had, not so very
+long ago, rejected the Christian Faith; that I now accept and
+adhere to it, is not the result of my merit or attainment,--but
+simply the outcome of an undeserved blessing and singularly happy
+fortune."
+
+"Pardon me, Mr. Alwyn"--said Madame de la Santoisie with a sweet
+smile--"By all the laws of nature I must contradict you there!
+Your fame and fortune must needs be the reward of merit,--since
+true happiness never comes to the undeserving."
+
+Alwyn made no reply,--inasmuch as to repudiate the idea of
+personal merit too warmly is, as such matters are judged nowadays,
+suggestive of more conceit than modesty. He skilfully changed the
+conversation, and it glided off by degrees into various other
+channels,--music, art, science, and the political situation of the
+hour. The men and women assembled, as though stimulated and
+inspired by some new interest, now strove to appear at their very
+best--and the friction of intellect with intellect resulted in
+more or less brilliancy of talk, which, for once, was totally free
+from the flippant and mocking spirit which usually pervaded the
+Santoisie social circle. On all the subjects that came up for
+discussion Alwyn proved himself thoroughly at home--and M. le Duc,
+sitting in a silence that was most unwonted with him, became
+filled with amazement to think that this man, so full of fine
+qualities and intellectual abilities, should be actually a
+CHRISTIAN!--The thing was quite incongruous, or seemed so to the
+ironical wit of the born and bred Parisian,--he tried to consider
+it absurd,--even laughable,--but his efforts merely resulted in a
+sense of uneasy personal shame. This poet was, at any rate, a
+MAN,--he might have posed for a Coriolanus or Marc Antony;--and
+there was something supreme about him that could not be SNEERED
+DOWN.
+
+The dinner, meanwhile, reached its dessert climax, and the Duchess
+rose, giving the customary departing signal to her lady-guests.
+Alwyn hastened to open the door for her, and she passed out,
+followed by a train of women in rich and rustling costumes, all of
+whom, as they swept past the kingly figure that with slightly bent
+head and courteous mien thus paid silent homage to their sex, were
+conscious of very unusual emotions of respect and reverence. How
+would it be, some of them thought, if they were more frequently
+brought into contact with such royal and gracious manhood? Would
+not love then become indeed a hallowed glory, and marriage a true
+sacrament! Was it not possible for men to be the gods of this
+world, rather than the devils they so often are? Such were a few
+of the questions that flitted dimly through the minds of the
+society-fagged fair ones that clustered round the Duchess de la
+Santoisie, and eagerly discussed Alwyn's personal beauty and
+extraordinary charm of manner.
+
+The gentlemen did not absent themselves long, and with their
+appearance from the dining-room the reception of the evening
+began. Crowds of people arrived and crammed up the stairs, filling
+every corridor and corner, and Alwyn, growing tired of the various
+introductions and shaking of hands to which he was submitted,
+managed presently to slip away into a conservatory adjoining the
+great drawing-room,--a cool, softly lighted place full of
+flowering azaleas and rare palms. Here he sat for a while among
+the red and white blossoms, listening to the incessant hum of
+voices, and wondering what enjoyment human beings could find in
+thus herding together en masse, and chattering all at once as
+though life depended on chatter, when the rustling of a woman's
+dress disturbed his brief solitude. He rose directly, as he saw
+his fair hostess approaching him.
+
+"Ah, you have fled away from us, Mr. Alwyn!" she said with a
+slight smile--"I do not wonder at it. These receptions are the
+bane of one's social existence."
+
+"Then why do you give them?"--asked Alwyn, half laughingly.
+
+"Why? Oh, because it is the fashion, I suppose!" she answered
+languidly, leaning against a marble column that supported the
+towering frondage of a tropical fern, and toying with her fan,--
+"And I, like others, am a slave to fashion. I have escaped for one
+moment, but I must go back directly. Mr. Alwyn ..." She
+hesitated,--then came straight up to him, and laid her hand upon
+his arm--"I want to thank you!"
+
+"To thank me?" he repeated in surprised accents.
+
+"Yes!"--she said steadily--"To thank you for what you have said
+to-night. We live in a dreary age, when no one has much faith or
+hope, and still less charity,--death is set before us as the final
+end of all,--and life as lived by most, people is not only not
+worth living, but utterly contemptible! Your clearly expressed
+opinions have made me think it is possible to do better,"--her
+lips quivered a little, and her breath came and went quickly,--
+"and I shall begin to try and find out how this 'better' can be
+consummated! Pray do not think me foolish--"
+
+"_I_ think you foolish!" and with gravest courtesy Alwyn raised
+her hand, and touched it gently with his lips, then as gently
+released it. His action was full of grace,--it implied reverence,
+trust, honor,--and the Duchess looked at him with soft, wet eyes
+in which a smile still lingered.
+
+"If there were more men like you,"--she said suddenly--"what a
+difference it would make to us women! We should be proud to share
+the burdens of life with those on whose absolute integrity and
+strength we could rely,--but, in these days, we do not rely, so
+much as we despise,--we cannot love, so much as we condemn! You
+are a Poet,--and for you the world takes ideal colors,--for you
+perchance the very heavens have opened;--but remember that the
+millions, who, in the present era, are ground down under the heels
+of the grimmest necessity, have no such glimpses of God as are
+vouchsafed to YOU! They are truly in the darkness and shadow of
+death,--they hear no angel music,--they sit in dungeons, howled at
+by preachers and teachers who make no actual attempt to lead them
+into light and liberty,--while we, the so-called 'upper' classes,
+are imprisoned as closely as they, and crushed by intolerable
+weights of learning, such as many of us are not fitted to bear.
+Those who aspire heavenwards are hurled to earth,--those who of
+their own choice cling to death, become so fastened to it, that
+even if they wished, they could not rise. Believe me, you will be
+sorely disheartened in your efforts toward the highest good,--you
+will find most people callous, careless, ignorant, and forever
+scoffing at what they do not, and will not, understand,--you had
+better leave us to our dust and ashes,"--and a little mirthless
+laugh escaped her lips,--"for to pluck us from thence now will
+almost need a second visitation of Christ, in whom, if He came, we
+should probably not believe! Moreover, you must not forget that we
+have read Darwin,--and we are so charmed with our monkey
+ancestors, that we are doing our best to imitate them in every
+possible way,--in the hope that, with time and patience, we may
+resolve ourselves back into the original species!"
+
+With which bitter sarcasm, uttered half mockingly, half in good
+earnest, she left him and returned to her guests. Not very long
+afterward, he having sought and found Villiers, and suggested to
+him that it was time to make a move homeward, approached her in
+company with his friend, and bade her farewell.
+
+"I don't think we shall see you often in society, Mr. Alwyn"--she
+said, rather wistfully, as she gave him her hand,--"You are too
+much of a Titan among pigmies!"
+
+He flushed and waved aside the remark with a few playful words;
+unlike his Former Self, if there was anything in the world he
+shrank from, it was flattery, or what seemed like flattery. Once
+outside the house he drew a long breath of relief, and glanced
+gratefully up at the sky, bright with the glistening multitude of
+stars. Thank God, there were worlds in that glorious expanse of
+ether peopled with loftier types of being than what is called
+Humanity! Villiers looked at him questioningly:
+
+"Tired of your own celebrity, Alwyn?" he asked, taking him by the
+arm,--"Are the pleasures of Fame already exhausted?"
+
+Alwyn smiled,--he thought of the fame of Sah-luma, Laureate bard
+of Al-kyris!
+
+"Nay, if the dream that I told you of had any meaning at all"--he
+replied--"then I enjoyed and exhausted those pleasures long ago!
+Perhaps that is the reason why my 'celebrity' seems such a poor
+and tame circumstance now. But I was not thinking of myself,--I
+was wondering whether, after all, the slight power I have attained
+can be of much use to others. I am only one against many."
+
+"Nevertheless, there is an old maxim which says that one hero
+makes a thousand"--said Villiers quietly--"And it is an undeniable
+fact that the vastest number ever counted, begins at the very
+beginning with ONE!"
+
+Alwyn met his smiling, earnest eyes with a quick, responsive light
+in his own, and the two friends walked the rest of the way home in
+silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+HELIOBAS.
+
+
+Some few days after the Duchess's dinner-party, Alwyn was
+strolling one morning through the Park, enjoying to the full the
+keen, fresh odors of the Spring,--odors that even in London cannot
+altogether lose their sweetness, so long as hyacinths and violets
+consent to bloom, and almond-trees to flower, beneath the too
+often unpropitious murkiness of city skies. It had been raining,
+but now the clouds had rolled off, and the sun shone as brightly
+as it ever CAN shine on the English capital, sending sparkles of
+gold among the still wet foliage, and reviving the little
+crocuses, that had lately tumbled down in heaps on the grass, like
+a frightened fairy army put to rout by the onslaught of the recent
+shower. A blackbird, whose cheery note suggested melodious
+memories drawn from the heart of the quiet country, was whistling
+a lively improvisation on the bough of a chestnut-tree, whereof
+the brown shining buds were just bursting into leaf,--and Alwyn,
+whose every sense was pleasantly attuned to the small, as well as
+great, harmonies of nature, paused for a moment to listen to the
+luscious piping of the feathered minstrel, that in its own wild
+woodland way had as excellent an idea of musical variation as any
+Mozart or Chopin. Leaning against one of the park benches, with
+his back turned to the main thoroughfare, he did not observe the
+approach of a man's tall, stately figure, that, with something of
+his own light, easy, swinging step, had followed him rapidly along
+for some little distance, and that now halted abruptly within a
+pace or two of where he stood,--a man whose fine face and singular
+distinction of bearing had caused many a passer-by to stare at him
+in vague admiration, and to wonder who such a regal-looking
+personage might possibly be. Alwyn, however, absorbed in thought,
+saw no one, and was about to resume his onward walk, when
+suddenly, as though moved by some instinctive impulse, he turned
+sharply around, and in so doing confronted the stranger, who
+straightway advanced, lifting his hat and smiling. One amazed
+glance,--and then with an ejaculation of wonder, recognition, and
+delight, Alwyn sprang forward and grasped his extended hand.
+
+"HELIOBAS!" he exclaimed. "Is it possible YOU are in London!--YOU,
+of all men in the world!"
+
+"Even so!"--replied Heliobas gayly--"And why not? Am I
+incongruous, and out of keeping with the march of modern
+civilization?"
+
+Alwyn looked at him half-bewildered, half-incredulous,--he could
+hardly believe his own eyes. It seemed such an altogether amazing
+thing to meet this devout and grave Chaldean philosopher, this
+mystic monk of the Caucasus, here in the very centre, as it were,
+of the world's business, traffic, and pleasure; one might as well
+have expected to find a haloed saint in the whirl of a carnival
+masquerade! Incongruous? Out of keeping?--Yes, certainly he was,--
+for though clad in the plain, conventional garb to which the men
+of the present day are doomed by the fiat of commerce and custom,
+the splendid dignity and picturesqueness of his fine personal
+appearance was by no means abated, and it was just this that
+marked him out, and made of him as wonderful a figure in London as
+though some god or evangelist should suddenly pass through a
+wilderness of chattering apes and screaming vultures.
+
+"But how and when did you come?"--asked Alwyn presently,
+recovering from his first glad shock of surprise--"You see how
+genuine is my astonishment,--why, I thought you were a perpetually
+vowed recluse,--that you never went into the world at all, ..."
+
+"Neither I do"--rejoined Heliobas--"save when strong necessity
+demands. But our Order is not so 'inclosed' that, if Duty calls,
+we cannot advance to its beckoning, and there are certain times
+when both I and those of my fraternity mingle with men in common,
+undistinguished from the ordinary inhabitants of cities either by
+dress, customs, or manners,--as you see!"--and he laughingly
+touched his overcoat, the dark rough cloth of which was relieved
+by a broad collar and revers of rich sealskin,--"Would you not
+take me for a highly respectable brewer, par example, conscious
+that his prowess in the making of beer has entitled him, not only
+to an immediate seat in Parliament, but also to a Dukedom in
+prospective?"
+
+Alwyn, smiled at the droll inapplicability of this comparison,--
+and Heliobas cheerfully continued--"I am on the wing just now,--
+bound for Mexico. I had business in London, and arrived here two
+days since,--two days more will see me again en voyage. I am glad
+to have met you thus by chance, for I did not know your address,
+and though I might have obtained that through your publishers, I
+hesitated about it, not being quite certain as to whether a letter
+or visit from me might be welcome."
+
+"Surely,"--began Alwyn, and then he paused, a flush rising to his
+brow as he remembered how obstinately he had doubted and suspected
+this man's good faith and intention toward him, and how he had
+even received his farewell benediction at Dariel with more
+resentment than gratitude.
+
+"Everywhere I hear great things of you, Mr. Alwyn,"--went on
+Heliobas gently, taking no notice of his embarrassment--"Your fame
+is now indeed unquestionable! With all my heart I congratulate
+you, and wish you long life and health to enjoy the triumph of
+your genius!"
+
+Alwyn smiled, and turning, fixed his clear, soft eyes full on the
+speaker.
+
+"I thank you!" he said simply,--"But, ... you, who have such a
+quick instinctive comprehension of the minds and characters of
+men,--judge for yourself whether I attach any value to the poor
+renown I have won,--renown that I once would have given my very
+life to possess!"
+
+As he spoke, he stopped,--they were walking down a quiet side-path
+under the wavering shadow of newly bourgeoning beeches, and a
+bright shaft of sunshine struck through the delicate foliage
+straight on his serene and handsome countenance. Heliobas gave him
+a swift, keen, observant glance,--in a moment he noticed what a
+marvellous change had been wrought in the man who, but a few
+months before, had come to him, a wreck of wasted life,--a wreck
+that was not only ready, but willing, to drift into downward
+currents and whirlpools of desperate, godless, blank, and hopeless
+misery. And now, how completely he was transformed!--Health
+colored his cheeks and sparkled in his eyes; health, both of body
+and mind, gave that quick brilliancy to his smile, and that easy,
+yet powerful poise to his whole figure,--while the supreme
+consciousness of the Immortal Spirit within him surrounded him
+with the same indescribable fascination and magnetic
+attractiveness that distinguished Heliobas himself, even as it
+distinguishes all who have in good earnest discovered and accepted
+the only true explanation of their individual mystery of being.
+One steady, flashing look,--and then Heliobas silently held out
+his hand. As silently Alwyn clasped it,--and the two men
+understood each other. All constraint was at an end,--and when
+they resumed their slow sauntering under the glistening green
+branches, they were mutually aware that they now held an almost
+equal rank in the hierarchy of spiritual knowledge, strength, and
+sympathy.
+
+"Evidently your adventure to the Ruins of Babylon was not
+altogether without results!" said Heliobas softly--"Your
+appearance indicates happiness,--is your life at last complete?"
+
+"Complete?--No!"--and Alwyn sighed somewhat impatiently--"It
+cannot be complete, so long as its best and purest half is
+elsewhere! My fame is, as you can guess, a mere ephemera,--a small
+vanishing point, in comparison with the higher ambition I have now
+in view. Listen,--you know nothing of what happened to me on the
+Field of Ardath,--I should have written to you perhaps, but it is
+better to speak--I will tell you all as briefly as I can."
+
+And talking in an undertone, with his arm linked through that of
+his companion, he related the whole strange story of the
+visitation of Edris, the Dream of Al-Kyris, his awakening on the
+Prophet's Field at sunrise, and his final renunciation of Self at
+the Cross of Christ. Heliobas listened to him in perfect silence,
+his eyes alone expressing with what eager interest and attention
+he followed every incident of the narrative.
+
+"And now," said Alwyn in conclusion,--"I always try to remember
+for my own comfort that I LEFT my dead Self in the burning ruin of
+that dream built city of the past,--or SEEMED to leave it, . . and
+yet I feel sometimes as if its shadow presence clung to me still!
+I look in the mirror and see strange, faint reflections of the
+actual personal attributes of the slain Sah-luma,--occasionally
+these are so strong and distinctly marked that I turn away in
+anger from my own image! Why, I loved that Phantasm of a Poet in
+my dream as I must for ages have loved myself to my own utter
+undoing!--I admired his work with such extravagant fondness, that,
+thinking of it, I blush for shame at my own thus manifest
+conceit!--In truth there is only one thing in that pictured
+character of his, I can for the present judge myself free from,--
+namely, the careless rejection of true love for false,--the wanton
+misprisal of a faithful heart, such as Niphrata's, whose fair
+child-face even now often flits before my remorseful memory,--and
+the evil, sensual passion for a woman whose wickedness was as
+evident as her beauty was paramount! I could never understand or
+explain this wilful, headstrong weakness in my Shadow-Self--it was
+the one circumstance in my vision that seemed to have little to do
+with the positive Me in its application,--but now I thoroughly
+grasp the meaning of the lesson conveyed, which is that NO MAN
+EVER REALLY KNOWS HIMSELF, OR FATHOMS THE DEPTHS OF HIS OWN
+POSSIBLE INCONSISTENCIES. And as matters stand with me at the
+present time, I am hemmed in on all sides by difficulties,--for
+since the modern success of that very anciently composed poem,
+'Nourhalma'"--and he smiled--"my friends and acquaintances are
+doing their best to make me think as much of myself as if I were,
+--well! all that I am NOT. Do what I will, I believe am still an
+egoist,--nay, I am sure of it,--for even as regards my heavenly
+saint, Edris, I am selfish!"
