,and
into
the
hall
of
alabaster
.
The
moon
was
high
,
and
the
place
like
the
inside
of
a
faint
,
sun-blanched
moon
.
The
princess
was
not
there
.
I
must
find
her
:
in
her
presence
I
might
protect
myself
;
out
of
it
I
could
not
!
I
was
a
tame
animal
for
her
to
feed
upon
;
a
human
fountain
for
a
thirst
demoniac
!
She
showed
me
favour
the
more
easily
to
use
me
!
My
waking
eyes
did
not
fear
her
,
but
they
would
close
,
and
she
would
come
!
Not
seeing
her
,
I
felt
her
everywhere
,
for
she
might
be
anywhere
—
might
even
now
be
waiting
me
in
some
secret
cavern
of
sleep
!
Only
with
my
eyes
upon
her
could
I
feel
safe
from
her
!
Outside
the
alabaster
hall
it
was
pitch-dark
,
and
I
had
to
grope
my
way
along
with
hands
and
feet
.
At
last
I
felt
a
curtain
,
put
it
aside
,
and
entered
the
black
hall
.
There
I
found
a
great
silent
assembly
.
How
it
was
visible
I
neither
saw
nor
could
imagine
,
for
the
walls
,
the
floor
,
the
roof
,
were
shrouded
in
what
seemed
an
infinite
blackness
,
blacker
than
the
blackest
of
moonless
,
starless
nights
;
yet
my
eyes
could
separate
,
although
vaguely
,
not
a
few
of
the
individuals
in
the
mass
interpenetrated
and
divided
,
as
well
as
surrounded
,
by
the
darkness
.
It
seemed
as
if
my
eyes
would
never
come
quite
to
themselves
.
I
pressed
their
balls
and
looked
and
looked
again
,
but
what
I
saw
would
not
grow
distinct
.
Blackness
mingled
with
form
,
silence
and
undefined
motion
possessed
the
wide
space
.
All
was
a
dim
,
confused
dance
,
filled
with
recurrent
glimpses
of
shapes
not
unknown
to
me
.
Now
appeared
a
woman
,
with
glorious
eyes
looking
out
of
a
skull
;
now
an
armed
figure
on
a
skeleton
horse
;
now
one
now
another
of
the
hideous
burrowing
phantasms
.
I
could
trace
no
order
and
little
relation
in
the
mingling
and
crossing
currents
and
eddies
.
If
I
seemed
to
catch
the
shape
and
rhythm
of
a
dance
,
it
was
but
to
see
it
break
,
and
confusion
prevail
.
With
the
shifting
colours
of
the
seemingly
more
solid
shapes
,
mingled
a
multitude
of
shadows
,
independent
apparently
of
originals
,
each
moving
after
its
own
free
shadow-will
.
I
looked
everywhere
for
the
princess
,
but
throughout
the
wildly
changing
kaleidoscopic
scene
,
could
not
see
her
nor
discover
indication
of
her
presence
.
Where
was
she
?
What
might
she
not
be
doing
?
No
one
took
the
least
notice
of
me
as
I
wandered
hither
and
thither
seeking
her
.
At
length
losing
hope
,
I
turned
away
to
look
elsewhere
.
Finding
the
wall
,
and
keeping
to
it
with
my
hand
,
for
even
then
I
could
not
see
it
,
I
came
,
groping
along
,
to
a
curtained
opening
into
the
vestibule
.
Dimly
moonlighted
,
the
cage
of
the
leopardess
was
the
arena
of
what
seemed
a
desperate
although
silent
struggle
.
Two
vastly
differing
forms
,
human
and
bestial
,
with
entangled
confusion
of
mingling
bodies
and
limbs
,
writhed
and
wrestled
in
closest
embrace
.
It
had
lasted
but
an
instant
when
I
saw
the
leopardess
out
of
the
cage
,
walking
quietly
to
the
open
door
.
As
I
hastened
after
her
I
threw
a
glance
behind
me
:
there
was
the
leopardess
in
the
cage
,
couching
motionless
as
when
I
saw
her
first
.
The
moon
,
half-way
up
the
sky
,
was
shining
round
and
clear
;
the
bodiless
shadow
I
had
seen
the
night
before
,
was
walking
through
the
trees
toward
the
gate
;
and
after
him
went
the
leopardess
,
swinging
her
tail
.
I
followed
,
a
little
way
off
,
as
silently
as
they
,
and
neither
of
them
once
looked
round
.
