ro
of Lebanon; but Tancred contrived to drink the health of Queen Astarte
without any wry expression of countenance.

'I believe,' said Keferinis, 'that the English, in their island of
London, drink only to women; the other natives of Franguestan chiefly
pledge men; we look upon both as barbarous.'

'At any rate, you worship the god of wine,' remarked Tancred, who never
attempted to correct the self-complacent minister. 'I observed to-day
the statue of Bacchus.'

'Bacchus!' said Keferinis, with a smile, half of inquiry, half of
commiseration. 'Bacchus: an English name, I apprehend! All our gods
came from the ancient Antakia before either the Turks or the English
were heard of. Their real names are in every respect sacred; nor will
they be uttered, even to the Ansarey, until after the divine initiation
has been performed in the perfectly admirable and inexpressibly
delightful mysteries,' which meant, in simpler tongue, that Keferinis
was entirely ignorant of the subject on which he was talking.

After their meal, Keferinis, proposing that in the course of the
day they should fly one of the Queen's hawks, left them, when the
conversation, of which we have given a snatch, occurred. Yet, as we have
observed, they were on the whole moody and unusually silent. Fakredeen
in particular was wrapped in reverie, and when he spoke, it was always
in reference to the singular spectacle of the morning. His musing forced
him to inquiry, having never before heard of the Olympian heirarchy, nor
of the woods of Daphne, nor of the bright lord of the silver bow.

Why were they moody and silent?

With regard to Lord Montacute, the events of the morning might
sufficiently account for the gravity of his demeanour, for he was
naturally of a thoughtful and brooding temperament. This unexpected
introduction to Olympus was suggestive of many reflections to one so
habituated to muse over divine influences. Nor need it be denied that
the character of the Queen greatly interested him. Her mind was
already attuned to heavenly thoughts. She already believed that she
was fulfilling a sacred mission. Tancred could not be blind to the
importance of such a personage as Astarte in the great drama of divine
regeneration, which was constantly present to his consideration. Her
conversion might be as weighty as ten victories. He was not insensible
to the efficacy of feminine influence in the dissemination of religious
truth, nor unaware how much the grea