.. Also, come thou not the following night ... nor the night
after that ... My king! I charge thee by the roes and the hinds of the
field, that thou stir not up thy beloved till she please!"

"Yea, I pledge thee this.... Where is thy dwelling, Sulamith?"

"If on the way to the city thou dost pass over the Kidron, upon the
bridge above Siloam, thou shalt see our dwelling nigh the spring.
There are no other dwellings there."

"And which is thy window there, Sulamith?"

"Why shouldst thou know this, beloved? O, gaze not thus upon me. Thy
gaze casts a spell over me.... Do not kiss me.... Beloved, kiss me
again...."

"But which is thy window, my only one?"

"The window on the south side. Ah, I must not tell thee this.... A
small, high window with a lattice."

"And doth the lattice open from within?"

"Nay, it is a fixed window. But around the corner is a door. It leads
directly into the room where I sleep with my sister. But thou hast
promised me!... My sister sleeps lightly. O, how fair art thou, my
beloved! Truly, hast thou not promised?"

Solomon quietly smoothes her hair and cheeks.

"I shall come to thee this night," he says insistently. "At midnight I
shall come. Thus, thus shall it be. I desire it."

"Beloved!"

"Nay. Thou shalt await me. But have no fear, and put thy trust in me. I
shall cause thee no grief. I shall give thee such joy compared with
which all things upon earth are without significance. Now farewell. I
hear them coming after me."

"Farewell, my beloved ... O, nay, go not yet! Tell me thy name,--I know
it not."

For a moment, as though undecided, he lowers his lashes, but immediately
raises them again.

"The King and I have the same name. I am called Solomon. Farewell. I
love thee."

CHAPTER FIVE

V.

Radiant and joyous was Solomon upon this day, as he sat upon his throne
in the hall of the House at Lebanon and meted out justice to the people
who came before him.

Forty columns, four in a row, supported the ceiling of the Hall of
Judgment, and they were all faced with cedar and terminated in capitals
in the form of lilies; the floor consisted of cypress boards, all of
a piece; nor was the stone upon the walls to be seen anywhere for the
cedar finish, ornamented with gold carving, shewing palms, pineapples,
and cherubim. In the depth of the hall, with its triple-tiered windows,
six steps led up to the elevation of the throne, and upon each step stood
two bronze lions, o