+
+"How so?" asked Heliobas, with a grave side-glance of admiration
+at the thoughtful face and meditative earnest eyes of this poet,
+this once bitter and blasphemous skeptic, grown up now to a
+majesty of faith that not all the scorn of men or devils could
+ever shake again.
+
+"I want her!"--he replied, and there was a thrill of pathetic
+yearning in his voice--"I long for her every moment of the day and
+night! It seems, too, as if everything combined to encourage this
+craving in me,--this fond, mad desire to draw her down from her
+own bright sphere of joy,--down to my arms, my heart, my life!
+See!"--and he stopped by a bed of white hyacinths, nodding softly
+in the faint breeze--"Even those flowers remind me of her! When I
+look up at the blue sky I think of the radiance of her eyes,--they
+were the heaven's own color,--when I see light clouds floating
+together half gray, half tinted by the sun, they seem to me to
+resemble the soft and noiseless garb she wore,--the birds sing,
+only to recall to me the lute-like sweetness of her voice,--and at
+night, when I behold the millions upon millions of stars that are
+worlds, peopled as they must be with thousands of wonderful living
+creatures, perhaps as spiritually composed as she, I sometimes
+find it hard, that out of all the exhaustless types of being that
+love, serve, and praise God in Heaven, this one fair Spirit,--only
+this one angel-maiden should not be spared to help and comfort me!
+Yes!--I am selfish to the heart's core, my friend!"--and his eyes
+darkened with a vague wistfulness and trouble,--"Moreover, I have
+weakly striven to excuse my selfishness to my own conscience
+thus:--I have thought that if SHE were vouchsafed to me for the
+remainder of my days, I might then indeed do lasting good, and
+leave lasting consolation to the world,--such work might be
+performed as would stir the most callous souls to life and energy
+and aspiration,--with HER sweet Presence near me, visibly close
+and constant, there is no task so difficult that I would not essay
+and conquer in, for her sake, her service, her greater glory! But
+ALONE!"--and he gave a slight, hopeless gesture--"Nay,--Christ
+knows I will do the utmost best I can, but the solitary ways of
+life are hard!"
+
+Heliobas regarded him fixedly.
+
+"You SEEM to be alone"--he said presently, after a pause,--"but
+truly you are not so. You think you are set apart to do your work
+in solitude,--nevertheless, she whom you love may be near you even
+while you speak! Still I understand what you mean,--you long to
+SEE her again,--to realize her tangible form and presence,--well!
+--this cannot be until you pass from this earth and adopt HER
+nature, . . unless,--unless SHE descends hither, and adopts YOURS!"
+
+The last words were uttered slowly and impressively, and Alwyn's
+countenance brightened with a sudden irresistible rapture.
+
+"That would be impossible!" he said, but his voice trembled, and
+there was more interrogativeness than assertion in his tone.
+
+"Impossible in most cases,--yes"--agreed Heliobas--"but in your
+specially chosen and privileged estate, I cannot positively say
+that such a thing might not be."
+
+For one moment a strange, eager brilliancy shone in Alwyn's eyes,
+--the next, he set his lips hard, and made a firm gesture of
+denial.
+
+"Do not tempt me, good Heliobas," he said, with a faint smile--
+"Or, rather, do not let me tempt myself! I bear in constant mind
+what she, my Edris, told me when she left me,--that we should not
+meet again till after death, unless the longing of my love
+COMPELLED. Now, if it be true, as I have often thought, that I
+COULD compel,--by what right dare I use such power, if power I
+have upon her? She loves me,--I love her,--and by the force of
+love, such love as ours, . . who knows!--I might perchance persuade
+her to adopt a while this mean, uneasy vesture of mere mortal
+life,--and the very innate perception that I MIGHT do so, is the
+sharpest trial I have to endure. Because if I would thoroughly
+conquer myself, I must resist this feeling;--nay, I WILL resist
+it,--for let it cost me what it may, I have sworn that the
+selfishness of my own personal desire shall never cross or cloud
+the radiance of her perfect happiness!"
+
+"But suppose"--suggested Heliobas quietly, "suppose she were to
+find an even more complete happiness in making YOU happy?"
+
+Alwyn shook his head. "My friend do not let us talk of it!"--he
+answered--"No joy can be more complete than the joy of Heaven,--
+and that in its full blessedness is hers."
+
+"That in its full blessedness is NOT hers,"--declared Heliobas
+with emphasis--"And, moreover, it can never be hers, while YOU are
+still an exile and a wanderer! Friend Poet, do you think that even
+Heaven is wholly happy to one who loves, and whose Beloved is
+absent?"
+
+A tremor shook Alwyn's nerves,--his eyes glowed as though the
+inward fire of his soul had lightened them, but his face grew very
+pale.
+
+"No more of this, for God's sake!" he said passionately. "I must
+not dream of it,--I dare not! I become the slave of my own
+imagined rapture,--the coward who falls conquered and trembling
+before his own desire of delight! Rather let me strive to be glad
+that she, my angel-love, is so far removed from my unworthiness,--
+let her, if she be near me now, read my thoughts, and see in them
+how dear, how sacred is her fair and glorious memory,--how I would
+rather endure an eternity of anguish, than make her sad for one
+brief hour of mortal-counted time!"
+
+He was greatly moved,--his voice trembled with the fervor of its
+own music, and Heliobas looked at him with a grave and very tender
+smile.
+
+"Enough!"--he said gently--"I will speak no further on this
+subject, which I see affects you deeply. Nevertheless, I would
+have you remember how, when the Master whom we serve passed
+through His Agony at Gethsemane, and with all the knowledge of His
+own power and glory strong upon Him, still in His vast self-
+abnegation said, 'Not My will, but Thine be done!' that then
+'there appeared an Angel unto Him from heaven strengthening Him!'
+Think of this,--for every incident in that Divine-Human Life is a
+hint for ours,--and often it chances that when we reject happiness
+for the sake of goodness, happiness is suddenly bestowed upon us.
+God's miracles are endless,--God's blessings exhaustless, . . and
+the marvels of this wondrous Universe are as nothing, compared to
+the working of His Sovereign Will for good on the lives of those
+who serve Him faithfully."
+
+Alwyn flashed upon him a quick, half-questioning glance, but was
+silent,--and they walked on together for some minutes without
+exchanging a word. A few people passed and repassed them,--some
+little children were playing hide-and-seek behind the trunks of
+the largest trees,--the air was fresh and invigorating, and the
+incessant roar of busy traffic outside the Park palings offered a
+perpetual noisy reminder of the great world that surged around
+them,--the world of petty aims and transitory pleasures, with
+which they, filled full of the knowledge of higher and eternal
+things, had so little in common save sympathy,--sympathy for the
+wilful wrong-doing of man, and pity for his self-imposed
+blindness. Presently Heliobas spoke again in his customary light
+and cheerful tone:
+
+"Are you writing anything new just now?" he asked. "Or are you
+resting from literary labor?"
+
+"Well, rest and work are with me very nearly one and the same"--
+replied Alwyn,--"I think the most absolutely tiring and exhausting
+thing in the world would be to have nothing to do. Then I can
+imagine life becoming indeed a weighty burden! Yes, I am engaged
+on a new poem, . . it gives me intense pleasure to write it--but
+whether it will give any one equal pleasure to read it is quite
+another question."
+
+"Does 'Zabastes' still loom on your horizon?" inquired his
+companion mirthfully--"Or are you still inclined--as in the Past--
+to treat him, whether he comes singly or in numbers, as the Poet's
+court-jester, and paid fool?"
+
+Alwyn laughed lightly. "Perhaps!" he answered, with a sparkle of
+amusement in his eyes,--"But, really, so far as the wind of
+criticism goes, I don't think any author nowadays particularly
+cares whether it blows fair weather or foul. You see, we all know
+how it is done,--we can name the clubs and cliques from whence it
+emanates, and we are fully aware that if one leading man of a
+'set' gives the starting signal of praise or blame, the rest
+follow like sheep, without either thought or personal
+discrimination. Moreover, some of us have met and talked with
+certain of these magazine and newspaper oracles, and have tested
+for ourselves the limited extent of their knowledge and the
+shallowness of their wit. I assure you it often happens that a
+great author is tried, judged, and condemned by a little casual
+press-man who, in his very criticism, proves himself ignorant of
+grammar. Of course, if the public choose to accept such a verdict,
+why, then, all the worse for the public,--but luckily the majority
+of men are beginning to learn the ins and outs of the modern
+critic's business,--they see his or HER methods (it is a notable
+fact that women do a great deal of criticism now, they being
+willing to scribble oracular commonplaces at a cheaper rate of pay
+than men), so that if a book is condemned, people are dubious, and
+straight way read it for themselves to see what is in it that
+excites aversion,--if it is praised, they are still dubious, and
+generally decide that the critical eulogist must have some
+personal interest in its sale. It is difficult for an author to
+WIN his public,--but WHEN won, the critics may applaud or deride
+as suits their humor, it makes no appreciable difference to his
+popularity. Now I consider my own present fame was won by chance,
+--a misconception that, as _I_ know, had its ancient foundation in
+truth, but that, as far as everybody else is concerned, remains a
+misconception,--so that I estimate my success at its right value,
+or rather, let me say, at its proper worthlessness."
+
+And in a few words he related how the leaders of English
+journalism had judged him dead, and had praised his work chiefly
+because it was posthumous. "I believe"--he added good-humoredly--
+"that if this mistake had not arisen, I should scarcely have been
+heard of, since I advocate no particular 'cult' and belong to no
+Mutual Admiration Alliance, offensive or defensive. But my
+supposed untimely decease served me better than the Browning
+Society serves Browning!"
+
+Again he laughed,--Heliobas had listened with a keen and sarcastic
+enjoyment of the whole story.
+
+"Undoubtedly your 'Zabastes' was no phantom!"--he observed
+emphatically--"His was evidently a very real existence, and he
+must have divided himself from one into several, to sit in
+judgment again upon you in this present day! History repeats
+itself,--and unhappily all the injustice, hypocrisy, and
+inconsistency of man is repeated too,--and out of the multitudes
+that inhabit the earth, how few will succeed in fulfilling their
+highest destinies! This is the one bitter drop in the cup of our
+knowledge,--we can, if we choose, save ourselves,--but we can
+seldom, if ever, save others!"
+
+Alwyn stopped short, his eyes darkening with a swift intensity of
+feeling.
+
+"Why not?"--he asked earnestly--"Must we look on, and see men
+rushing toward certain misery, without making an effort to turn
+them hack?--to warn them of the darkness whither they are bound?--
+to rescue them before it is too late?"
+
+"My friend, we can make the effort, certainly,--and we are bound
+to make it, because it is our duty,--but in ninety-nine cases out
+of a hundred we shall fail of our persuasion. What can I, or you,
+or any one, do against the iron force of Free-Will? God Himself
+will not constrain it,--how then shall we? In the Books of Esdras,
+which have already been of such use to you, you will find the
+following significant words: 'The Most High hath made this world
+for many, but the world to come for few. As when thou askest the
+earth, it shall say unto thee that it giveth much mold wherein
+earthen vessels are made, and but little dust that gold cometh of,
+even so is the course of this present world. There be many created
+but FEW shall be saved.'--God elects to be served by CHOICE--and
+NOT by compulsion; it is His Law that Man shall work out his own
+immortal destiny,--and nothing can alter this overwhelming Fact.
+The sublime Example of Christ was given us as a means to assist us
+in forming our own conclusions,--but there is no coercion in it,--
+only a Divine Love. You, for instance, were, and are, still
+perfectly free to reject the whole of your experience on the Field
+of Ardath as a delusion,--nothing would be easier, and, from the
+world's point of view, nothing more natural. Faith and Doubt are
+equally voluntary acts,--the one is the instinct of the immortal
+Soul, the other the tendency of the perishable Body,--and the Will
+decides which of the two shall conquer in the end. I know that you
+are firm in your high and true conviction,--I know also what
+thoughts are at work in your brain,--you are bending all your
+energies on the task of trying to instil into the minds of your
+fellow-men some comprehension of the enlightenment and hope you
+yourself possess. Ah, you must prepare for disappointment!--for
+though the times are tending toward strange upheavals and terrors,
+when the trumpet-voice of an inspired Poet may do enormous good,--
+still the name of the wilfully ignorant is Legion,--the age is one
+of the grossest Mammon worship, and coarsest Atheism,--and the
+noblest teachings of the noblest teacher, were he even another
+Shakespeare, must of necessity be but a casting of pearls before
+swine. Still"--and his rare sweet smile brightened the serene
+dignity of his features--"fling out the pearls freely all the
+same,--the swine may grunt at, but cannot rend you,--and a poet's
+genius should be like the sunlight, that falls on rich and poor,
+good and bad, with glorious impartiality! If you can comfort one
+sorrow, check one sin, or rescue one soul from the widening
+quicksand of the Atheist world, you have sufficient reason to be
+devoutly thankful."
+
+By this time their walk had led them imperceptibly to one of the
+gates of egress from the Park, and Heliobas, pointing to a huge
+square building opposite, said:
+
+"There is the hotel at which I am staying--one of the Americanized
+monster fabrics in which tired travellers find much splendid show,
+and little rest! Will you lunch with me?--I am quite alone."
+
+Alwyn gladly assented,--he was most unwilling to part at once from
+this man, to whom in a measure he felt he owed his present happy
+and tranquil condition of body and mind; besides, he was curious
+to find out more about him--to obtain from him, if possible, an
+entire explanation of the actual tenets and chief characteristics
+of the system of religious worship he himself practiced and
+followed. Heliobas seemed to guess his thoughts, for suddenly
+turning upon him with a quick glance, he observed:
+
+"You want to 'pluck out the heart of my mystery,' as Hamlet says,
+do you not, my friend?"--and he smiled--"Well, so you shall, if
+you can discover aught in me that is not already in yourself! I
+assure you there is nothing preternatural about me,--my peculiar
+'eccentricity' consists in steadily adapting myself to the
+scientific spiritual, as well as scientific material, laws of the
+Universe. The two sets of laws united make harmony,--hence I find
+my life harmonious and satisfactory,--this is my 'abnormal'
+condition of mind,--and you are now fully as 'abnormal' as I am.
+Come, we will discuss our mutual strange non-conformity to the
+wild world's custom or caprice over a glass of good wine,--
+observe, please, that I am neither a 'total abstainer' nor a
+'vegetarian,' and that I have a curious fashion of being
+TEMPERATE, and of using all the gifts of beneficent Nature
+equally, and without prejudice!' While he spoke, they had crossed
+the road, and they now entered the vestibule of the hotel, where,
+declining the hall-porter's offer of the "lift," Heliobas ascended
+the stairs leisurely to the second floor, and ushered his
+companion into a comfortable private sitting-room.
+
+"Fancy men consenting to be drawn up to their apartments like
+babes in a basket!" he said laughingly, alluding to the "lift"
+process--"Upon my word, when I think of the strong people of a
+past age and compare them with the enervated race of to-day, I
+feel not only pity, but shame, for the visible degeneration of
+mankind. Frail nerves, weak hearts, uncertain limbs,--these are
+common characteristics of the young, nowadays, instead of being as
+formerly the natural failings of the old. Wear and tear and worry
+of modern existence?--Oh yes, I know!--but why the wear tear and
+worry at all? What is it for? Simply for the OVER-GETTING of
+money. One must live? ... certainly,--but one is not bound to live
+in foolish luxury for the sake of out-flaunting one's neighbors.
+Better to live simply and preserve health, than gain a fortune and
+be a moping dyspeptic for life. But unless one toils and moils
+like a beast of burden, one cannot even live simply, some will
+say! I don't believe that assertion. The peasants of France live
+simply, and save,--the peasants of England live wretchedly, and
+waste! Voila la difference! As with nations, so with individuals,
+--it is all a question of Will. 'Where there's a will there's a
+way,' is a dreadfully trite copybook maxim, but it's amazingly
+true all the same. Now let us to the acceptation of these good
+things,"--this, as a pallid, boyish-looking waiter just then
+entered the room with the luncheon, and in his bustling to and fro
+manifested unusual eagerness to make himself agreeable--"I have
+made excellent friends with this young Ganymede,--he has sworn
+never to palm off raisin-wine upon me for Chambertin!"
+
+The waiter blushed and chuckled as though he were conscious of
+having gained special new dignity and importance,--and having laid
+the table, and set the chairs, he departed with a flourishing bow
+worthy of a prince's maitre-d'hotel.
+
+"Your name must seem a curious one to these fellows"--observed
+Alwyn, when he had gone,--"Unusual and even mysterious?"
+
+"Why, yes!"--returned Heliobas with a laugh--"It would be judged
+so, I suppose, if I ever gave it,--but I don't. It was only in
+England, and by an Englishman, that I was once, to my utter
+amazement, addressed as 'He-ly-oh-bas'--and I was quite alarmed at
+the sound of it! One would think that most people in these
+educational days knew the Greek word helios,--and one would also
+imagine it as easy to say Heliobas as heliograph. But now to avoid
+mistakes, whenever I touch British territory and come into contact
+with British tongues, I give my Christian name only, Cassimir--the
+result of which arrangement is, that I am known in this hotel as
+Mr. Kasmer! Oh, I don't mind in the least--why should I?--neither
+the English nor the Americans ever pronounce foreign names
+properly. Why I met a newly established young publisher yesterday,
+who assured me that most of his authors, the female ones
+especially, are so ignorant of foreign literature that he doubts
+whether any of them know whether Cervantes was a writer or an
+ointment!"