Through
the
open
gate
we
went
down
to
the
city
,
lying
quiet
as
the
moonshine
upon
it
.
The
face
of
the
moon
was
very
still
,
and
its
stillness
looked
like
that
of
expectation
.
The
Shadow
took
his
way
straight
to
the
stair
at
the
top
of
which
I
had
lain
the
night
before
.
Without
a
pause
he
went
up
,
and
the
leopardess
followed
.
I
quickened
my
pace
,
but
,
a
moment
after
,
heard
a
cry
of
horror
.
Then
came
the
fall
of
something
soft
and
heavy
between
me
and
the
stair
,
and
at
my
feet
lay
a
body
,
frightfully
blackened
and
crushed
,
but
still
recognisable
as
that
of
the
woman
who
had
led
me
home
and
shut
me
out
.
As
I
stood
petrified
,
the
spotted
leopardess
came
bounding
down
the
stair
with
a
baby
in
her
mouth
.
I
darted
to
seize
her
ere
she
could
turn
at
the
foot
;
but
that
instant
,
from
behind
me
,
the
white
leopardess
,
like
a
great
bar
of
glowing
silver
,
shot
through
the
moonlight
,
and
had
her
by
the
neck
.
She
dropped
the
child
;
I
caught
it
up
,
and
stood
to
watch
the
battle
between
them
.
What
a
sight
it
was
—
now
the
one
,
now
the
other
uppermost
,
both
too
intent
for
any
noise
beyond
a
low
growl
,
a
whimpered
cry
,
or
a
snarl
of
hate
—
followed
by
a
quicker
scrambling
of
claws
,
as
each
,
worrying
and
pushing
and
dragging
,
struggled
for
foothold
on
the
pavement
!
The
spotted
leopardess
was
larger
than
the
white
,
and
I
was
anxious
for
my
friend
;
but
I
soon
saw
that
,
though
neither
stronger
nor
more
active
,
the
white
leopardess
had
the
greater
endurance
.
Not
once
did
she
lose
her
hold
on
the
neck
of
the
other
.
From
the
spotted
throat
at
length
issued
a
howl
of
agony
,
changing
,
by
swift-crowded
gradations
,
into
the
long-drawn
crescendo
of
a
woman
's
uttermost
wail
.
The
white
one
relaxed
her
jaws
;
the
spotted
one
drew
herself
away
,
and
rose
on
her
hind
legs
.
Erect
in
the
moonlight
stood
the
princess
,
a
confused
rush
of
shadows
careering
over
her
whiteness
—
the
spots
of
the
leopard
crowding
,
hurrying
,
fleeing
to
the
refuge
of
her
eyes
,
where
merging
they
vanished
.
The
last
few
,
outsped
and
belated
,
mingled
with
the
cloud
of
her
streamy
hair
,
leaving
her
radiant
as
the
moon
when
a
legion
of
little
vapours
has
flown
,
wind-hunted
,
off
her
silvery
disc
—
save
that
,
adown
the
white
column
of
her
throat
,
a
thread
of
blood
still
trickled
from
every
wound
of
her
adversary
's
terrible
teeth
.
She
turned
away
,
took
a
few
steps
with
the
gait
of
a
Hecate
,
fell
,
covered
afresh
with
her
spots
,
and
fled
at
a
long
,
stretching
gallop
.
The
white
leopardess
turned
also
,
sprang
upon
me
,
pulled
my
arms
asunder
,
caught
the
baby
as
it
fell
,
and
flew
with
it
along
the
street
toward
the
gate
.
chapter
xxvii
THE
SILENT
FOUNTAIN
I
TURNED
and
followed
the
spotted
leopardess
,
catching
but
one
glimpse
of
her
as
she
tore
up
the
brow
of
the
hill
to
the
gate
of
the
palace
.
When
I
reached
the
entrance-hall
,
the
princess
was
just
throwing
the
robe
around
her
which
she
had
left
on
the
floor
.
The
blood
had
ceased
to
flow
from
her
wounds
,
and
had
dried
in
the
wind
of
her
flight
.
When
she
saw
me
,
a
flash
of
anger
crossed
her
face
,
and
she
turned
her
head
aside
.
Then
,
with
an
attempted
smile
,
she
looked
at
me
,
and
said
,
"
I
have
met
with
a
small
accident
!
