s
of budding maidens. They surround him as he enters, greeting him with
lovely smiles; and scattering rose leaves o'er him. His cheeks flame as
with fever; his blood boils in his veins; he grows giddy, faint:--alas,
he feels at last that he might find happiness in the Palace of the
mortal enemy of his Mother! This feeling falls upon him like a
thunderbolt, and scathes his heart. He turns to fly, but they pursue,
the perfumed wind bearing onward and wafting around him the full drapery
of their floating trains of luxury. Their long ringlets kiss his cheeks,
and weave their nets around him.

Through two long hours of this fitful night I watched him with the
keenest interest. I saw him struggle, confused, bewildered, reeling,
giddy, dazzled, sometimes almost yielding to temptation, sometimes
earnestly imploring the Heavenly Father for strength to resist delusion.
As if in despair, I saw him hurrying through the long suite of
apartments in search of a sword to pierce his weak, vacillating heart,
but no arms were here to be found. Sometimes I saw him rush to meet the
alluring Circes of the Palace, as if seeking their fascinations; then,
suddenly turning upon them, he would curse and insult the seductive
Sirens. I saw him tear from them their veils of snow, rend them asunder,
and trample the costly fragments under his feet. They knelt, wept, and
humiliated themselves before him. They prayed for love, saying: 'Once,
only once, we implore thee, confess that thou lovest!' Utter madness
came upon him; electric flashes fired his veins; rapture tingled through
every fibre of his young frame; and in the voluptuous delirium of the
moment he wildly cried: 'I love! I love!'

As he spake, he caught in his arms the Houri of the foreign race; he
fastened his burning lips upon her rosebud mouth; and by the magic of
her breath she drew him on to the Hall of the Throne!

There sat the Master of Life and Death, with the flags and standards of
the conquered nations floating around and above him. As the youth and
maiden entered, I again heard the great bell toll the hour. Throngs of
courtiers stood around the Throne. Slowly the curtain of inwrought
tapestry rose from the platina door. Those who had been waiting beyond
its threshold for admittance, were summoned by the Heralds to appear.
Ambassadors from the Kings of the East and the Kings of the West entered
the Presence Chamber. On they filed in long and solemn procession. They
all bowed as