+
+Alwyn laughed. "I dare say the young publisher may be perfectly
+right,"--he said--"But all the same he has no business to publish
+the literary emanations of such ignorance."
+
+"Perhaps not!--but what is he to do, if nothing else is offered to
+him? He has to keep his occupation going somehow,--from bad he
+must select the best. He cannot create a great genius--he has to
+wait till Nature, in the course of events, evolves one from the
+elements. And in the present general dearth of high ability the
+publishers are really more sinned against than sinning. They spend
+large sums, and incur large risks, in launching new ventures on
+the fickle sea of popular favor, and often their trouble is taken
+all in vain. It is really the stupid egotism of authors that is
+the stumbling-block in the way of true literature,--each little
+scribbler that produces a shilling sensational thinks his or her
+own work a marvel of genius, and nothing can shake them from their
+obstinate conviction. If every man or woman, before putting pen to
+paper, would be sure they had something new, suggestive,
+symbolical, or beautiful to say, how greatly Art might gain by
+their labors! Authors who take up arms against publishers en
+masse, and in every transaction expect to be cheated, are doing
+themselves irreparable injury--they betray the cloven hoof,--
+namely a greed for money--and when once that passion dominates
+them, down goes their reputation and they with it. It is the old
+story over again--'ye cannot serve God and Mammon,'--and all Art
+is a portion of God,--a descending of the Divine into Humanity."
+
+Alwyn sat for a minute silent and thoughtful. "A descending of the
+Divine into Humanity!" he repeated slowly--"It seems to me that
+'miracle' is forever being enacted--and yet ... we doubt!"
+
+"WE do not doubt--" said Heliobas--"WE know,--we have touched
+Reality! But see yonder!"--and he pointed through the window to
+the crowded thoroughfare below--"There are the flying phantoms of
+life,--the men and women who are God-oblivious, and who are
+therefore no more actually LIVING than the shadows of Al-Kyris!
+They shall pass as a breath and be no more,--and this roaring,
+trafficking metropolis, this immediate centre of civilization,
+shall ere long disappear off the surface of the earth, and leave
+not a stone to mark the spot where once it stood! So have
+thousands of such cities fallen since this planet was flung into
+space,--and even so shall thousands still fall. Learning,
+civilization, science, progress,--these things exist merely for
+the training and education of a chosen few--and out of many earth
+centuries and generations of men, shall be won only a very small
+company of angels! Be glad that you have fathomed the mystery of
+your own life's purpose,--for you are now as much a Positive
+Identity among vanishing spectres, as you were when, on the Field
+of Ardath, you witnessed and took part in the Mirage of your
+Past."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+A MISSING RECORD.
+
+
+He spoke the last words with deep feeling and earnestness, and
+Alwyn, meeting his clear, grave, brilliant eyes, was more than
+ever impressed by the singular dignity and overpowering magnetism
+of his presence. Remembering how insufficiently he had realized
+this man's true worth, when he had first sought him out in his
+monastic retreat, he was struck by a sudden sense of remorse, and
+leaning across the table, gently touched his hand.
+
+"How greatly I wronged you once, Heliobas!" he said penitently,
+with a tremor of appeal in his voice--"Forgive me, will you?--
+though I shall never forgive myself!"
+
+Heliobas smiled, and cordially pressed the extended hand in his
+own.
+
+"Nay, there is nothing to forgive, my friend," he answered
+cheerfully--"and nothing to regret. Your doubts of me were very
+natural,--indeed, viewed by the world's standard of opinion, much
+more natural than your present faith, for faith is always a SUPER-
+natural instinct. Would you be practically sensible according to
+modern social theories?--then learn to suspect everybody and
+everything, even your best friend's good intentions!"
+
+He laughed, and the luncheon being concluded, he rose from the
+table, and taking an easy-chair nearer the window, motioned Alwyn
+to do the same.
+
+"I want to talk to you"--he continued, "We may not meet again for
+years,--you are entering on a difficult career, and a few hints
+from one who knows and thoroughly understands your position may
+possibly be of use to you. In the first place, then, let me ask
+you, have you told any one, save me, the story of your Ardath
+adventure?"
+
+"One friend only,--my old school comrade, Frank Villiers"--replied
+Alwyn.
+
+"And what does he say about it?"
+
+"Oh, he thinks it was a dream from beginning to end,"--and Alwyn
+smiled a little,--"He believes that I set out on my journey with
+my brain already heated to an imaginative excess, and that the
+whole thing, even my Angel's presence, was a pure delusion of my
+own overwrought fancy,--a curious and wonderful delusion, but
+always a delusion."
+
+"He is a very excellent fellow to judge you so leniently"--
+observed Heliobas composedly, "Most people would call you mad."
+
+"Mad!" exclaimed Alwyn hotly--"Why, I am as sane as any man in
+London!"
+
+"Saner, I should say,"--replied Heliobas, smiling,--"Compared with
+some of the eminently 'practical' speculating maniacs that howl
+and struggle among the fluctuating currents of the Stock Exchange,
+for instance, you are indeed a marvel of sound and wholesome
+mental capability! But let us view the matter coolly. You must not
+expect such an exceptional experience as yours to be believed in
+by ordinary persons. Because the majority of people, being utterly
+UNspiritual and worldly, have NO such experiences, and they
+therefore deem them impossible;--they are the gold-fish born in a
+bowl, who have no consciousness of the existence of an ocean.
+Moreover, you have no proofs of the truth of your narrative,
+beyond the change in your own life and disposition,--and that can
+be easily referred to various other causes. You spoke of having
+gathered one of the miracle-flowers on the Prophet's field,--may I
+see it?"
+
+Silently Alwyn drew from his breast-pocket the velvet case in
+which he always kept the cherished blossom, and taking it tenderly
+out, placed it in his companion's hand.
+
+"An immortelle"--said Heliobas softly, while the flower, uncurling
+its silvery petals in the warmth of his palm, opened star-like and
+white as snow. "An immortelle, rare and possibly unique!--that is
+all the world would say of it! It cannot be matched,--it will not
+fade,--true! but you will get no one to believe that! Frown not,
+good Poet!--I want you to consider me for the moment a practical
+worldling, bent on driving you from the spiritual position yon
+have taken up,--and you will see how necessary it is for you to
+keep the secret of your own enlightenment to yourself, or at least
+only hint at it through the parables of poesy."
+
+He gave back the Ardath blossom to its owner with reverent care,--
+and when Alwyn had as reverently put it by, he resumed:
+
+"Your friend Villiers has offered you a perfectly logical and
+common-sense solution of the mystery of Ardath,--one which, if you
+chose to accept it, would drive you back into skepticism as easily
+as a strong wind blows a straw. Only see how simple the intricate
+problem is unravelled by this means! You, a man of ardent and
+imaginative temperament, made more or less unhappy by the
+doctrines of materialism, come to me, Heliobas, a Chaldean student
+of the Higher Philosophies, an individual whose supposed
+mysterious power and inexplicably studious way of life entitle him
+to be considered by the world at large an IMPOSTER!--Now don't
+look so indignant!"--and he laughed,--"I am merely discussing the
+question from the point of view that would be sure to be adopted
+by 'wise' modern society! Thus--I, Heliobas, the impostor, take
+advantage of your state of mind to throw you into a trance, in
+which, by occult means, you see the vision of an Angel, who bids
+you meet her at a place called Ardath,--and you, also, in your
+hypnotized condition, write a poem which you entitle 'Nourhalma.'
+Then I,--always playing my own little underhand game!--read you
+portions of 'Esdras,' and prove to you that 'Ardath' exists, while
+I delicately SUGGEST, if I do not absolutely COMMAND, your going
+thither. You go,--but I, still by magnetic power, retain my
+influence over you. You visit Elzear, a hermit, whom we will, for
+the sake of the present argument, call my accomplice,--he reads
+between the lines of the letter you deliver to him from me, and he
+understands its secret import. He continues, no matter how, your
+delusion. You broke your fast with him,--and surely it was easy
+for him to place some potent drug in the wine he gave you, which
+made you DREAM the rest;--nay, viewed from this standpoint, it is
+open to question whether you ever went to the Field of Ardath at
+all, but merely DREAMED you did! You see how admirably I can, with
+little trouble, disprove the whole story, and make myself out to
+be the veriest charlatan and trickster that ever duped his
+credulous fellow-man! How do you like my practical dissection of
+your new-found joys?"
+
+Alwyn was gazing at him with puzzled and anxious eyes.
+
+"I do not like it at all"--he murmured, in a pained tone--"It is
+an insidious SEMBLANCE of truth;--but I know it is not the Truth
+itself!"
+
+"Why, how obstinate you are!" said Heliobas, good-humoredly, with
+a quick, flashing glance at him. "You insist on seeing things in a
+directly reverse way to that in which the world sees them! How can
+you be so foolish! To the world your Ardath adventure is the
+SEMBLANCE of truth,--and only man's opinion thereon is worth
+trusting as the Truth itself!"
+
+Over the wistful, brooding thoughtfulness of Alwyn's countenance
+swept a sudden light of magnificent resolution.
+
+"Heliobas, do not jest with me!" he cried passionately--"I know,
+better perhaps than most men, how divine things can be argued away
+by the jargon of tongues, till heart and brain grow weary,--I
+know, God help me!--how the noblest ideals of the soul can be
+swept down and dispersed into blank ruin, by the specious
+arguments of cold-blooded casuists,--but I also know, by a supreme
+INNER knowledge beyond all human proving, that GOD EXISTS, and
+with His Being exist likewise all splendors, great and small,
+spiritual and material,--splendors vaster than our intelligence
+can reach,--ideals loftier than imagination can depict! I want no
+proof of this save those that burn in my own individual
+consciousness,--I do not need a miserable taper of human reason to
+help me to discern the Sun! I, OF MY OWN CHOICE, PRAYER, AND HOPE,
+voluntarily believe in God, in Christ, in angels, in all things
+beautiful and pure and grand!--let the world and its ephemeral
+opinions wither, I will NOT be shaken down from the first step of
+the ladder whereon one climbs to Heaven!"
+
+His features were radiant with fervor and feeling,--his eyes
+brilliant with the kindling inward light of noblest aspiration,--
+and Heliobas, who had watched him intently, now bent toward him
+with a grave gesture of the gentlest homage.
+
+"How strong is he whom an Angel's love makes glorious!" he said--
+"We are partners in the same destiny, my friend,--and I have but
+spoken to you as the world might speak, to prepare you for
+opposition. The specious arguments of men confront us at every
+turn, in every book, in every society,--and it is not always that
+we are ready to meet them. As a rule, silence on all matters of
+personal faith is best,--let your life bear witness for you;--it
+shall thunder loud oracles when your mortal limbs are dumb."
+
+He paused a moment--then went on: "You have desired to know the
+secret of the active and often miraculous power of the special
+form of religion I and my brethren follow; well, it is all
+contained in Christ, and Christ only. His is the only true
+Spiritualism in the world--there was never any before He came. We
+obey Christ in the simple rules he preached,--Christ according to
+His own enunciated wish and will. Moreover, we,--that is, our
+Fraternity,--received our commission from Christ Himself in
+person."
+
+Alwyn started,--his eyes dilated with amazement and awe.
+
+"From Christ Himself in person?"--he echoed incredulously.
+
+"Even so"--returned Heliobas calmly. "What do you suppose our
+Divine Master was about during the years between His appearance
+among the Rabbis of the Temple and the commencement of His public
+preaching? Do you, can you, imagine with the rest of the purblind
+world, that he would have left His marvellous Gospel in the charge
+of a few fishermen and common folk ONLY"
+
+"I never thought,--I never inquired--" began Alwyn hurriedly.
+
+"No!"--and Heliobas smiled rather sadly, "Few men do think or
+inquire very far on sacred subjects! Listen,--for what I have to
+say to you will but strengthen you in your faith,--and you will
+need more than all the strength of the Four Evangelists to bear
+you stiffly up against the suicidal Negation of this present
+disastrous epoch. Ages ago,--ay, more than six or seven thousand
+years ago, there were certain communities of men in the East,--
+scholars, sages, poets, astronomers, and scientists, who, desiring
+to give themselves up entirely to study and research, withdrew
+from the world, and formed themselves into Fraternities, dividing
+whatever goods they had in common, and living together under one
+roof as the brotherhoods of the Catholic Church do to this day.
+The primal object of these men's investigations was a search after
+the Divine Cause of Creation; and as it was undertaken with
+prayer, penance, humility, and reverence, much enlightenment was
+vouchsafed to them, and secrets of science, both spiritual and
+material, were discovered by them,--secrets which the wisest of
+modern sages know nothing of as yet. Out of these Fraternities
+came many of the prophets and preachers of the Old Testament,--
+Esdras for one,--Isaiah for another. They were the chroniclers of
+many now forgotten events,--they kept the history of the times, as
+far is it was possible,--and in their ancient records your city of
+Al-Kyris is mentioned as a great and populous place, which was
+suddenly destroyed by the bursting out of a volcano beneath its
+foundations--Yes!"--this as Alwyn uttered an eager exclamation,--
+"Your vision was a perfectly faithful reflection of the manner in
+which it perished. I must tell you, however, that nothing
+concerning its kings or great men has been preserved,--only a few
+allusions to one Hyspiros, a writer of tragedies, whose genius
+seems to have corresponded to that of our Shakespeare of to-day.
+The name of Sah-luma is nowhere extant."
+
+A burning wave of color flushed Alwyn's face, but he was silent.
+Heliobas went on gently:
+
+"At a very early period of their formation, these Fraternities I
+tell you of were in possession of most of the MATERIAL scientific
+facts of the present day,--such things as the electric wire and
+battery, the phonograph, the telephone, and other 'new'
+discoveries, being perfectly familiar to them. The SPIRITUAL
+manifestations of Nature were more intricate and difficult to
+penetrate,--and though they knew that material effects could only
+be produced by spiritual causes, they worked in the dark, as it
+were, only groping toward the light. However, the wisdom and
+purity of the lives they led was not without its effect,--emperors
+and kings sought their advice, and gave them great stores of
+wealth, which they divided, according to rule, into equal
+portions, and used for the benefit of those in need, willing the
+remainder to their successors; so that, at the present time, the
+few brotherhoods that are left hold immense treasures accumulated
+through many centuries,--treasures which are theirs to share with
+one another in prosecution of discoveries and the carrying on of
+good works in secret. Ages before the coming of Christ, one
+Aselzion, a man of austere and strict life, belonging to a
+Fraternity stationed in Syria, was engaged in working out a
+calculation of the average quantity of heat and light provided per
+minute by the sun's rays, when, glancing upward at the sky, the
+hour being clear noonday, he beheld a Cross of crimson hue
+suspended in the sky, whereon hung the cloudy semblance of a human
+figure. Believing himself to be the victim of some optical
+delusion, he hastened to fetch some of his brethren, who at a
+glance perceived the self-same marvel,--which presently was viewed
+with reverent wonder by the whole assembled community. For one
+entire hour the Symbol stayed--then vanished suddenly, a noise
+like thunder accompanying its departure. Within a few months of
+its appearance, messages came from all the other Fraternities
+stationed in Egypt, in Spain, in Greece, in Etruria, stating that
+they also had seen this singular sight, and suggesting that from
+henceforth the Cross should be adopted by the united Brotherhoods
+as a holy sign of some Deity unrevealed,--a proposition that was
+at once agreed to. This happened some five thousand years before
+Christ,--and hence the Sign of the Cross became known in all, or
+nearly all, the ancient rites of worship, the multitude
+considering that because it was the emblem of the Philosophical
+Fraternities, it must have some sacred meaning. So it was used in
+the service of Serapis and the adoration of the Nile-god,--it has
+been found carved on Egyptian disks and obelisks, and it was
+included among the numerous symbols of Saturn."
+
+He paused. Alwyn was listening with eager, almost breathless,
+attention.
+
+"After this"--went on Heliobas--"came a long period of
+prefigurements; types and suggestions, that, running through all
+the various religions that sprang up swiftly and as swiftly
+decayed, hinted vaguely at the birth of a child,--offspring of a
+pure Virgin--a miraculously generated God-in-Man--an absolutely
+Sinless One, who should be sent to remind Humanity of its intended
+final high destiny, and who should, by precept and example, draw
+the Earth nearer to Heaven. I would here ask you to note what most
+people seem to forget,--namely, that since Christ came, all these
+shadowy types and prefigurements have CEASED; a notable fact, even
+to skeptical minds. The world waited dimly for something, it knew
+not what,--the various Fraternities of the Cross waited also,
+feeling conscious that some great era of hope and happiness was
+about to dawn for all men. When the Star in the East arose
+announcing the Redeemer's birth, there were some forty or fifty of
+these Fraternities existing, three in the ancient province of
+Chaldea, from whence a company of the wisest seers and sages were
+sent to acknowledge by their immediate homage the Divinity born in
+Bethlehem. These were the 'wise men out of the East' mentioned in
+the Gospel. We knew--I say WE, because I am descended directly
+from one of these men, and have always belonged to their
+Brotherhood--we knew it was DIVINITY that had come amongst us,--
+and in our parchment chronicles there is a long account of how the
+deserts of Arabia rang with music that holy night--what wealth of
+flowers sprang up in places that had hither to lain waste and dry
+--how the sky blazed with rings of roseate radiance,--how fair and
+wondrous shapes were seen flitting across the heavens,--the road
+of communication between men and Angels being opened at a touch by
+the Saviour's advent."
