ey reached the man they
appeared out of nothingness. They were of two colours, snow-white and
coal-black. The white appeared upon his right side, the black upon
his left side. Each bird in those never-ceasing streams hovered for an
instant by his head, the white over his right shoulder, the black over
his left shoulder, as though they whispered a message to his ear, and
having whispered were gone upon their errand."

"What was that errand, Father?"

"How can I know, as no one ever told me? Yet I will hazard a guess that
it had to do with the mystery of life and death. Souls that were born
into the world, and souls departing from the world, perchance, making
report to one of God's ministers clothed in flesh. But who can say? At
least I watched those magic fowls till my eyes grew dizzy, and a sort of
slumber began to creep into my brain.

"How long I stayed thus I do not remember, for I had lost all sense of
time. In the end, however, I was awakened by a cold, soft voice, the
sound of which seemed to flow through my veins like ice, that addressed
me in our own rough English tongue, spoken as you and I learned it at
our nurses' knees.

"'To what god were you praying just now, Andrew Arnold?'

"'Oh, sir,' I answered, 'how do you, who dwell in Cathay, where I am a
stranger, know my language and my name?'

"He lifted his cold eyes and looked at me, and I felt them pierce into
the depths of my soul. 'In the same way that I know your heart,' he
said. 'But do not ask questions. Answer them, that I may learn whether
you are a true man or a liar.'

"'I was praying to Christ,' I faltered, 'the Saviour of us all.'

"'A great God, Andrew Arnold, and a pure, though His followers are few
in the world as yet. But do you think that He can save you from Me, as
you were asking Him to do?'

"'He can save my soul,' I replied, plucking up courage, who would not
deny the Lord even in a devil's den.

"'Ah! your soul. Well, I have nothing to do with souls, except to count
them as they pass through my dominion, and you are quite right to pray
to one of the lords of that into which you go. Now, man, what is your
business with me, and why do you visit one of whom you are so much
afraid?'

"'O Murgh!' I began, then ceased, for I knew not what to answer.

"'So they have told you my name? Now I will tell you one of its
meanings. It is "Gate of the Gods." Why did you dare to visit Gate of
the Gods? You fear to answer. Listen! You came fo