d no trees or
herbage; but instead of water, I saw written parchment unrolling itself
everywhere, and instead of trees and herbage I saw men of bronze and
marble springing up and crowding round you. And my father was faint for
want of water and fell to the ground; and the man whose face was a blank
loosed thy hand and departed: and as he went I could see his face; and
it was the face of the Great Tempter. And thou, Romola, didst wring thy
hands and seek for water, and there was none. And the bronze and marble
figures seemed to mock thee and hold out cups of water, and when thou
didst grasp them and put them to my father's lips, they turned to
parchment. And the bronze and marble figures seemed to turn into demons
and snatch my father's body from thee, and the parchments shrivelled up,
and blood ran everywhere instead of them, and fire upon the blood, till
they all vanished, and the plain was bare and stony again, and thou wast
alone in the midst of it. And then it seemed that the night fell and I
saw no more... Thrice I have had that vision, Romola. I believe it is
a revelation meant for thee: to warn thee against marriage as a
temptation of the enemy; it calls upon thee to dedicate thyself--"

His pauses had gradually become longer and more frequent, and he was now
compelled to cease by a severe fit of gasping, in which his eyes were
turned on the crucifix as on a light that was vanishing. Presently he
found strength to speak again, but in a feebler, scarcely audible tone.

"To renounce the vain philosophy and corrupt thoughts of the heathens:
for in the hour of sorrow and death their pride will turn to mockery,
and the unclean gods will--"

The words died away.

In spite of the thought that was at work in Romola, telling her that
this vision was no more than a dream, fed by youthful memories and ideal
convictions, a strange awe had come over her. Her mind was not apt to
be assailed by sickly fancies; she had the vivid intellect and the
healthy human passion, which are too keenly alive to the constant
relations of things to have any morbid craving after the exceptional.
Still the images of the vision she despised jarred and distressed her
like painful and cruel cries. And it was the first time she had
witnessed the struggle with approaching death: her young life had been
sombre, but she had known nothing of the utmost human needs; no acute
suffering--no heart-cutting sorrow; and this brother, come back to