+
+Again he paused,--and after a little silence resumed:
+
+"Then we added the Star to our existing Symbol, the Cross, and
+became the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. As such, after the
+Redeemer's birth, we put all other matters from us, and set
+ourselves to chronicle His life and actions, to pray and wait,
+unknowing what might be the course of His work or will. One Day He
+came to us,--ah! happy those whom He found watching, and whose
+privilege it was to receive their Divine Guest!"
+
+His voice had a passionate thrill within it, as of tears,--and
+Alwyn's heart beat fast,--what a wonderful new chapter was here
+revealed of the old, old story of the Only Perfect Life on earth!
+
+"One of the Fraternities," went on Heliobas, "had its habitation
+in the wilderness where, some years later, the Master wandered
+fasting forty days and forty nights. To that solitary abode of
+prayerful men He came, when He was about twenty-three earthly
+years of age; the record of His visit has been reverently penned
+and preserved, and from it we know how fair and strong He was,--
+how stately and like a King--how gracious and noble in bearing--
+how far exceeding in beauty all the sons of men! His speech was
+music that thrilled to the heart,--the wondrous glory of His eyes
+gave life to those who knelt and worshipped Him--His touch was
+pardon--His smile was peace! From His own lips a store of wisdom
+was set down,--and prophecies concerning the fate of His own
+teaching, which then He uttered, are only now, at this very day,
+being fulfilled. Therefore we know the time has come--" he broke
+off, and sighed deeply.
+
+"The time has come for what?" demanded Alwyn eagerly.
+
+"For certain secrets to be made known to the world which till now
+have been kept sacred," returned Heliobas,--"You must understand
+that the chief vow of the Fraternity of the Cross and Star is
+SECRECY,--a promise never to divulge the mysteries of God and
+Nature to those who are unfitted to receive such high instruction.
+It is Christ's own saying--'A faithless and perverse generation
+asketh for a sign, and no sign shall be given.' You surely are
+aware how, even in the simplest discoveries of material science,
+the world's attitude is at first one of jeering incredulity,--how
+much more so, then, in things which pertain solely to the
+spiritual side of existence! But God will not be mocked,--and it
+behooves us to think long, and pray much, before we unveil even
+one of the lesser mysteries to the eyes of the vulgar. Christ knew
+the immutable condition of Free-Will,--He knew that faith,
+humility, and obedience are the hardest of all hard virtues to the
+self-sufficient arrogance of man; and we learned from Him that His
+Gospel, simple though it is, would be denied, disputed, quarrelled
+over, shamefully distorted, and almost lost sight of in a
+multitude of 'free' opinions,--that His life-giving Truth would be
+obscured and rendered incomprehensible by the WILFUL obstinacy of
+human arguments concerning it. Christ has no part whatever in the
+distinctly human atrocities that have been perpetrated under cover
+of His Name,--such as the Inquisition, the Wars of the Crusades,
+the slaughter of martyrs, and the degrading bitterness of SECTS;
+in all these things Christ's teaching is entirely set aside and
+lost. He knew how the proud of this world would misread His words
+--that is why He came to men who for thousands of years in
+succession had steadily practised the qualities He most desired,--
+namely, faith, humility, and obedience,--and finding them ready to
+carry out His will, He left with them the mystic secrets of His
+doctrine, which He forbade them to give to the multitude till
+men's quarrels and disputations had called His very existence into
+doubt. Then,--through pure channels and by slow degrees--we were
+to proclaim to the world His last message."
+
+Alwyn's eyes rested on the speaker in reverent yet anxious
+inquiry.
+
+"Surely"--he said--"you will begin to proclaim it now?"
+
+"Yes, we shall begin," answered Heliobas, his brow darkening as
+with a cloud of troubled thought--"But we are in a certain
+difficulty,--for we may not speak in public ourselves, nor write
+for publication,--our ancient vow binds us to this, and may not be
+broken. Moreover, the Master gave us a strange command,--namely,
+that when the hour came for the gradual declaration of the Secret
+of His Doctrine, we should intrust it, in the first place, to the
+hands of one who should be young,--IN the world, yet not OF it,--
+simple as a child, yet wise with the wisdom of faith,--of little
+or no estimation among men,--and who should have the distinctive
+quality of loving NOTHING in earth or Heaven more dearly than His
+Name and Honor. For this unique being we have searched, and are
+searching still,--we can find many who are young and both wise and
+innocent, but, alas! one who loves the unseen Christ actually more
+than all things,--this is indeed a perplexity! I have fancied of
+late that I have discovered in my own circle,--that is, among
+those who have been DRAWN to study God and Nature according to my
+views,--one who makes swift and steady progress in the higher
+sciences, and who, so far as I have been able to trace, really
+loves our Master with singular adoration above all joys on earth
+and hopes of Heaven; but I cannot be sure--and there are many
+tests and trials to be gone through before we dare bid this little
+human lamp of love shine forth upon the raging storm."
+
+He was silent a moment,--then went on in a low tone, as though
+speaking to himself:
+
+"WHEN THE MECHANISM OF THIS UNIVERSE IS EXPLAINED IN SUCH WISE
+THAT NO DISCOVERY OF SCIENCE CAN EVER DISPROVE, BUT MUST RATHER
+SUPPORT IT, . . WHEN THE ESSENCE OF THE IMMORTAL SOUL IN MAN IS
+DESCRIBED IN CLEAR AND CONCISE LANGUAGE,--AND WHEN THE MARVELLOUS
+ACTION OF SPIRIT ON MATTER IS SHOWN TO BE ACTUALLY EXISTENT AND
+NEVER IDLE,--then, if the world still doubts and denies God, it
+will only have itself to blame!--But to you"--and he resumed his
+ordinary tone--"all things, through your Angel's love, are made
+more or less plain,--and I have told you the history of our
+Fraternity merely that you may understand how it is we know so
+much that the outer world is ignorant of. There are very few of us
+left nowadays,--only a dozen Brotherhoods scattered far apart on
+different portions of the earth,--but, such as we are, we are all
+UNITED, and have never, through these eighteen hundred years, had
+a shade of difference in opinion concerning the Divinity of
+Christ. Through Him we have learned TRUE Spiritualism, and all the
+miraculous power which is the result of it; and as there is a
+great deal of FALSE spiritualism rampant just now, I may as well
+give you a few hints whereby you may distinguish it at once,--
+Imprimis: if a so-called Spiritualist tells you that he can summon
+spirits who will remove tables and chairs, write letters, play the
+piano, and rap on the walls, he is a CHARLATAN. FOR SPIRITS CAN
+TOUCH NOTHING CORPOREAL UNLESS THEY TAKE CORPOREAL SHAPE FOR THE
+MOMENT, as in the case of your angelic Edris. But in this
+condition, they are only seen by the one person whom they visit,--
+never by several persons at once--remember that! Nor can they keep
+their corporeal state long,--except, by their express wish and
+will, they should seek to enter absolutely into the life of
+humanity, which, I must tell you, HAS BEEN DONE, but so seldom,
+that in all the history of Christian Spirituality there are only
+about four examples. Here are six tests for all the
+'spiritualists' you may chance to meet:
+
+"First. Do they serve themselves more than others? If so, they are
+entirely lacking in spiritual attributes.
+
+"Secondly. Will they take money for their professed knowledge? If
+so, they condemn themselves as paid tricksters.
+
+"Thirdly. Are they men and women of commonplace and thoroughly
+material life? Then, it is plain they cannot influence others to
+strive for a higher existence.
+
+"Fourthly. Do they love notoriety? If they do, the gates of the
+unseen world are shut upon them.
+
+"Fifthly. Do they disagree among themselves, and speak against one
+another? If so, they contradict by their own behavior all the laws
+of spiritual force and harmony.
+
+"Sixthly and lastly.--Do they reject Christ! If they do, they know
+nothing whatever about Spiritualism, there being NONE without Him.
+Again, when you observe professing psychists living in any
+eccentric way, so as to cause their trifling every-day actions to
+be remarked and commented upon, you may be sure the real power is
+not in them,--as, for instance, people who become vegetarians
+because they imagine that by so doing they will see spirits--
+people who adopt a singular mode of dress in order to appear
+different from their fellow-creatures--people who are lachrymose,
+dissatisfied, or in any way morbid. Never forget that TRUE
+Spiritualism engenders HEALTH OF BODY AND MIND, serenity and
+brightness of aspect, cheerfulness and perfect contentment,--and
+that its influence on those who are brought within its radius is
+distinctly MARKED and BENEFICIAL. The chief characteristic of a
+true, that is, CHRISTIAN, spiritualist is, that he or she CANNOT
+be shaken from faith, or thrown into despair by any earthly
+misfortune whatsoever. And while on this subject, I will show you
+where the existing forms of Christianity depart from the teachings
+of Christ: first, in LACK OF SELF ABNEGATION,--secondly, in LACK
+OF UNITY,--thirdly, in failing to prove to the multitude that
+Death is is not DESTRUCTION, but simply CHANGE. Nothing really
+DIES; and the priests should make use of Science to illustrate
+this fact to the people. Each of these virtues has its Miracle
+Effect: Unity is strength; Self abnegation attracts the Divine
+Influences, and Death, viewed as a glorious transformation, which
+it IS, inspires the soul with a sense of larger life. Sects are
+UNChristian,--there should he only ONE vast, UNITED Church for all
+the Christian world--a Church, whose pure doctrines should include
+all the hints received from Nature and the scientific working of
+the Universe,--the marvels of the stars and the planetary
+systems,--the wonders of plants and minerals,--the magic of light
+and color and music; and the TRUE MIRACLES of Spirit and Matter
+should be inquired into reverently, prayerfully, and always with
+the deepest HUMILITY;--while the first act of worship performed
+every holy Morn and Eve should be Gratitude! Gratitude--gratitude!
+Ay, even for a sorrow we should be thankful,--it may conceal a
+blessing we wot not of! For sight, for sense, for touch, for the
+natural beauty of this present world,--for the smile on a face we
+love--for the dignity and responsibility of our lives, and the
+immortality with which we are endowed,--Oh my friend! would that
+every breath we drew could in some way express to the All Loving
+Creator our adoring recognition of His countless benefits!"
+
+Carried away by his inward fervor, his eyes flashed with
+extraordinary brilliancy,--his countenance was grand, inspired,
+and beautiful, and Alwyn gazed at him in wondering, fascinated
+silence. Here was a man who had indeed made the best of his
+manhood!--what a life was his! how satisfying and serene! Master
+of himself, he was, as it were, master of the world,--all Nature
+ministered to him, and the pageant of passing history was as a
+mere brilliant picture painted for his instruction,--a picture on
+which he, looking, learned all that it was needful for him to
+know. And concerning this mystic Brotherhood of the Cross and
+Star, what treasures of wisdom they must have secreted in their
+chronicles through so many thousands of years! What a privilege it
+would be to explore such world-forgotten tracks of time! Yielding
+to a sudden impulse, Alwyn spoke his thought aloud:
+
+"Heliobas," he said, "tell me, could not I, too, become a member
+of your Fraternity?"
+
+Heliobas smiled kindly. "You could, assuredly"--he replied--"if
+you chose to submit to fifteen years' severe trial and study. But
+I think a different sphere of duty is designed for you. Wait and
+see! The rules of our Order forbid the disclosure of knowledge
+attained, save through the medium of others not connected with us;
+and we may not write out our discoveries for open publication.
+Such a vow would be the death-blow to your poetical labors,--and
+the command your Angel gave you points distinctly to a life lived
+IN the world of men,--not out of it."
+
+"But you yourself are in the world of men at this moment"--argued
+Alwyn--"And you are free; did you not tell me you were bound for
+Mexico?"
+
+"Does going to Mexico constitute liberty?" laughed Heliobas. "I
+assure you I am closely constrained by my vows wherever I am,--as
+closely as though I were shut in our turret among the heights of
+Caucasus! I am going to Mexico solely to receive some manuscripts
+from one of our brethren, who is dying there. He has lived as a
+recluse, like Elzear of Melyana, and to him have been confided
+certain important chronicles, which must be taken into trustworthy
+hands for preservation. Such is the object of my journey. But now,
+tell me, have you thoroughly understood all I have said to you?"
+
+"Perfectly!" rejoined Alwyn. "My way seems very clear before me,--
+a happy way enough, too, if it were not quite so lonely!" And he
+sighed a little.
+
+Heliobas rose and laid one hand kindly on his shoulder.
+"Courage!"...he said softly. "Bear with the loneliness a while, IT
+MAY NOT LAST LONG!"
+
+A slight thrill ran through Alwyn's nerves,--he felt as though he
+were on the giddy verge of some great and unexpected joy,--his
+heart beat quickly and his eyes grew dim. Mastering the strange
+emotion with an effort, he was reluctantly beginning to think it
+was time to take his leave, when Heliobas, who had been watching
+him intently, spoke in a cheerful, friendly tone:
+
+"Now that we have had our serious talk out, Mr. Alwyn, suppose you
+come with me and hear the Ange-Demon of music at St. James's Hall?
+Will you? He can bestow upon you a perfect benediction of sweet
+sound,--a benediction not to be despised in this workaday world of
+clamor,--and out of all the exquisite symbols of Heaven offered to
+us on earth, Music, I think, is the grandest and best."
+
+"I will go with you wherever you please," replied Alwyn, glad of
+any excuse that gave him more of the attractive Chaldean's
+company,--"But what Ange-Demon are you speaking of?"
+
+"Sarasate,--or 'Sarah Sayty,' as some of the clear Britishers call
+him--" laughed Heliobas, putting on his overcoat as he spoke; "the
+'Spanish fiddler,' as the crabbed musical critics define him when
+they want to be contemptuous, which they do pretty often. These,
+together with the literary 'oracles,' have their special cliques,
+--their little chalked out circles, in which they, like tranced
+geese, stand cackling, unable to move beyond the marked narrow
+limit. As there are fools to be found who have the ignorance, as
+well as the effrontery, to declare that the obfuscated, ill-
+expressed, and ephemeral productions of Browning are equal, if not
+superior, to the clear, majestic, matchless, and immortal
+utterances of Shakespeare,--ye gods! the force of asinine braying
+can no further go than this! ... even so there are similar
+fools who say that the cold, correct, student-like playing of
+Joachim is superior to that of Sarasate. But come and judge for
+yourself,--if you have never heard him, it will be a sort of
+musical revelation to you,--he is not so much a violinist, as a
+human violin played by some invisible sprite of song. London
+listens to him, but doesn't know quite what to make of him,--he is
+a riddle that only poets can read. If we start now, we shall be
+just in time,--I have two stalls. Shall we go?"
+
+Alwyn needed no second invitation,--he was passionately fond of
+music,--his interest was aroused, his curiosity excited,--
+moreover, whatever the fine taste of Heliobas pronounced as good
+must, he felt sure, be super-excellent. In a few minutes they had
+left the hotel together, and were walking briskly toward
+Piccadilly, their singularly handsome faces and stately figures
+causing many a passer-by to glance after them admiringly, and
+murmur sotto voce, "Splendid-looking fellows! ... not English!"
+For though Englishmen are second to none in mere muscular strength
+and symmetry of form, it is a fact worth noting, that if any one
+possessing poetic distinction of look, or picturesque and animated
+grace of bearing, be seen suddenly among the more or less
+monotonously uniform crowd in the streets of London, he or she is
+pretty sure to be set down, rightly or wrongly, as "NOT English."
+Is not this rather a pity?--for England!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+THE WIZARD OF THE BOW.
+
+
+When they entered the concert-hall, the orchestra had already
+begun the programme of the day with Mendelssohn's "Italian"
+Symphony. The house was crowded to excess; numbers of people were
+standing, apparently willing to endure a whole afternoon's
+fatigue, rather than miss hearing the Orpheus of Andalusia,--the
+"Endymion out of Spain," as one of our latest and best poets has
+aptly called him. Only a languidly tolerant interest was shown in
+the orchestral performance,--the "Italian" Symphony is not a
+really great or suggestive work, and this is probably the reason
+why it so often fails to arouse popular enthusiasm. For, be it
+understood by the critical elect, that the heart-whole
+appreciation of the million is by no means so "vulgar" as it is
+frequently considered,--it is the impulsive response of those who,
+not being bound hand and foot by any special fetters of thought or
+prejudice, express what they instinctively FEEL to be true. You
+cannot force these "vulgar," by any amount of "societies," to
+adopt Browning as a household god,--but they will appropriate
+Shakespeare, and glory in him, too, without any one's compulsion.
+If authors, painters, and musicians would probe more earnestly
+than they do to the core of this INSTINCTIVE HIGHER ASPIRATION OF
+PEOPLES, it would be all the better for their future fame. For
+each human unit in a nation has its great, as well as base
+passions,--and it is the clear duty of all the votaries of art to
+appeal to and support the noblest side of nature only--moreover,
+to do so with a simple, unforced, yet graphic eloquence of meaning
+that can be grasped equally and at once by both the humble and
+exalted.