Happening
to
hear
that
the
cat-woman
was
again
in
the
city
,
I
went
down
to
send
her
away
.
But
she
had
one
of
her
horrid
creatures
with
her
:
it
sprang
upon
me
,
and
had
its
claws
in
my
neck
before
I
could
strike
it
!
"
She
gave
a
shiver
,
and
I
could
not
help
pitying
her
,
although
I
knew
she
lied
,
for
her
wounds
were
real
,
and
her
face
reminded
me
of
how
she
looked
in
the
cave
.
My
heart
began
to
reproach
me
that
I
had
let
her
fight
unaided
,
and
I
suppose
I
looked
the
compassion
I
felt
.
"
Child
of
folly
!
"
she
said
,
with
another
attempted
smile
,
"
—
not
crying
,
surely
!
—
Wait
for
me
here
;
I
am
going
into
the
black
hall
for
a
moment
.
I
want
you
to
get
me
something
for
my
scratches
.
"
But
I
followed
her
close
.
Out
of
my
sight
I
feared
her
.
The
instant
the
princess
entered
,
I
heard
a
buzzing
sound
as
of
many
low
voices
,
and
,
one
portion
after
another
,
the
assembly
began
to
be
shiftingly
illuminated
,
as
by
a
ray
that
went
travelling
from
spot
to
spot
.
Group
after
group
would
shine
out
for
a
space
,
then
sink
back
into
the
general
vagueness
,
while
another
part
of
the
vast
company
would
grow
momently
bright
.
Some
of
the
actions
going
on
when
thus
illuminated
,
were
not
unknown
to
me
;
I
had
been
in
them
,
or
had
looked
on
them
,
and
so
had
the
princess
:
present
with
every
one
of
them
I
now
saw
her
.
The
skull-headed
dancers
footed
the
grass
in
the
forest-hall
:
there
was
the
princess
looking
in
at
the
door
!
The
fight
went
on
in
the
Evil
Wood
:
there
was
the
princess
urging
it
!
Yet
I
was
close
behind
her
all
the
time
,
she
standing
motionless
,
her
head
sunk
on
her
bosom
.
The
confused
murmur
continued
,
the
confused
commotion
of
colours
and
shapes
;
and
still
the
ray
went
shifting
and
showing
.
It
settled
at
last
on
the
hollow
in
the
heath
,
and
there
was
the
princess
,
walking
up
and
down
,
and
trying
in
vain
to
wrap
the
vapour
around
her
!
Then
first
I
was
startled
at
what
I
saw
:
the
old
librarian
walked
up
to
her
,
and
stood
for
a
moment
regarding
her
;
she
fell
;
her
limbs
forsook
her
and
fled
;
her
body
vanished
.
A
wild
shriek
rang
through
the
echoing
place
,
and
with
the
fall
of
her
eidolon
,
the
princess
herself
,
till
then
standing
like
a
statue
in
front
of
me
,
fell
heavily
,
and
lay
still
.
I
turned
at
once
and
went
out
:
not
again
would
I
seek
to
restore
her
!
As
I
stood
trembling
beside
the
cage
,
I
knew
that
in
the
black
ellipsoid
I
had
been
in
the
brain
of
the
princess
!
—
I
saw
the
tail
of
the
leopardess
quiver
once
.
While
still
endeavouring
to
compose
myself
,
I
heard
the
voice
of
the
princess
beside
me
.
"
Come
now
,
"
she
said
;
"
I
will
show
you
what
I
want
you
to
do
for
me
.
"
She
led
the
way
into
the
court
.
I
followed
in
dazed
compliance
.
The
moon
was
near
the
zenith
,
and
her
present
silver
seemed
brighter
than
the
gold
of
the
absent
sun
.
She
brought
me
through
the
trees
to
the
tallest
of
them
,
the
one
in
the
centre
.
It
was
not
quite
like
the
rest
,
for
its
branches
,
drawing
their
ends
together
at
the
top
,
made
a
clump
that
looked
from
beneath
like
a
fir-cone
.
The
princess
stood
close
under
it
,
gazing
up
,
and
said
,
as
if
talking
to
herself
,
"
On
the
summit
of
that
tree
grows
a
tiny
blossom
which
would
at
once
heal
my
scratches
!
I
might
be
a
dove
for
a
moment
and
fetch
it
,
but
I
see
a
little
snake
in
the
leaves
whose
bite
would
be
worse
to
a
dove
than
the
bite
of
a
tiger
to
me
!
