n soul with that other shall need much thought and humble prayer. Aim
onward and upward--you know the road--you also know, and you have
partly seen, what awaits you at the end."

After this conversation we spoke no more in private together. The rest
of the afternoon was entirely occupied with the final preparations for
Zara's funeral, which was to take place at Pere-la-Chaise early the
next morning. A large and beautiful wreath of white roses, lilies, and
maiden-hair arrived from Prince Ivan; and, remembering my promise to
him, I went myself to lay it in a conspicuous place on Zara's corpse.
That fair body was now laid in its coffin of polished oak, and a
delicate veil of filmy lace draped it from head to foot. The placid
expression of the features remained unchanged, save for a little extra
rigidity of the flesh; the hands, folded over the crucifix, were stiff,
and looked as though they were moulded in wax. I placed the wreath in
position and paused, looking wistfully at that still and solemn figure.
Father Paul, slowly entering from a side-door, came and stood beside me.

"She is happy!" he said; and a cheerful expression irradiated his
venerable features.

"Did you also know she would die that night?" I asked softly.

"Her brother sent for me, and told me of her expected dissolution. She
herself told me, and made her last confession and communion. Therefore
I was prepared."

"But did you not doubt--were you not inclined to think they might be
wrong?" I inquired, with some astonishment.

"I knew Heliobas as a child," the priest returned. "I knew his father
and mother before him; and I have been always perfectly aware of the
immense extent of his knowledge, and the value of his discoveries. If I
were inclined to be sceptical on spiritual matters, I should not be of
the race I am; for I am also a Chaldean."

I said no more, and Father Paul trimmed the tapers burning round the
coffin in devout silence. Again I looked at the fair dead form before
me; but somehow I could not feel sad again. All my impulses bade me
rejoice. Why should I be unhappy on Zara's account?--more especially
when the glories of the Central Sphere were yet fresh in my memory, and
when I knew as a positive fact that her happiness was now perfect. I
left the chapel with a light step and lighter heart, and went to my own
room to pack up my things that all might be in readiness for my
departure on the morrow. On my table I found a volume whose qua