+
+"It is not in the least Italian"--said Heliobas, alluding to the
+Symphony, when it was concluded, and the buzz of conversation
+surged through the hall like the noise that might be made by
+thousands of swarming bees,--"There is not a breath of Italian air
+or a glimpse of Italian light about it. The dreamy warmth of the
+South,--the radiant color that lies all day and all night on the
+lakes and mountains of Dante's land,--the fragrance of flowers--
+the snatches of peasants' and fishermen's songs--the tunefulness
+of nightingales in the moonlight,--the tinkle of passing
+mandolins,--all these things should be hinted at in an 'Italian'
+Symphony--and all these are lacking. Mendelssohn tried to do what
+was not in him,--I do not believe the half-phlegmatic, half-
+philosophical nature of a German could ever understand the
+impetuously passionate soul of Italy."
+
+As he spoke, a fair girl, with gray eyes that were almost black,
+glanced round at him inquiringly,--a faint blush flitted over her
+cheeks, and she seemed about to speak, but, as though restrained
+by timidity, she looked away again and said nothing. Heliobas
+smiled.
+
+"That pretty child is Italian," he whispered to Alwyn. "Patriotism
+sparkled in those bright eyes of hers--love for the land of
+lilies, from which she is at present one transplanted!"
+
+Alwyn smiled also, assentingly, and thought how gracious, kindly,
+and gentle were the look and voice of the speaker. He found it
+difficult to realize that this man, who now sat beside him in the
+stalls of a fashionable London concert-room, was precisely the
+same one who, clad in the long flowing white robes of his Order,
+had stood before the Altar in the chapel at Dariel, a stately
+embodiment of evangelical authority, intoning the Seven Glorias!
+It seemed strange, and yet not strange, for Heliobas was a
+personage who might be imagined anywhere,--by the bedside of a
+dying child, among the parliaments of the learned, in the most
+brilliant social assemblies, at the head of a church,--anything he
+chose to do would equally become him, inasmuch as it was utterly
+impossible to depict him engaged in otherwise than good and noble
+deeds. At that moment a tumultuous clamor of applause broke out on
+all sides,--applause that was joined in by the members of the
+orchestra as well as the audience,--a figure emerged from a side
+door on the left and ascended the platform--a slight, agile
+creature, with rough, dark hair and eager, passionate eyes--no
+other than the hero of the occasion, Sarasate himself. Sarasate e
+il suo Violino!--there they were, the two companions; master and
+servant--king and subject. The one, a lithe, active looking man of
+handsome, somewhat serious countenance and absorbed expression,--
+the other, a mere frame of wood with four strings deftly knotted
+across it, in which cunningly contrived little bit of mechanism
+was imprisoned the intangible, yet living Spirit of Sound. A
+miracle in its way!--that out of such common and even vile
+materials as wood, catgut, and horsehair, the divinest music can
+be drawn forth by the hand of the master who knows how to use
+these rough implements! Suggestive, too, is it not, my friends?--
+for if man can by his own poor skill and limited intelligence so
+invoke spiritual melody by material means,--shall not God contrive
+some wondrous tunefulness for Himself even out of our common
+earthly discord? . ... Hush!--A sound sweet and far as the chime
+of angelic bells in some vast sky-tower, rang clearly through the
+hall over the heads of the now hushed and attentive audience--and
+Alwyn, hearing the penetrating silveriness of those first notes
+that fell from Sarasate's bow, gave a quick sigh of amazement and
+ecstasy,--such marvellous purity of tone was intoxicating to his
+senses, and set his nerves quivering for sheer delight in
+sympathetic tune. He glanced at the programme,--"Concerto--
+Beethoven"--and swift as a flash there came to his mind some lines
+he had lately read and learned to love:
+
+    "It was the Kaiser of the Land of Song,
+    The giant singer who did storm the gates
+    Of Heaven and Hell--a man to whom the Fates
+    Were fierce as furies,--and who suffered wrong,
+    And ached and bore it, and was brave and strong
+    And grand as ocean when its rage abates."
+
+Beethoven! ... Musical fullness of divine light! how the glorious
+nightingale notes of his unworded poesy came dropping through the
+air like pearls, rolling off the magic wand of the Violin Wizard,
+whose delicate dark face, now slightly flushed with the glow of
+inspiration, seemed to reflect by its very expression the various
+phases of the mighty composer's thought! Alwyn half closed his
+eyes and listened entranced, allowing his soul to drift like an
+oarless boat on the sweeping waves of the music's will. He was
+under the supreme sway of two Emperors of Art,--Beethoven and
+Sarasate,--and he was content to follow such leaders through
+whatever sweet tangles and tall growths of melody they might
+devise for his wandering. At one mad passage of dancing semitones
+he started,--it was as though a sudden wind, dreaming an enraged
+dream, had leaped up to shake tall trees to and fro,--and the Pass
+of Dariel, with its frozen mountain-peaks, its tottering pines,
+and howling hurricanes, loomed back upon his imagination as he had
+seen it first on the night he had arrived at the Monastery--but
+soon these wild notes sank and slept again in the dulcet harmony
+of an Adagio softer than a lover's song at midnight. Many strange
+suggestions began to glimmer ghost-like through this same Adagio,
+--the fair, dead face of Niphrata flitted past him, as a wandering
+moonbeam flits athwart a cloud,--then came flashing reflections of
+light and color,--the bewildering dazzlement of Lysia's beauty
+shone before the eyes of his memory with a blinding lustre as of
+flame, . . the phantasmagoria of the city of Al-Kyris seemed to
+float in the air like a faintly discovered mirage ascending from
+the sea,--again he saw its picturesque streets, its domes and
+bell-towers, its courts and gardens.. again he heard the dreamy
+melody of the dance that had followed the death of Nir-jalis, and
+saw the cruel Lysia's wondrous garden lying white in the radiance
+of the moon; anon he beheld the great Square, with its fallen
+Obelisk and the prostrate, lifeless form of the Prophet Khosrul..
+and.. Oh, most sad and dear remembrance of all! ... the cherished
+Shadow of Himself, the brilliant, the joyous Sah-luma appeared to
+beckon him from the other side of some vast gulf of mist and
+darkness, with a smile that was sorrowful, yet persuasive; a smile
+that seemed to say--"O friend, why hast thou left me as though I
+were a dead thing and unworthy of regard?--Lo, I have never died,
+--_I am_ here, an abandoned part of THEE, ready
+to become thine inseparable comrade once more if thou make but the
+slightest sign!"--Then it seemed as though voices whispered in his
+ear--"Sah-luma! beloved Sah-luma!"--and "Theos! Theos, my
+beloved!"--till, moved by a vague tremor of anxiety, he lifted his
+drooping eyelids and gazed full in a sort of half-incredulous,
+half-reproachful amaze at the musical necromancer who had conjured
+up all these apparitions,--what did this wonderful Sarasate know
+of his Past?
+
+Nothing, indeed,--he had ceased, and was gravely bowing to the
+audience in response to the thunder of applause, that, like a
+sudden whirlwind, seemed to shake the building. But he had not
+quite finished his incantations,--the last part of the Concerto
+was yet to come,--and as soon as the hubbub of excitement had
+calmed down, he dashed into it with the delicious speed and joy of
+a lark soaring into the springtide air. And now on all sides what
+clear showers and sparkling coruscations of melody!--what a broad,
+blue sky above!--what a fair, green earth below!--how warm and
+odorous this radiating space, made resonant with the ring of sweet
+bird-harmonies!--wild thrills of ecstasy and lover-like
+tenderness--snatches of song caught up from the flower-filled
+meadows and set to float in echoing liberty through the azure dome
+of heaven!--and in all and above all, the light and heat and
+lustre of the unclouded sun!--Here there was no dreaming
+possible, . . nothing but glad life, glad youth, glad love! With an
+ambrosial rush of tune, like the lark descending, the dancing bow
+cast forth the final chord from the violin as though it were a
+diamond flung from the hand of a king, a flawless jewel of pure
+sound,--and the Minstrel monarch of Andalusia, serenely saluting
+the now wildly enthusiastic audience, left the platform. But he
+was not allowed to escape so soon,--again and again, and yet
+again, the enormous crowd summoned him before them, for the mere
+satisfaction of looking at his slight figure, his dark, poetic
+face, and soft, half-passionate, half-melancholy eyes, as though
+anxious to convince themselves that he was indeed human, and not a
+supernatural being, as his marvellous genius seemed to indicate.
+When at last he had retired for a breathing-while, Heliobas turned
+to Alwyn with the question:
+
+"What do you think of him?"
+
+"Think of him!" echoed Alwyn--"Why, what CAN one think,--what CAN
+one say of such an artist!--He is like a grand sunrise,--baffling
+all description and all criticism!"
+
+Heliobas smiled,--there was a little touch of satire in his smile.
+
+"Do you see that gentleman?" he said, in a low tone, pointing out
+by a gesture a pale, flabby-looking young man who was lounging
+languidly in a stall not very far from where they themselves sat,
+--"He is the musical critic for one of the leading London daily
+papers. He has not stirred an inch, or moved an eyelash, during
+Sarasate's performance,--and the violent applause of the audience
+was manifestly distasteful to him! He has merely written one line
+down in his note-book,--it is most probably to the effect that the
+'Spanish fiddler met with his usual success at the hands of the
+undiscriminating public!'"
+
+Alwyn laughed. "Not possible!"--and he eyed the impassive
+individual in question with a certain compassionate amusement,--
+"Why, if he cannot admire such a magnificent artist as Sarasate,
+what is there in the world that WILL rouse his admiration!"
+
+"Nothing!" rejoined Heliobas, his eyes twinkling humorously as he
+spoke--"Nothing,--unless it is his own perspicuity! Nil admirari
+is the critic's motto. The modern 'Zabastes' must always be
+careful to impress his readers in the first place with his
+personal superiority to all men and all things,--and the musical
+Oracle yonder will no doubt be clever enough to make his report of
+Sarasate in such a manner as to suggest the idea that he could
+play the violin much better himself, if he only cared to try!"
+
+"Ass!" said Alwyn under his breath--"One would like to shake him
+out of his absurd self-complacency!"
+
+Heliobas shrugged his shoulders expressively:
+
+"My dear fellow, he would only bray!--and the braying of an ass is
+not euphonious! No!--you might as well shake a dry clothes-prop
+and expect it to blossom into fruit and flower, as argue with a
+musical critic, and expect him to be enthusiastic! The worst of it
+is, these men are not REALLY musical,--they perhaps know a little
+of the grammar and technique of the thing, but they cannot
+understand its full eloquence. In the presence of a genius like
+Pablo de Sarasate they are more or less perplexed,--it is as
+though you ask them to describe in set, cold terms the
+counterpoint and thoroughbass of the wind's symphony to the
+trees,--the great ocean's sonata to the shore, or the delicate
+madrigals sung almost inaudibly by little bell-blossoms to the
+tinkling fall of April rain. The man is too great for them--he is
+a blazing star that dazzles and confounds their sight--and, after
+the manner of their craft, they abuse what they can't understand.
+Music is distinctly the language of the emotions,--and they have
+no emotion. They therefore generally prefer Joachim,--the good,
+stolid Joachim, who so delights all the dreary old spinsters and
+dowagers who nod over their knitting-needles at the 'Monday
+Popular' concerts, and fancy themselves lovers of the 'classical'
+in music. Sarasate appeals to those who have loved, and thought,
+and suffered--those who have climbed the heights of passion and
+wrung out the depths of pain,--and therefore the PEOPLE, taken en
+masse, as, for instance, in this crowded hall, instinctively
+respond to his magic touch. And why?--Because the greater majority
+of human beings are full of the deepest and most passionate
+feelings, not as yet having been 'educated' OUT of them!"
+
+Here the orchestra commenced Liszt's "Preludes"--and all
+conversation ceased. Afterwards Sarasate came again to bestow upon
+his eager admirers another saving grace of sound, in the shape of
+the famous Mendelssohn Concerto, which he performed with such
+fiery ardor, tenderness, purity of tone, and marvellous execution
+that many listeners held their breath for sheer amazement and
+delighted awe. Anything approaching the beauty of his rendering of
+the final "Allegro" Alwyn had never heard,--and indeed it is
+probable none WILL ever hear a more poetical, more exquisite
+SINGING OF THOUGHT than this matchless example of Sarasate's
+genius and power. Who would not warm to the brightness and
+delicacy of those delicious rippling tones, that seemed to leap
+from the strings alive like sparks of fire--the dainty, tripping
+ease of the arpeggi, that float from the bow with the grace of
+rainbow bubbles blown forth upon the air,--the brilliant runs,
+that glide and glitter up and down like chattering brooks
+sparkling among violets and meadow-sweet,--the lovely softer
+notes, that here and there sigh between the varied harmonies with
+the dreamy passion of lovers who part, only to meet again in a
+rush of eager joy!--Alwyn sat absorbed and spellbound; he forgot
+the passing of time,--he forgot even the presence of Heliobas,--he
+could only listen, and gratefully drink in every drop of sweetness
+that was so lavishly poured upon him from such a glorious sky of
+sunlit sound.
+
+Presently, toward the end of the performance, a curious thing
+happened. Sarasate had appeared to play the last piece set down
+for him,--a composition of his own, entitled "Zigeunerweisen." A
+gypsy song, or medley of gypsy songs, it would be, thought Alwyn,
+glancing at his programme,--then, looking towards the artist, who
+stood with lifted bow like another Prospero, prepared to summon
+forth the Ariel of music at a touch, he saw that the dark Spanish
+eyes of the maestro were fixed full upon him, with, as he then
+fancied, a strange, penetrating smile in their fiery depths. One
+instant.. and a weird lament came sobbing from the smitten
+violin,--a wildly beautiful despair was wordlessly proclaimed, . . a
+melody that went straight to the heart and made it ache, and burn,
+and throb with a rising tumult of unlanguaged passion and desire!
+The solemn, yet unfettered, grace of its rhythmic respiration
+suggested to Alwyn, first darkness,--then twilight--then the
+gradual far-glimmering of a silvery dawn,--till out of the
+shuddering notes there seemed to grow up a vague, vast, and cool
+whiteness, splendid and mystical,--a whiteness that from
+shapeless, fleecy mist took gradual form and substance, ... the
+great concert-hall, with its closely packed throng of people,
+appeared to fade away like vanishing smoke,--and lo!--before the
+poet's entranced gaze there rose up a wondrous vision of stately
+architectural grandeur,--a vision of snowy columns and lofty
+arches, upon which fell a shimmering play of radiant color flung
+by the beams of the sun through stained glass windows glistening
+jewel-wise,--a tremulous sound of voices floated aloft, singing,
+"Kyrie Eleison!--Kyrie Eleison!"--and the murmuring undertone of
+the organ shook the still air with deep vibrations of holy tune.
+Everywhere peace,--everywhere purity! everywhere that spacious
+whiteness, flecked with side-gleams of royal purple, gold, and
+ardent crimson,--and in the midst of all,--O dearest tenderness!--
+O fairest glory!--a face, shining forth like a star in a cloud!--a
+face dazzlingly beautiful and sweet,--a golden head, above which
+the pale halo of a light ethereal hovered lovingly in a radiant
+ring!
+
+"EDRIS!"--The chaste name breathed itself silently in Alwyn's
+thoughts,--silently and yet with all the passion of a lover's
+prayer! How was it, he wondered dimly, that he saw her thus
+distinctly NOW,--now, when the violin-music wept its wildest
+tears--now when love, love, love, seemed to clamor in a
+tempestuous agony of appeal from the low, pulsating melody of the
+marvellous "Zigeunerweisen," a melody which, despite its name, had
+revealed to one listener, at any rate, nothing concerning the
+wanderings of gypsies over forest and moorland,--but on the
+contrary had built up all these sublime cathedral arches, this
+lustrous light, this exquisite face, whose loveliness was his
+life! How had he found his way into such a dream sanctuary of
+frozen snow?--what was his mission there?--and why, when the
+picture slowly faded, did it still haunt his memory invitingly,--
+persuasively,--nay, almost commandingly?
+
+He could not tell,--but his mind was entirely ravished and
+possessed by an absorbing impression of white, sculptured calm,--
+and he was as startled as though he had been brusquely awakened
+from a deep sleep, when the loud plaudits of the people made him
+aware that Sarasate had finished his programme, and was departing
+from the scene of his triumphs. The frenzied shouts and encores,
+however brought him once more before the excited public, to play a
+set of Spanish dances, fanciful and delicate as the gamboling of a
+light breeze over rose-gardens and dashing fountains,--and when
+this wonder-music ceased, Alwyn woke from tranced rapture into
+enthusiasm, and joined in the thunders of applause with fervent
+warmth and zeal. Eight several times did the wearied, but ever
+affable, maestro ascend the platform to bow and smile his graceful
+acknowledgments, till the audience, satisfied with having
+thoroughly emphasized their hearty appreciation of his genius,
+permitted him to finally retire. Then the people flocked out of
+the hall in crowds, talking, laughing, and delightedly commenting
+upon the afternoon's enjoyment, the brief remarks exchanged by two
+Americans who were sauntering on immediately in front of Heliobas
+and Alwyn being perhaps the very pith and essence of the universal
+opinion concerning the great artist they had just heard.
