s, and hundreds of ages after thee will they be asking
their beloveds about this. There be three things which are too wonderful
for me, yea, four which I know not: the way of an eagle in the air;
the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of
the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. This is not my wisdom,
Sulamith,--these are the words of Agur, son of Jakeh, heard from him
by his disciples. But let us honour the wisdom of others also."

"Yea," said Sulamith pensively, "mayhap it is even true that man
shall never comprehend this. To-day, during the banquet, I wore a
sweet-smelling cluster of stacte upon my breast. But thou didst leave
the table, and my flowers ceased to give out their smell. Meseems, thou
must be beloved, O king, of women, and men, and beasts, and even of
flowers. I oft ponder, yet comprehend not: how can one love any other
save thee?"

"And any save thee, save thee, Sulamith! Every hour do I render thanks
to God for that He has set thee in my path."

"I remember, I was sitting upon a stone of the wall, and thou didst put
thy hand on mine. Fire ran through my veins; my head was dizzied. I said
within me: Behold, there is my lord, my king, my beloved!"

"I remember, Sulamith, how thou didst turn around to my call. Under the
thin raiment I saw thy body, thy beautiful body, that I love as I love
God. I love it,--covered with its golden down, as though the sun had left
its kiss upon it. Thou art graceful, like to a filly in the Pharaoh's
chariot; thou art fair like the chariot of Ammi-nadib. Thy eyes are as
two doves, sitting by the rivers of waters."

"O, beloved, thy words stir me. Thy hand sears me sweetly. O, my king,
thy legs are as pillars of marble. Thy belly is like an heap of wheat,
set about with lilies."

Surrounded, irradiated, by the silent light of the moon, they forgot
time and place; and thus hours would pass, and they with wonder beheld
the rosy dawn peeping through the latticed windows of the chamber.

Sulamith also said once:

"Thou hast known, my beloved, wives and virgins without number, and they
were all the fairest women on earth. I become ashamed whenever I consider
myself,--a simple, unschooled girl,--and my poor body, scorched of the
sun."

But, touching her lips with his, the king would say, with infinite love
and gratefulness:

"Thou art a queen, Sulamith! Thou wast born a true queen. Thou art brave
and generous in love. Seven hundred wives have