shall no more be free till all its temples are as the desert dust;
strange Peoples shall, from age to age, hold her hostage and in bonds;
new Religions shall arise and wither within the shadow of her pyramids,
for to every World, Race, and Age the countenances of the Gods are
changed. This is the tree that shall spring from thy seed of sin,
Harmachis, and from the sin of those who tempted thee!"

"Alas! I am undone!" I cried.

"Yea, thou art undone; and yet shall this be given to thee: thy
Destroyer thou shalt destroy--for so, in the purpose of my justice, it
is ordained. When the sign comes to thee, arise, go to Cleopatra, and
in such manner as I shall put into thy heart do Heaven's vengeance
upon her! And now for thyself one word, for thou hast put Me from thee,
Harmachis, and no more shall I come face to face with thee till, cycles
hence, the last fruit of thy sin hath ceased to be upon this earth! Yet,
through the vastness of the unnumbered years, remember thou this: the
Love Divine is Love Eternal, which cannot be extinguished, though it be
everlastingly estranged. Repent, my son; repent and do well while
there is yet time, that at the dim end of ages thou mayest once more
be gathered unto Me. Still, Harmachis, though thou seest Me not; still,
when the very name by which thou knowest Me has become a meaningless
mystery to those who shall be after thee; still I, whose hours are
eternal--I, who have watched Universes wither, wane, and, beneath the
breath of Time, melt into nothingness; again to gather, and, re-born,
thread the maze of space--still, I say, I shall companion thee. Wherever
thou goest, in whatever form of life thou livest, there I shall be! Art
thou wafted to the farthest star, art thou buried in Amenti's lowest
deep--in lives, in deaths, in sleeps, in wakings, in remembrances, in
oblivions, in all the fevers of the outer Life, in all the changes of
the Spirit--still, if thou wilt but atone and forget Me no more, I shall
be with thee, waiting thine hour of redemption. For this is the nature
of Love Divine, wherewith it loves that which partakes of its divinity
and by the holy tie hath once been bound to it. Judge then, Harmachis:
was it well to put this from thee to win the dust of earthly woman? And,
now, dare not again to utter the Word of Power till these things are
done! Harmachis, for this season, fare thee well!"

As the last note of the sweet Voice died away, the fiery snake climbed
into t