+
+"I tell you what he is," said one, "he's a demi-god!"
+
+"Oh, don't halve it!" rejoined the other wittily, "he's the whole
+thing anyway!"
+
+Once outside the hall and in the busy street, now rendered doubly
+brilliant by the deep saffron light of a gloriously setting sun,
+Heliobas prepared to take leave of his somewhat silent and
+preoccupied companion.
+
+"I see you are still under the sway of the Ange-Demon," he
+remarked cheerfully, as he shook hands, "Is he not an amazing
+fellow? That bow of his is a veritable divining-rod, it finds out
+the fountain of Elusidis [Footnote: A miraculous fountain spoken
+of in old chronicles, whose waters rose to the sound of music,
+and, the music ceasing, sank again.] in each human heart,--it has
+but to pronounce a note, and straightway the hidden waters begin
+to bubble. But don't forget to read the newspaper accounts of this
+concert! You will see that the critics will make no allusion
+whatever to the enthusiasm of the audience, and that the numerous
+encores will not even be mentioned!"
+
+"That is unfair," said Alwyn quickly. "The expression of the
+people's appreciation should always be chronicled."
+
+"Of course!--but it never is, unless it suits the immediate taste
+of the cliques. Clique-Art, clique-Literature, clique-Criticism,
+keep all three things on a low ground that slopes daily more and
+more toward decadence. And the pity of it is, that the English get
+judged abroad chiefly by what their own journalists say of them,--
+thus, if Sarasate is coldly criticised, foreigners laugh at the
+'UNmusical English,' whereas, the fact is that the nation itself
+is NOT unmusical, but its musical critics mostly are. They are
+very often picked out of the rank and file of the dullest Academy
+students and contrapuntists, who are incapable of understanding
+anything original, and therefore are the persons most unfitted to
+form a correct estimate of genius. However, it has always been so,
+and I suppose it always will be so,--don't you remember that when
+Beethoven began his grand innovations, a certain critic-ass-ter
+wrote of him, 'The absurdity of his effort is only equalled by the
+hideousness of its result'."
+
+He laughed lightly, and once more shook hands, while Alwyn,
+looking at him wistfully, said:
+
+"I wonder when we shall meet again?"
+
+"Oh, very soon, I dare say," he rejoined. "The world is a
+wonderfully small place, after all, as men find when they jostle
+up against each other unexpectedly in the most unlikely corners of
+far countries. You may, if you choose, correspond with me, and
+that is a privilege I accord to few, I assure you!" He smiled, and
+then went on in a more serious tone, "You are, of course, welcome
+at our monastery whenever you wish to come, but, take my advice,
+do not wilfully step out of the sphere in which you are placed.
+Live IN society, it needs men of your stamp and intellectual
+calibre; show it a high and consistent example--let no
+eccentricity mar your daily actions--work at your destiny
+steadily, cheerfully, serenely, and leave the rest to God, and--
+the angels!"
+
+There was a slight, tender inflection in his voice as he spoke the
+last words,--and Alwyn gave him a quick, searching glance. But his
+blue, penetrating eyes were calm and steadfast, full of their
+usual luminous softness and pathos, and there was nothing
+expressed in them but the gentlest friendliness.
+
+"Well! I'm glad I may write to you, at any rate," said Alwyn at
+last, reluctantly releasing his hand. "It is possible I may not
+remain long in London; I want to finish my poem, and it gets on
+too slowly in the tumult of daily life in town."
+
+"Then will you go abroad again?" inquired Heliobas.
+
+"Perhaps. I may. Bonn, where I was once a student for a time. It
+is a peaceful, sleepy little place,--I shall probably complete my
+work easily there. Moreover, it will be like going back to a bit
+of my youth. I remember I first began to entertain all my dreams
+of poesy at Bonn."
+
+"Inspired by the Seven Mountains and the Drachenfels!" laughed
+Heliobas. "No wonder you recalled the lost 'Sah-luma' period in
+the sight of the entrancing Rhine! Ah, Sir Poet, you have had your
+fill of fame! and I fear the plaudits of London will never be like
+those of Al-Kyris! No monarchs will honor you now, but rather
+despise! for the kings and queens of this age prefer financiers to
+Laureates! Now, wherever you wander, let me hear of your well-
+being and progress in contentment; when you write, address to our
+Dariel retreat, for though on my return from Mexico I shall
+probably visit Lemnos, my letters will always be forwarded.
+Adieu!"
+
+"Adieu!" and their eyes met. A grave sweet smile brightened the
+Chaldean's handsome features.
+
+"God remain with you, my friend!" he said, in a low, thrillingly
+earnest tone. "Believe me, you are elected to a strangely happy
+fate!--far happier than you at present know!"
+
+With these words he turned and was gone,--lost to sight in the
+surging throng of passers-by. Alwyn looked eagerly after him, but
+saw him no more. His tall figure had vanished as utterly as any of
+the phantom shapes in Al-Kyris, only that, far from being spectre-
+like, he had seemed more actually a living personality than any of
+the people in the streets who were hurrying to and fro on their
+various errands of business or pleasure.
+
+That same night when Alwyn related his day's adventure to
+Villiers, who heard it with the most absorbed interest, he was
+describing the effect of Sarasate's violin-playing, when all at
+once he was seized by the same curious, overpowering impression of
+white, lofty arches, stained windows, and jewel-like glimmerings
+of color, and he suddenly stopped short in the midst of his
+narrative.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Villiers, astonished. "Go on!--you were
+saying,--"
+
+"That Sarasate is one of the divinest of God's wandering
+melodies," went on Alwyn, slowly and with a faint smile. "And that
+though, as a rule, musicians are forgotten when their music
+ceases, this Andalusian Orpheus in Thrace will be remembered long
+after his violin is laid aside, and he himself has journeyed to a
+sunnier land than Spain! But I am not master of my thoughts to-
+night, Villiers; my Chaldean friend has perhaps mesmerized me--who
+knows! and I have an odd fancy upon me. I should like to spend an
+hour in some great and beautiful cathedral, and see the light of
+the rising sun flashing through the stained windows across the
+altar!"
+
+"Poet and dreamer!" laughed Villiers. "You can't gratify that whim
+in London; there's no 'great and beautiful' edifice of the kind
+here,--only the unfinished Oratory, Westminster Abbey, broken up
+into ugly pews and vile monuments, and the repellently grimy St.
+Paul's--so go to bed, old boy, and indulge yourself in some more
+'visions,' for I assure you you'll never find any reality come up
+to your ideal of things in general."
+
+"No?" and Alwyn smiled. "Strange that I see it in quite the
+reverse way! It seems to me, no ideal will ever come up to the
+splendor of reality!"
+
+"But remember," said Villiers quickly, "YOUR reality is heaven,--
+a, 'reality' that is every one else's myth!"
+
+"True! terribly true!".. and Alwyn's eyes darkened sorrowfully.
+"Yet the world's myth is the only Eternal Real, and for the
+shadows of this present Seeming we barter our immortal Substance!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+BY THE RHINE.
+
+
+In the two or three weeks that followed his meeting with Heliobas,
+Alwyn made up his mind to leave London for a while. He was tired
+and restless,--tired of the routine society more or less imposed
+upon him,--restless because he had come to a standstill in his
+work--an invisible barrier, over which his creative fancy was
+unable to take its usual sweeping flight. He had an idea of
+seeking some quiet spot among mountains, as far remote as possible
+from the travelling world of men,--a peaceful place, where, with
+the majestic silence of Nature all about him, he might plead in
+lover-like retirement with his refractory Muse, and strive to coax
+her into a sweeter and more indulgent humor. It was not that
+thoughts were lacking to him,--what he complained of was the
+monotony of language and the difficulty of finding new, true, and
+choice forms of expression. A great thought leaps into the brain
+like a lightning flash; there it is, an indescribable mystery,
+warming the soul and pervading the intellect, but the proper
+expression of that thought is a matter of the deepest anxiety to
+the true poet, who, if he be worthy of his vocation, is bound not
+only to proclaim it to the world CLEARLY, but also clad in such a
+perfection of wording that it shall chime on men's ears with a
+musical sound as of purest golden bells. There are very few
+faultless examples of this felicitous utterance in English or in
+any literature, so few, indeed, that they could almost all be
+included in one newspaper column of ordinary print. Keats's
+exquisite line:
+
+    "AEea's Isle was wondering at the moon"..
+
+in which the word "wondering" paints a whole landscape of dreamy
+enchantment, and the couplet in the "Ode to a Nightingale," that
+speaks with a delicious vagueness of
+
+ "Magic casements opening on the foam
+  Of perilous seas in faery lands forlorn,"--
+
+are absolutely unique and unrivalled, as is the exquisite
+alliteration taken from a poet of our own day:
+
+    "The holy lark,
+     With fire from heaven and sunlight on his wing,
+     Who wakes the world with witcheries of the dark,
+     Renewed in rapture in the reddening air!"
+
+Again from the same:
+
+    "The chords of the lute are entranced
+     With the weight of the wonder of things";
+
+and
+
+     "his skyward notes
+     Have drenched the summer with the dews of song! ..."
+
+this last line being certainly one of the most suggestive and
+beautiful in all poetical literature. Such expressions have the
+intrinsic quality of COMPLETENESS,--once said, we feel that they
+can never be said again;--they belong to the centuries, rather
+than the seasons, and any imitation of them we immediately and
+instinctively resent as an outrage.
+
+And Theos Alwyn was essentially, and above all things, faithful to
+the lofty purpose of his calling,--he dealt with his art
+reverently, and not in rough haste and scrambling carelessness,--
+if he worked out any idea in rhyme, the idea was distinct and the
+rhyme was perfect,--he was not content, like Browning, to jumble
+together such hideous and ludicrous combinations as "high;--
+Humph!" and "triumph,"--moreover, he knew that what he had to tell
+his public must be told comprehensively, yet grandly, with all the
+authority and persuasiveness of incisive rhetoric, yet also with
+all the sweetness and fascination of a passioned love-song.
+Occupied with such work as this, London, with its myriad mad
+noises and vulgar distractions, became impossible to him,--and
+Villiers, his fidus Achates, who had read portions of his great
+poem and was impatient to see it finished, knowing, as he did,
+what an enormous sensation it would create when published, warmly
+seconded his own desire to gain a couple of months complete
+seclusion and tranquillity.
+
+He left town, therefore, about the middle of May and started
+across the Channel, resolving to make for Switzerland by the
+leisurely and delightful way of the Rhine, in order to visit Bonn,
+the scene of his old student days. What days they had been!--days
+of dreaming, more than action, for he had always regarded learning
+as a pastime rather than a drudgery, and so had easily distanced
+his comrades in the race for knowledge. While they were flirting
+with the Lischen or Gretchen of the hour, he had willingly
+absorbed himself in study--thus he had attained the head of his
+classes with scarce an effort, and, in fact, had often found time
+hanging heavily on his hands for want of something more to do. He
+had astonished the university professors--but he had not
+astonished himself, inasmuch as no special branch of learning
+presented any difficulties to him, and the more he mastered the
+more dissatisfied he became. It had seemed such a little thing to
+win the honors of scholarship! for at that time his ambition was
+always climbing up the apparently inaccessible heights of fame,--
+fame, that he then imagined was the greatest glory any human being
+could aspire to. He smiled as he recollected this, and thought how
+changed he was since then! What a difference between the former
+discontented mutability of his nature, and the deep, unswerving
+calm of patience that characterized it now! Learning and
+scholarship? these were the mere child's alphabet of things,--and
+fame was a passing breath that ruffled for one brief moment the
+on-rushing flood of time--a bubble blown in the air to break into
+nothingness. Thus much wisdom he had acquired,--and what more? A
+great deal more! he had won the difficult comprehension of
+HIMSELF; he had grasped the priceless knowledge that man has no
+enemy save THAT WHICH IS WITHIN HIM, and that the pride of a
+rebellious Will is the parent Sin from which all others are
+generated. The old Scriptural saying is true for all time, that
+through pride the angels fell; and it is only through humility
+that they will ever rise again. Pride! the proud Will that is left
+FREE by Divine Law, to work for itself and answer for itself, and
+wreak upon its own head the punishment of its own errors,--the
+Will that once voluntarily crushed down, in the dust at the Cross
+of Christ, with these words truly drawn from the depths of
+penitence, "Lord, not as I will, but as Thou wilt!" is
+straightway lifted up from its humiliation, a supreme, stately
+Force, resistless, miraculous, world-commanding;--smoothing the
+way for all greatness and all goodness, and guiding the happy Soul
+from joy to joy, from glory to glory, till Heaven itself is
+reached and the perfection of all love and life begins. For true
+humility is not slavish, as some people imagine, but rather royal,
+since, while acknowledging the supremacy of God, it claims close
+kindred with Him, and is at once invested with all the diviner
+virtues. Fame and wealth, the two perishable prizes for which men
+struggle with one another in ceaseless and cruel combat, bring no
+absolute satisfaction in the end--they are toys that please for a
+time and then grow wearisome. But the conquering of Self is a
+battle in which each fresh victory bestows a deeper content, a
+larger happiness, a more perfect peace,--and neither poverty,
+sickness, nor misfortune can quench the courage, or abate the
+ardor, of the warrior who is absorbed in a crusade against his own
+worser passions. Egotism is the vice of this age,--the maxim of
+modern society is "each man for himself, and no one for his
+neighbor"--and in such a state of things, when personal interest
+or advantage is the chief boon desired, we cannot look for honesty
+in either religion, politics, or commerce. Nor can we expect any
+grand work to be done in art or literature. When pictures are
+painted and books are written for money only,--when laborers take
+no pleasure in labor save for the wage it brings,--when no real
+enthusiasm is shown in anything except the accumulation of
+wealth,--and when all the finer sentiments and nobler instincts of
+men are made subject to Mammon worship, is any one so mad and
+blind as to think that good can come of it? Nothing but evil upon
+evil can accrue from such a system,--and those who have prophetic
+eyes to see through the veil of events can perceive, even now, the
+not far distant end--namely, the ruin of the country that has
+permitted itself to degenerate into a mere nation of shopkeepers,
+--and something worse than ruin,--degradation!
+
+It was past eight in the evening when Alwyn, after having spent a
+couple of days in bright little Brussels, arrived at Cologne. Most
+travelers know to their cost how noisy, narrow, and unattractive
+are the streets of this ancient Colonia Agrippina of the Romans,--
+how persistent and wearying is the rattle of the vehicles over the
+rough, cobbly stones--how irritating to the nerves is the
+incessant shrieking whistle and clank of the Rhine steamboats as
+they glide in, or glide out, from the cheerless and dirty pier.
+But at night, when these unpleasant sounds have partially
+subsided, and the lights twinkle in the shop-windows, and the
+majestic mass of the Cathedral casts its broad shadow on the
+moonlit Dom-Platz, and a few soldiers, with clanking swords and
+glittering spurs, come marching out from some dark stone archway,
+and the green gleam of the river sparkles along in luminous
+ripples,--then it is that a something weird and mystical creeps
+over the town, and the glamour of ancient historical memories
+begins to cling about its irregular buildings,--one thinks of the
+legendary Three Kings, and believes in them, too,--of St. Ursula
+and her company of virgins; of Marie de Medicis dying alone in
+that tumbled-down house in the Stern-gasse,--of Rubens, who, it is
+said, here first saw the light of this world,--of an angry Satan
+flinging his Teufelstein from the Seven Mountains in an impotent
+attempt to destroy the Dom; and gradually, the indestructible
+romantic spell of the Rhine steals into the spirit of common
+things that were unlovely by day, and makes the old city beautiful
+under the sacred glory of the stars.
+
+Alwyn dined at his hotel, and then, finding it still too early to
+retire to rest, strolled slowly across the Platz, looking up at
+the sublime God's Temple above him, the stately Cathedral, with
+its wondrously delicate carvings and flying buttresses, on which
+the moonlight glittered like little points of pale flame. He knew
+it of old; many and many a time had he taken train from Bonn, for
+the sole pleasure of spending an hour in gazing on that splendid
+"sermon in stone,"--one of the grandest testimonies in the world
+of man's instinctive desire to acknowledge and honor, by his
+noblest design and work, the unseen but felt majesty of the
+Creator. He had a great longing to enter it now, and ascended the
+steps with that intention; but, much to his vexation, the doors
+were shut. He walked from the side to the principal entrance; that
+superb western frontage which is so cruelly blocked in by a
+dwarfish street of the commonest shops and meanest houses,--and
+found that also closed against him. Disappointed and sorry, he
+went back again to the side of the colossal structure, and stood
+on the top of the steps, close to the central barred doors,
+studying the sculptured saints in the niches, and feeling a
+sudden, singular impression of extreme LONELINESS,--a sense of
+being shut out, as it were, from some high festival in which he
+would gladly have taken part.
