ine."

And, taking Sulamith by the hand, the king brought her to the banqueting
house, where his companions and familiars were already awaiting him.

CHAPTER EIGHT

[Illustration]

VIII.

Seven days had sped since Sulamith had stepped into the palace of the
king. Seven days had she and the king taken joyance in love, yet could
not be sated therewith.

Solomon loved to adorn his beloved with precious things. "How beautiful
are thy little feet in sandals!" he would exclaim in rapture, and,
getting down on his knees before her, he would kiss each toe in turn,
and put upon them rings with stones so splendid and rare that their like
was not to be found even upon the ephod of a high-priest. Sulamith would
listen, entranced, whenever he discoursed upon the inner nature of
stones, their magic properties and secret significations.

"Here is anthrax, the sacred stone from the land of Ophir," the king
would say. "It is hot and moist. Behold, it is red, like blood, like the
evening glow, like the blown flower of the pomegranate, like thick wine
from the vineyards of En-gedi, like thy lips, my Sulamith, in the
morning after a night of love. This is the stone of love, wrath, and
blood. Upon the hand of a man languishing in a fever or made drunk by
desire, it waxes warmer and glows with a red flame. Put it upon thy
hand, my beloved, and thou shalt see it enkindle. If it be brayed to a
powder and taken in water, it imparts a glow to the face, allays the
stomach, and maketh the soul to rejoice. He that weareth it attaineth
power over men. It is a curative for the heart, brain, and memory. But
it ought not be worn nigh children, for it doth arouse the passions of
love around it.

"Here is a transparent stone, the colour of copper verdigris. In the
land of the AEthiopians, where it is gotten, it is called Mgnadis-Phza.
It was given me by the father of my wife, Queen Astis,--by Shishak, the
Pharaoh of AEgypt, into whose hands it came through a captive king. Thou
seest,--it is not beautiful; yet is its value beyond computation, for
but four men on earth possess the stone Mgnadis-Phza. It possesses the
unusual property of attracting silver to it, just like a covetous man
that loveth the metal. I give it thee, my beloved, for that thou are
not covetous.

"Gaze upon these sapphires, Sulamith. Some of them resemble in colour
corn-flowers among wheat; others, an autumn sky; others still, the sea
in fine weather. This is the s