—
How
I
hate
that
cat-woman
!
"
She
turned
to
me
quickly
,
saying
with
one
of
her
sweetest
smiles
,
"
Can
you
climb
?
"
The
smile
vanished
with
the
brief
question
,
and
her
face
changed
to
a
look
of
sadness
and
suffering
.
I
ought
to
have
left
her
to
suffer
,
but
the
way
she
put
her
hand
to
her
wounded
neck
went
to
my
heart
.
I
considered
the
tree
.
All
the
way
up
to
the
branches
,
were
projections
on
the
stem
like
the
remnants
on
a
palm
of
its
fallen
leaves
.
"
I
can
climb
that
tree
,
"
I
answered
.
"
Not
with
bare
feet
!
"
she
returned
.
In
my
haste
to
follow
the
leopardess
disappearing
,
I
had
left
my
sandals
in
my
room
.
"
It
is
no
matter
,
"
I
said
;
"
I
have
long
gone
barefoot
!
"
Again
I
looked
at
the
tree
,
and
my
eyes
went
wandering
up
the
stem
until
my
sight
lost
itself
in
the
branches
.
The
moon
shone
like
silvery
foam
here
and
there
on
the
rugged
bole
,
and
a
little
rush
of
wind
went
through
the
top
with
a
murmurous
sound
as
of
water
falling
softly
into
water
.
I
approached
the
tree
to
begin
my
ascent
of
it
.
The
princess
stopped
me
.
"
I
cannot
let
you
attempt
it
with
your
feet
bare
!
"
she
insisted
.
"
A
fall
from
the
top
would
kill
you
!
"
"
So
would
a
bite
from
the
snake
!
"
I
answered
—
not
believing
,
I
confess
,
that
there
was
any
snake
.
"
It
would
not
hurt
you
!
"
she
replied
.
"
—
Wait
a
moment
.
"
She
tore
from
her
garment
the
two
wide
borders
that
met
in
front
,
and
kneeling
on
one
knee
,
made
me
put
first
my
left
foot
,
then
my
right
on
the
other
,
and
bound
them
about
with
the
thick
embroidered
strips
.
"
You
have
left
the
ends
hanging
,
princess
!
"
I
said
.
"
I
have
nothing
to
cut
them
off
with
;
but
they
are
not
long
enough
to
get
entangled
,
"
she
replied
.
I
turned
to
the
tree
,
and
began
to
climb
.
Now
in
Bulika
the
cold
after
sundown
was
not
so
great
as
in
certain
other
parts
of
the
country
—
especially
about
the
sexton
's
cottage
;
yet
when
I
had
climbed
a
little
way
,
I
began
to
feel
very
cold
,
grew
still
colder
as
I
ascended
,
and
became
coldest
of
all
when
I
got
among
the
branches
.
Then
I
shivered
,
and
seemed
to
have
lost
my
hands
and
feet
.
There
was
hardly
any
wind
,
and
the
branches
did
not
sway
in
the
least
,
yet
,
as
I
approached
the
summit
,
I
became
aware
of
a
peculiar
unsteadiness
:
every
branch
on
which
I
placed
foot
or
laid
hold
,
seemed
on
the
point
of
giving
way
.
When
my
head
rose
above
the
branches
near
the
top
,
and
in
the
open
moonlight
I
began
to
look
about
for
the
blossom
,
that
instant
I
found
myself
drenched
from
head
to
foot
.
The
next
,
as
if
plunged
in
a
stormy
water
,
I
was
flung
about
wildly
,
and
felt
myself
sinking
.
Tossed
up
and
down
,
tossed
this
way
and
tossed
that
way
,
rolled
over
and
over
,
checked
,
rolled
the
other
way
and
tossed
up
again
,
I
was
sinking
lower
and
lower
.
Gasping
and
gurgling
and
choking
,
I
fell
at
last
upon
a
solid
bottom
.
"
I
told
you
so
!
"
croaked
a
voice
in
my
ear
.
chapter
xxviii
I
AM
SILENCED
I
RUBBED
the
water
out
of
my
eyes
,
and
saw
the
raven
on
the
edge
of
a
huge
stone
basin
.
With
the
cold
light
of
the
dawn
reflected
from
his
glossy
plumage
,
he
stood
calmly
looking
down
upon
me
.
I
lay
on
my
back
in
water
,
above
which
,
leaning
on
my
elbows
,
I
just
lifted
my
face
.