+
+Not a cloud was in the sky, ... the evening was one of the most
+absolute calm, and a delicious warmth pervaded the air,--the
+warmth of a fully declared and balmy spring. The Platz was almost
+deserted,--only a few persons crossed it now and then, like
+flitting shadows,--and somewhere down in one of the opposite
+streets a long way off, there was a sound of men's voices singing
+a part-song. Presently, however, this distant music ceased, and a
+deep silence followed. Alwyn still remained in the sombre shade of
+the cathedral archway, arguing with himself against the foolish
+and unaccountable depression that had seized him, and watching the
+brilliant May moon soar up higher and higher in the heavens;
+when,--all at once, the throbbing murmur of the great organ inside
+the Dom startled him from pensive dreaminess into swift attention.
+He listened,--the rich, round notes thundered through the
+stillness with forceful and majestic harmony; anon, wierd tones,
+like the passionate lament of Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" floated
+around and above him: then, a silvery chorus of young voices broke
+forth in solemn unison:
+
+"Kyrie Eleison! Christe Eleison! Kyrie Eleison!"
+
+A faint cold tremor crept through his veins,--his heart beat
+violently,--again he vainly strove to open the great door. Was
+there a choir practising inside at this hour of the night? Surely
+not! Then,--from whence had this music its origin? Stooping, he
+bent his ear to the crevice of the closed portal,--but, as
+suddenly as they had begun, the harmonies ceased; and all was once
+more profoundly still.
+
+Drawing a long, deep breath, he stood for a moment amazed and lost
+in thought--these sounds, he felt sure, were not of earth but of
+heaven! they had the same ringing sweetness as those he had heard
+on the Field of Ardath! What might they mean to him, here and now?
+Quick as a flash the answer came--DEATH! God had taken pity upon
+his solitary earth wanderings,--and the prayers of Edris had
+shortened his world-exile and probation! He was to die! and that
+solemn singing was the warning,--or the promise,--of his
+approaching end!
+
+Yes! it must be so, he decided, as, with a strange, half-sad peace
+at his heart, he quietly descended the steps of the Dom,-he would
+perhaps be permitted to finish the work he was at present doing,--
+and then,--then, the poet-pen would be laid aside forever, chains
+would be undone, and he would be set at liberty! Such was his
+fixed idea. Was he glad of the prospect, he asked himself? Yes,
+and No! For himself he was glad; but in these latter days he had
+come to understand the thousand wordless wants and aspirations of
+mankind,--wants and aspirations to which only the Poet can give
+fitting speech; he had begun to see how much can be done to cheer
+and raise and ennoble the world by even ONE true, brave, earnest,
+and unselfish worker,--and he had attained to such a height in
+sympathetic comprehension of the difficulties and drawbacks of
+others, that he had ceased to consider himself at all in the
+question, either with regard to the Present or the immortal
+Future,--he was, without knowing it, in the simple, unconsciously
+perfect attitude of a Soul that is absolutely at one with God, and
+that thus, in involuntary God-likeness, is only happy in the
+engendering of happiness. He believed that, with the Divine help,
+he could do a lasting good for his fellow-men,--and to this cause
+he was willing to sacrifice everything that pertained to his own
+mere personal advantage. But now,--now,--or so he imagined,--he
+was not to be allowed to pursue his labors of love,--his trial was
+to end suddenly,--and he, so long banished from his higher
+heritage, was to be restored to it without delay,--restored and
+drawn back to the land of perfect loveliness where Edris, his
+Angel, waited for him, his saint, his queen, his bride!
+
+A thrill of ecstatic joy rushed through him,--joy intermingled
+with an almost supernal pain. For he had not as yet said enough to
+the world,--the world of many afflictions,--the little Sorrowful
+Star covered with toiling, anxious, deluded God-forgetting
+millions, in every unit of which was a spark of Heavenly flame, a
+germ of the spiritual essence that makes the angel, if only
+fostered aright.
+
+Lost in a deep reverie, his footsteps had led him unconsciously to
+the Rhine bridge,--paying the customary fee, he walked about half-
+way across it, and stood for a while listening to the incessant
+swift rush of the river beneath him. Lights twinkled from the
+boats moored on either side,--the moon poured down a wide shower
+of white beams on the rapid flood,--the city, dusky and dream-
+like, crowned with the majestic towers of the Dom, looked
+picturesquely calm and grand--it was a night of perfect beauty
+and wondrous peace. And he was to die!--to die and leave all
+this, the present fairness of the world,--he was to depart, with,
+as he felt, his message half unspoken,--he was to be made
+eternally happy, while many of the thousands he left behind were,
+through ignorance, wilfully electing to be eternally miserable! A
+great, almost divine longing to save ONE,--only ONE downward
+drifting soul, possessed him,--and the comprehension of Christ's
+Sacrifice was no longer a mystery! Yet he was so certain that
+death, sudden and speedy closely, awaited him that he seemed to
+feel it in the very air,--not like a coming chill of dread, but
+like the soft approach of some holy seraph bringing benediction.
+It mattered little to him that he was actually in the very
+plenitude of health and strength,--that perhaps in all his life he
+had never felt such a keen delight in the physical perfection of
+his manhood as now,--death, without warning and at a touch, could
+smite down the most vigorous, and to be so smitten, he believed,
+was his imminent destiny. And while he lingered on the bridge,
+fancy-perplexed between grief and joy, a small window opened in a
+quaint house that bent its bulging gables crookedly over the
+gleaming water, and a girl, holding a small lamp, looked out for a
+moment. Her face, fresh and smiling, was fair to see against the
+background of dense shadow,--the light she carried flashed like a
+star,--and leaning down from the lattice she sang half-timidly,
+half mischievously, the first two or three bars of the old song..
+"Du, du, liegst in mein Herzen ... !" "Ah! Gute Nacht, Liebchen!"
+said a man's voice below.
+
+"Gute Nacht! Schlafen sie wohl!"
+
+A light laugh, and the window closed, "Good-night! Sleep well!"
+Love's best wish!--and for some sad souls life's last hope,--a
+"good-night and sleep well!" Poor tired World, for whose weary
+inhabitants oftentimes the greatest blessing is sleep! Good-night!
+sleep well! but the sleep implies waking.--waking to a morning of
+pleasure or sorrow,--or labor that is only lightened by,--Love!
+Love!--love divine,--love human,--and, sweetest love of all for
+us, as Christ has taught when both divine and human are mingled in
+one!
+
+Alwyn, glancing up at the clustering stars, hanging like pendent
+fire-jewels above him, thought of this marvel-glory of Love,--this
+celestial visitant who, on noiseless pinions, comes flying
+divinely into the poorest homes, transfiguring common life with
+ethereal radiance, making toil easy, giving beauty to the plainest
+faces and poetry to the dullest brains. Love! its tremulous hand-
+clasp,--its rapturous kiss,--the speechless eloquence it gives to
+gentle eyes!--the grace it bestows on even the smallest gift from
+lover to beloved, were such gift but a handful of meadow blossoms
+tied with some silken threads of hair!
+
+Not for the poet creator of "Nourhulma" such love any more,--had
+he not drained the cup of Passion to the dregs in the far Past,
+and tasted its mixed sweetness and bitterness to no purpose save
+self-indulgence? All that was over;--and yet, as he walked away
+from the bridge, back to his hotel in the quiet moonlight, he
+thought what a transcendent thing Love might be, even on earth,
+between two whose spirits were SPIRITUALLY AKIN,--whose lives were
+like two notes played in tuneful concord,--whose hearts beat
+echoing faith and tenderness to one another,--and who held their
+love as a sacred bond of union--a gift from God, not to be
+despoiled by that rough familiarity which surely brings contempt.
+And then before his fancy appeared to float the radiant visage of
+Edris, half-child, half-angel,--he seemed to see her beautiful
+eyes, so pure, so clear, so unshadowed by any knowledge of sin,--
+and the exquisite lines of a poet-contemporary, whose work he
+specially admired, occurred to him with singular suggestiveness:
+
+   "Oh, thou'lt confess that love from man to maid
+    Is more than kingdoms,--more than light and shade
+    In sky-built gardens where the minstrels dwell,
+    And more than ransom from the bonds of Hell.
+    Thou wilt, I say, admit the truth of this,
+    And half relent that, shrinking from a kiss,
+    Thou didst consign me to mine own disdain,
+    Athwart the raptures of a vision'd bliss.
+
+   "I'll seek no joy that is not linked with thine,
+    No touch of hope, no taste of holy wine,
+    And after death, no home in any star,
+    That is not shared by thee, supreme, afar
+
+    As here thou'rt first and foremost of all things!
+    Glory is thine, and gladness, and the wings
+    That wait on thought, when, in thy spirit-sway,
+    Thou dost invest a realm unknown to kings!"
+
+Had not she, Edris, consigned him to his "own disdain, Athwart the
+raptures of a visioned bliss?" Ay! truly and deservedly!--and this
+disdain of himself had now reached its culminating point,--namely,
+that he did not consider himself worthy of her love,--or worthy to
+do aught than sink again into far spaces of darkness and
+perpetually retrospective Memory, there to explore the uttermost
+depths of anguish, and count up his errors one by one from the
+very beginning of life, in every separate phase he had passed
+through, till he had penitently striven his best to atone for them
+all! Christ had atoned! yes,--but was it not almost base on his
+part to shield himself with that Divine Light and do nothing
+further? He could not yet thoroughly grasp the amazing truth that
+ONE ABSOLUTELY PURE act of faith in Christ, blots out Past Sin
+forever,--it seemed too marvellous and great a boon!
+
+When he retired to rest that night he was fully and firmly
+PREPARED TO DIE. With this expectation upon him he was
+nevertheless happy and tranquil. The line--"Glory is thine, and
+gladness, and the wings" haunted him, and he repeated it over and
+over again without knowing why. Wings! the brilliant shafts of
+radiance that part angels from mortals,--wings, that, after all,
+are not really wings, but lambent rays of living lightning, of
+which neither painter nor poet has any true conception, . . long,
+dazzling rays such as encircled God's maiden, Edris, with an arch
+of roseate effulgence, so that the very air was sunset-colored in
+the splendor of her presence! How if she were a wingless angel,--
+made woman?
+
+"Glory is thine, and gladness, and the wings!" And with the name
+of his angel-love upon his lips he closed his eyes and sank into a
+deep and dreamless slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+IN THE CATHEDRAL.
+
+
+A booming, thunderous, yet mellow sound! a grand, solemn, sonorous
+swing of full and weighty rhythm, striking the air with deep,
+slowly measured resonance like the rolling of close cannon! Awake,
+all ye people!--Awake to prayer and praise! for the Night is past
+and sweet Morning reddens in the east, ... another Day is born,--a
+day in which to win God's grace and pardon,--another wonder of
+Light, Movement, Creation, Beauty, Love! Awake, awake! Be glad and
+grateful for the present joy of life,--this life, dear harbinger
+of life to come! open your eyes, ye drowsy mortals, to the divine
+blue of the beneficent sky, the golden beams of the sun, the color
+of flowers, the foliage of trees, the flash of sparkling waters!--
+open your ears to the singing of birds, the whispering of winds,
+the gay ripple of children's laughter, the soft murmurs of home
+affection,--for all these things are freely bestowed upon you with
+each breaking dawn, and will you offer unto God NO thanksgiving?--
+Awake! Awake! the Voice you have yourselves set in your high
+Cathedral towers reproaches your lack of love with its iron
+tongue, and summons you all to worship Him the Ever-Glorious,
+through whose mercy alone you live!
+
+To and fro,--to and fro,--gravely persistent, sublimely eloquent,
+the huge, sustained, and heavy monotone went thudding through the
+stillness,--till, startled from his profound sleep by such loud,
+lofty, and incessant clangor, Alwyn turned on his pillow and
+listened, half-aroused, half-bewildered,--then, remembering where
+he was, he understood; it was the great Bell of the Dom pealing
+forth its first summons to the earliest Mass. He lay quiet for a
+little while, dreamily counting the number of reverberations each
+separate stroke sent quivering on the air,--but presently, finding
+it impossible to sleep again, he got up, and drawing aside the
+curtain looked out of the window of his room, which fronted on the
+Platz. Though it was not yet six o'clock, the city was all astir,
+--the Rhinelanders are an early working people, and to see the sun
+rise is not with them a mere fiction of poesy, but a daily fact.
+It was one of the loveliest of lovely spring mornings--the sky was
+clear as a pale, polished sapphire, and every little bib of
+delicate carving and sculpture on the Dom stood out from its
+groundwork with microscopically beautiful distinctness. And as his
+gaze rested on the perfect fairness of the day, a strange and
+sudden sense of rapturous anticipation possessed his mind,--he
+felt as one prepared for some high and exquisite happiness,--some
+great and wondrous celebration or feast of joy! The thoughts of
+death, on which he had brooded so persistently during the past
+yester-eve, had fled, leaving no trace behind,--only a keen and
+vigorous delight in life absorbed him now. It was good to be
+alive, even on this present earth! it was good to see, to feel, to
+know! and there was much to be thankful for in the mere capability
+of easy and healthful breathing!
+
+Full of a singular light-heartedness, he hummed a soft tune to
+himself as he moved about his room,--his desire to view the
+interior of the Cathedral had not abated with sleep, but had
+rather augmented,--and he resolved to visit it now, while he had
+the chance of beholding it in all the impressive splendor of
+uncrowded tranquillity. For he knew that by the time he was
+dressed, the first Mass would be over,--the priests and people
+would be gone,--and he would be alone to enjoy the magnificence of
+the place in full poet-luxury,--the luxury of silence and
+solitude. He attired himself quickly, and with a vaguely nervous
+eagerness,--he was in almost as great a hurry to enter the Dom as
+he had been to arrive at the Field of Ardath! The same feverish
+impatience was upon him--impatience that he was conscious of, yet
+could not account for,--his fancy busied itself with a whole host
+of memories, and fragments of half-forgotten love-songs he had
+written in his youth, came back to him without his wish or will,--
+songs that he instinctively felt belonged to his Past, when as
+"Sah-luma" he had won golden opinions in Al-Kyris. And though they
+were but echoes, they seemed this morning to touch him with half-
+pleasing, half-tender suggestiveness,--two lines especially from
+the Idyl of Roses he had penned so long,--ah! so very long ago,--
+came floating through his brain like a message sent from some
+other world,--
+
+   "By the pureness of love shall our glory in loving increase,
+    And the roses of passion for us are the lilies of peace."
+
+The "lilies of peace" and the flowers of Ardath,--the "roses of
+passion" and the love of Edris, these were all mingled almost
+unconsciously in his thoughts, as with an inexplicable, happy
+sense of tremulous expectation,--expectation of he knew not what-
+he went, walking as one in haste, across the broad Platz and
+ascended the steps of the Cathedral. But the side-entrance was
+fast shut, as on the previous night,--he therefore made his rapid
+way round to the great western door. That stood open,--the bell
+had long ago ceased,--Mass was over,--and all was profoundly
+still.
+
+Out of the warm sunlit air he stepped into the vast, cool, clear-
+obscure, white glory of the stately shrine,--with bared head and
+noiseless, reverent feet, he advanced a little way up the nave,
+and then stood motionless, every artistic perception in him
+satisfied, soothed, and entranced anew, as in his student-days, by
+the tranquil grandeur of the scene. What majestic silence! What
+hallowed peace! How jewel-like the radiance of the sun pouring
+through the rich stained glass on those superb carved pillars,
+that, like petrified stems of forest-trees, bear lightly up the
+lofty, vaulted roof to that vast height suggestive of a white sky
+rather than stone!
+
+Moving on slowly further toward the altar, he was suddenly seized
+by an overpowering impression,--a memory that rushed upon him with
+a sort of shock, albeit it was only the memory of a tune!--a wild
+melody, haunting and passionate, rang in his eras,--the melody
+that Sarasate, the Orpheus of Spain, had evoked from the heart of
+his speaking violin,--the sobbing love-lament of the
+"Zigeunerweisen"--the weird minor-music that had so forcibly
+suggested--What? THIS VERY PLACE!--these snowy columns,--this
+sculptured sanctity--this flashing light of rose and blue and
+amber,--this wondrous hush of consecrated calm! What next? Dear
+God! Sweet Christ! what next? The face of Edris?--Would that
+heavenly countenance shine suddenly though those rainbow-colored
+beams that struck slantwise down toward him?--and should he
+presently hear her dulcet voice charming the silence into deeper
+ecstasy?
+
+Overcome by a sensation that was something like fear, he stopped
+abruptly, and leaning against one of the quaint old oaken benches,
+strove to control the quick, excited throbbing of his heart,--then
+gradually, very gradually he become conscious that HE WAS NOT
+ALONE,--another besides himself was in the church,--another, whom
+it was necessary for him to see!
+
+He could not tell how he first grew to be certain of this,--but he
+was soon so completely possessed by the idea, that for a moment he
+dared not raise his eyes, or move! Some invincible force held him
+there spell-bound, yet trembling in every limb,--and while he thus
+waited hesitatingly, the great organ woke up in a glory of tuneful
+utterance,--wave after wave of richest harmony rolled through the
+stately aisles and ... "Kyrie eleison! Kyrie eleison!" rang forth
+in loud, full, and golden-toned chorus!
+
+Lifting his head, he stared wonderingly around him; not a living
+creature was visible in all the spacious width and length of the
+cathedral! His lips parted,--he felt as though he could scarcely
+breathe,--strong shudders ran through him, and he was penetrated
+by a pleasing terror that was almost a physical pang,--an agonized
+entrancement, like death or the desire of love! Presently,
+mastering himself by a determined effort, he advanced steadily
+with the absorbed air of one who is drawn along by magnetic power
+... steadily and slowly up the nave, ... and as he went, the music
+surged more tumultuously among the vaulted arches,--there was a
+faint echo afar off, as of tinkling crystal bells; and at each
+onward step he gained a new access of courage, strength, firmness,
+and untrammelled ease, till every timorous doubt and fear had fled
+away, and he stood directly in front of the altar railing, gazing
+at the enshrined Cross, and seeing for the moment nothing save
+that Divine Symbol alone. And still the organ played, and still
+the voices sang,--he knew these sounds were not of earth, and he
+also knew that they were intended to convey a meaning to him,--but
+WHAT meaning?
+
+All at once, moved by a sudden impulse, he turned toward the right
+hand side of the altar, where the great statue of St. Christopher
+stands, and where one of the loveliest windows in the world gleams
+like a great carven gem aloft, filtering the light through a
+myriad marvellous shades of color, and there he beheld, kneeling
+on the stone pavement, one solitary worshipper,--a girl. Her hands
+were clasped, and her face was bent upon them so that her features
+were not visible,--but the radiance from the window fell on her
+uncovered golden hair, encircling it with the glistening splendor
+of a heavenly nimbus,--and round her slight, devotional figure,
+rays of azure and rose jasper and emerald, flickered in wide and
+lustrous patterns, like the glow of the setting sun on a
+translucent sea. How very still she was! ... how fervently
+absorbed in prayer!
+
+Vaguely startled, and thrilled by an electric, indefinable
+instinct, Alwyn went toward her with hushed and reverential tread,
+his eyes dwelling upon the drooping, delicate outline of her form
+with fascinated and eager attention. She was clad in gray,--a
+soft, silken, dove-like gray, that clung about her in picturesque,
+daintily draped folds,--he approached her still more nearly, and
+then could scarcely refrain from a loud cry of amazement! What
+flowers were those she wore at her breast!--so white, so star-
+like, so suggestive of paradise lilies new-gathered? Were they not
+the flowers of ARDATH? Dizzy with the sudden tumult of his own
+emotions, he dropped on his knees beside her,--she did not stir!
+Was she REAL?--or a phantom? Trembling violently, he touched her
+garment--it was of tangible, smooth texture, actual enough, if the
+sense of touch could be relied upon. In an agony of excitement and
+suspense he lost all remembrance of time, place, or custom,--her
+bewildering presence must be explained,--he must know who she
+was,--he must speak to her,--speak, if he died for it!
+
+"Pardon me!" he whispered faintly, scarcely conscious of his own
+words; "I fancy,--I think,--we have met,--before! May I, . . dare
+I, . . ask your name?"
+
+Slowly she unclasped her gently folded hands; slowly, very slowly,
+she lifted her bent head, and smiled at him! Oh, the lovely light
+upon her face! Oh, the angel glory of those strange, sweet eyes!
+
+"My name is EDRIS!"--she said, and as the pure bell-like tone of
+her voice smote the air with its silvery sound, the mysterious
+music of the organ and the invisible singers throbbed away,--
+away,--away,--into softer and softer echoes, that died at last
+tremulously and with a sigh, as of farewell, into the deepest
+silence.
+
+"EDRIS!"--In a trance of passionate awe and rapture he caught her
+hand,--the warm, delicate hand that yielded to his strong clasp in
+submissive tenderness,--pulsations of terror, pain, and wild joy,
+all commingled, rushed through him,--with adoring, wistful gaze he
+scanned every feature of that love-smiling countenance,--a
+countenance no longer lustrous with Heaven's blinding glory, but
+only most maiden-like and innocently fair,--dazzled, perplexed,
+and half afraid, he could not at once grasp the true comprehension
+of his ineffable delight! He had no doubt of her identity--he knew
+her well! she was his own heartworshipped Angel,--but on what
+errand had she wandered out of paradise? Had she come once more,
+as on the Field of Ardath, to comfort him for a brief space with
+the beauty of her visible existence, or did she bring from Heaven
+the warrant for his death?
+
+"Edris!" he said, as softly as one may murmur a prayer, "Edris, my
+life, my love! Speak to me again! make me sure that I am not
+dreaming! Tell me where I have failed in my sworn faith since we
+parted; teach me how I must still further atone! Is this the hour
+appointed for my spirit's ransom?--has this dear and sacred hand I
+hold, brought me my quittance of earth?--and have I so soon won
+the privilege to die?"
+
+As he spoke, she rose and stood erect, with all the glistening
+light of the stained window falling royally about her,--and he
+obeying her mute gesture, rose also and faced her in wondering
+ecstasy, half expecting to see her vanish suddenly in the sun-rays
+that poured through the Cathedral, even as she had vanished before
+like a white cloud absorbed in clear space. But no! She remained
+quiet as a tame bird,--her eyes met his with beautiful trust and
+tenderness,--and when she answered him, her low, sweet accents
+thrilled to his heart with a pathetic note of HUMAN affection, as
+well as of angelic sympathy!
+
+"Theos, my Beloved, I am ALL THINE!" she said, a holy rapture
+vibrating through her exquisite voice.--"Thine now, in mortal life
+as in immortal!--one with thee in nature and condition,--pent up
+in perishable clay, even as thou art,--subject to sorrow, and
+pain, and weariness,--willing to share with thee thine earthly
+lot,--ready to take my part in thy grief or joy! By mine own
+choice have I come hither,--sinless, yet not exempt from sin, but
+safe in Christ! Every time thou hast renounced the desire of thine
+own happiness, so much the nearer hast thou drawn me to thee;
+every time thou hast prayed God for my peace, rather than thine
+own, so much the closer has my existence been linked with thine!
+And now, O my Poet, my lord, my king!--we are together forever
+more,--together in the brief Present, as in the eternal Future!--
+the solitary heaven-days of Edris are past, and her mission is not
+Death, but Love!"
+
+Oh, the transcendent beauty of that warm flush upon her face!--the
+splendid hope, faith, and triumph of her attitude! What strange
+miracle was here accomplished!--an Angel had become human for the
+sake of love, even as light substantiates itself in the colors of
+flowers!--the Eden lily had consented to be gathered,--the
+paradise dove had fluttered down to earth! Breathless, bewildered,
+lifted to a height of transport beyond all words, Alwyn gazed upon
+her in entranced, devout silence,--the vast cathedral seemed to
+swing round and round in great glittering circles, and nothing was
+real, nothing steadfast, but that slight, sweet maiden in her soft
+gray robes, with the Ardath-blossoms gleaming white against her
+breast! Angel she was,--angel she ever would be,--and yet--what
+did she SEEM? Naught but:
+
+   "A child-like woman, wise and very fair,
+    Crowned with the garland of her golden hair!"
+
+This, and no more,--and yet in this was all earth and all heaven
+comprised!--He gazed and gazed, overwhelmed by the amazement of
+his own bliss,--he could have gazed upon her so in speechless
+ravishment for hours, when, with a gesture of infinite grace and
+appeal, she stretched out her hands toward him:
+
+"Speak to me, dearest one!" she murmured wistfully--"Tell me,--am
+I welcome?"
+
+"O exquisite humility!--O beautiful maiden-timid hesitation! Was
+she,--even she, God's Angel, so far removed from pride, as to be
+uncertain of her lover's reception of such a gift of love? Roused
+from his half-swooning sense of wonder, he caught those gentle
+hands, and laid them tenderly against his breast,--tremblingly,
+and all devoutly, he drew the lovely, yielding form into his arms,
+close to his heart,--with dazzled sight he gazed down into that
+pure, perfect face, those clear and holy eyes shining like new-
+created stars beneath the soft cloud of clustering fair hair!
+
+"Welcome!" he echoed, in a tone that thrilled with passionate awe
+and ecstasy;--"My Edris! My Saint! My Queen! Welcome, more welcome
+than the first flowers seen after winter snows!--welcome, more
+welcome than swift rescue to one in dire peril!--welcome, my
+Angel, into the darkness of mortal things, which haply so sweet a
+Presence shall make bright! O sacred innocence that I am not
+worthy to shield! ... O sinless beauty that I am all unfitted to
+claim or possess! Welcome to my life, my heart, my soul! Welcome,
+sweet Trust, sweet Hope, sweet Love, that as Christ lives, I will
+never wrong, betray, or resign again through all the glory spaces
+of far Eternity!"
+
+As he spoke, his arms closed more surely about her,--his lips met
+hers,--and in the mingled human and divine rapture of that moment,
+there came a rushing noise, as of thousands of wings beating the
+air, followed by a mighty wave of music that rolled approachingly
+and then departingly through and through the Cathedral arches--and
+a Voice, clear and resonant as a silver clarion, proclaimed aloud:
+
+"Those whom GOD hath joined together, let no MAN put asunder!"
+
+Then, with a surging, jubilant sound, like the sea in a storm, the
+music seemed to tread past in a measured march of stately
+harmony,--and presently there was silence once more,--the silence
+and sunshine of the morning pouring through the rose windows of
+the church and sparkling on the Cross above the Altar,--the
+silence of a love made perfect,--of twin souls made ONE!
+
+And then Edris drew herself gently from her lover's embrace and
+raised her head,--putting her hand confidingly in his, a lovely
+smile played on her sweetly parted lips:
+
+"Take me, Theos," she said softly, "Lead me,--into the World!"
+
+     *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+Slowly the great side-doors of the Cathedral swung back on their
+hinges,--and out on the steps in a glorious blaze of sunlight came
+Poet and Angel together. The one, a man in the full prime of
+splendid and vigorous manhood,--the other, a maiden, timid and
+sweet, robed in gray attire with a posy of white flowers at her
+throat. A simple girl, and most distinctly human,--the fresh, pure
+color reddened in her cheeks,--the soft springtide wind fanned her
+gold hair, and the sunbeams seemed to dance about her in a bright
+revel of amaze and curiosity. Her lustrous eyes dwelt on the busy
+Platz below with a vaguely compassionate wonder--a look that
+suggested some far foreknowledge of things, that at the same time
+were strangely unfamiliar. Hand in hand with her companion she
+stood,--while he, holding her fast, drunk in the pureness of her
+beauty, the love-light of her glance, the holy radiance of her
+smile, till every sense in him was spiritualized anew by the
+passionate faith and reverence in his heart, the marvellous glory
+that had fallen upon his life, the nameless rapture that possessed
+his soul!--To have knelt at her feet, and bowed his head before
+her in worshipping silence, would have been to follow the
+strongest impulse in him,--but she had given him a higher duty
+than this. He was to "LEAD HER,"--lead her "into the world!"--the
+dreary, dark world, so unfitted to receive such brightness,--she
+had come to him clad in all the sacred weakness of womanhood; and
+it was his proud privilege to guard and shelter her from evil,--
+from the evil in others, but chiefly from the evil in himself. No
+taint must touch that spotless life with which God had entrusted
+him!--sorrow might come--nay, MUST come, since, so long as
+humanity errs, so long must angels grieve,--sorrow, but not sin! A
+grand, awed sense of responsibility filled him,--a responsibility
+that he accepted with passionate gratitude and joy ... he had
+attained a vaster dignity than any king on any throne, ... and all
+the visible Universe was transfigured into a golden pageant of
+loveliness and light, fairer than the fabled Valley of Avilion!
+
+Yet still he kept her close beside him on the steps of the mighty
+Dom, half-longing, half-hesitating to take her further, and ever
+and anon assailed by a dreamy doubt as to whether she might not
+even now pass away from him suddenly and swiftly, as a mist fading
+into heaven,--when all at once the sound of beating drums and
+martial trumpets struck loudly on the quiet morning air. A
+brilliant regiment of mounted Uhlans emerged from an opposite
+street, and cantered sharply across the Platz and over the Rhine-
+bridge, with streaming pennons, burnished helmets and
+accoutrements glistening in a long compact line of silvery white,
+that vanished as speedily as it had appeared, like a winding flash
+of meteor flame. Alwyn drew a deep, quick breath; the sight of
+those armed soldiers roused him to the fact that he was actually
+in the turmoil of present daily events,--that his supernal
+happiness was no vision, but REALITY,--that Edris, his Spirit-
+love, was with him in tangible human guise of flesh and blood,--
+though how such a mysterious marvel had been accomplished, he knew
+no more than scientists know how the lovely life of green leaf and
+perfect flower can still be existent in seeds that have lain
+dormant and dry in old tombs for thousands of years! And as he
+looked at her proudly,--adoringly,--she raised her beautiful,
+innocent, questioning eyes to his.
+
+"This is a city?" she asked--"a city of men who labor for good,
+and serve each other?"
+
+"Alas, not so, my sweet!" he answered, his voice trembling with
+its own infinite tenderness; "there is no city on the sad Earth
+where men do not labor for mere vanity's sake, and oppose each
+other!"
+
+Her inquiring gaze softened into a celestial compassion.
+
+"Come,--let us go!" she said gently. "We twain, made one in love
+and faith, must hasten to begin our work!--darkness gathers and
+deepens over the Sorrowful Star,--but we, perchance, with Christ's
+most holy Blessing, may help to lift the Shadows into Light!"
+
+     *     *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+Away in a sheltered mountainous retreat, apart from the louder
+clamor of the world, the Poet and his heavenly companion dwell in
+peace together. Their love, their wondrous happiness, no mortal
+language can define,--for spiritual love perfected as far exceeds
+material passion as the steadfast glory of the sun outshines the
+nickering of an earthly taper. Few, very few, there are who
+recognize, or who attain, such joy,--for men chiefly occupy
+themselves with the SEMBLANCES of things, and therefore fail to
+grasp all high realities. Perishable beauty,--perishable fame,--
+these are mere appearances; imperishable Worth is the only
+positive and lasting good, and in the search for imperishable
+Worth alone, the seeker must needs encounter Angels unawares!
+
+But for those whose pleasure it is to doubt and deny all spiritual
+life and being, the history of Theos Alwyn can be disposed of with
+much languid ease and cold logic, as a foolish chimera scarce
+worth narrating. Practically viewed, there is nothing wonderful in
+it, since it can all be traced to a powerful exertion of magnetic
+skill. Tranced into a dream bewilderment by the arts of the mystic
+Chaldean, Heliobas,--tricked into visiting the Field of Ardath,
+what more likely than that a real earth-born maiden, trained to
+her part, should have met the dreamer there, and, with the secret
+aid of the hermit Elezar, continued his strange delusion? What
+more fitting as a sequel to the whole, than that the same maiden
+should have been sent to him again in the great Rhine Cathedral,
+to complete the deception and satisfy his imagination by linking
+her life finally with his?--It is a perfectly simple explanation
+of what some credulous souls might be inclined to consider a
+mystery,--and let the dear, wise, oracular people who cannot admit
+any mystery in anything, and who love to trace all seeming
+miracles to clever imposture, accept this elucidation by all
+means,--they will be able to fit every incident of the story into
+such an hypothesis, with most admirable and consecutive neatness!
+Al-Kyris was truly a Vision,--the rest was,--What? Merely the
+working of a poetic imagination under mesmeric influence!
+
+So be it! The Poet knows the truth,--but what are Poets? Only the
+Prophets and Seers! Only the Eyes of Time, which clearly behold
+Heaven's Fact beyond this world's Fable. Let them sing if they
+choose, and we will hear them in our idle hours,--we will give
+them a little of our gold,--a little of our grudging praise,
+together with much of our private practical contempt and
+misprisal! So say the unthinking and foolish--so will they ever
+say,--and hence it is, that though the fame of Theos Alwyn widens
+year by year, and his sweet clarion harp of Song rings loud
+warning, promise, hope, and consolation above the noisy tumult of
+the whirling age, people listen to him merely in vague wonderment
+and awe, doubting his prophet utterance, and loth to put away
+their sin. But he, never weary in well-doing, works on, ... ever
+regardless of Self, caring nothing for Fame, but giving all the
+riches of his thought for Love. Clear, grand, pure, and musical,
+his writings fill the time with hope and passionate faith and
+courage,--his inspiration fails not, and can never fail, since
+Edris is his fount of ecstasy,--his name, made glorious by God's
+blessing, shall never, as in his perished Past, be again
+forgotten!
+
+And what of Edris? What of the "Flower-crowned Wonder" of the
+Field of Ardath, strayed for a while out of her native Heaven?
+Does the world know her marvellous origin? Perhaps the mystic
+Heliobas knows,--perhaps even good Frank Villiers has hazarded a
+reverent guess at his friend's great secret--but to the
+uninstructed, what does she seem?
+
+Nothing but a WOMAN, MOST PURE WOMANLY; a woman whose influence on
+all is strangely sweet and lasting,--whose spirit overflows with
+tenderest sympathy for the many wants and sorrows of mankind,--
+whose voice charms away care,--whose smile engenders peace,--whose
+eyes, lustrous and thoughtful, are unclouded by any shadow of
+sin,--and on whose serene beauty the passing of years leaves no
+visible trace. That she is fair and wise, joyous, radiant, and
+holy is apparent to all,--but only the Poet, her lover and lord,
+her subject and servant, can tell how truly his Edris is not so
+much sweet woman as most perfect Angel! A Dream of Heaven made
+human! ... Let some of us hesitate ere we doubt the Miracle; for
+we are sleepers and dreamers all,--and the hour is close at hand
+when--we shall Wake.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ardath, by Marie Corelli
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