I
was
in
the
basin
of
the
large
fountain
constructed
by
my
father
in
the
middle
of
the
lawn
.
High
over
me
glimmered
the
thick
,
steel-shiny
stalk
,
shooting
,
with
a
torrent
uprush
,
a
hundred
feet
into
the
air
,
to
spread
in
a
blossom
of
foam
.
Nettled
at
the
coolness
of
the
raven
's
remark
,
"
You
told
me
nothing
!
"
I
said
.
"
I
told
you
to
do
nothing
any
one
you
distrusted
asked
you
!
"
"
Tut
!
how
was
mortal
to
remember
that
?
"
"
You
will
not
forget
the
consequences
of
having
forgotten
it
!
"
replied
Mr.
Raven
,
who
stood
leaning
over
the
margin
of
the
basin
,
and
stretched
his
hand
across
to
me
.
I
took
it
,
and
was
immediately
beside
him
on
the
lawn
,
dripping
and
streaming
.
"
You
must
change
your
clothes
at
once
!
"
he
said
.
"
A
wetting
does
not
signify
where
you
come
from
—
though
at
present
such
an
accident
is
unusual
;
here
it
has
its
inconveniences
!
"
He
was
again
a
raven
,
walking
,
with
something
stately
in
his
step
,
toward
the
house
,
the
door
of
which
stood
open
.
"
I
have
not
much
to
change
!
"
I
laughed
;
for
I
had
flung
aside
my
robe
to
climb
the
tree
.
"
It
is
a
long
time
since
I
moulted
a
feather
!
"
said
the
raven
.
In
the
house
no
one
seemed
awake
.
I
went
to
my
room
,
found
a
dressing-gown
,
and
descended
to
the
library
.
As
I
entered
,
the
librarian
came
from
the
closet
.
I
threw
myself
on
a
couch
.
Mr.
Raven
drew
a
chair
to
my
side
and
sat
down
.
For
a
minute
or
two
neither
spoke
.
I
was
the
first
to
break
the
silence
.
"
What
does
it
all
mean
?
"
I
said
.
"
A
good
question
!
"
he
rejoined
:
"
nobody
knows
what
anything
is
;
a
man
can
learn
only
what
a
thing
means
!
Whether
he
do
,
depends
on
the
use
he
is
making
of
it
.
"
"
I
have
made
no
use
of
anything
yet
!
"
"
Not
much
;
but
you
know
the
fact
,
and
that
is
something
!
Most
people
take
more
than
a
lifetime
to
learn
that
they
have
learned
nothing
,
and
done
less
!
At
least
you
have
not
been
without
the
desire
to
be
of
use
!
"
"
I
did
want
to
do
something
for
the
children
—
the
precious
Little
Ones
,
I
mean
.
"
"
I
know
you
did
—
and
started
the
wrong
way
!
"
"
I
did
not
know
the
right
way
.
"
"
That
is
true
also
—
but
you
are
to
blame
that
you
did
not
.
"
"
I
am
ready
to
believe
whatever
you
tell
me
—
as
soon
as
I
understand
what
it
means
.
"
"
Had
you
accepted
our
invitation
,
you
would
have
known
the
right
way
.
When
a
man
will
not
act
where
he
is
,
he
must
go
far
to
find
his
work
.
"
"
Indeed
I
have
gone
far
,
and
got
nowhere
,
for
I
have
not
found
my
work
!
I
left
the
children
to
learn
how
to
serve
them
,
and
have
only
learned
the
danger
they
are
in
.
"
"
When
you
were
with
them
,
you
were
where
you
could
help
them
:
you
left
your
work
to
look
for
it
!
It
takes
a
wise
man
to
know
when
to
go
away
;
a
fool
may
learn
to
go
back
at
once
!
"
"
Do
you
mean
,
sir
,
I
could
have
done
something
for
the
Little
Ones
by
staying
with
them
?
"
"
Could
you
teach
them
anything
by
leaving
them
?
"
"
No
;
but
how
could
I
teach
them
?
I
did
not
know
how
to
begin
.
Besides
,
they
were
far
ahead
of
me
!
"
"
That
is
true
.
But
you
were
not
a
rod
to
measure
them
with
!
Certainly
,
if
they
knew
what
you
know
,
not
to
say
what
you
might
have
known
,
they
would
be
ahead
of
you
—
out
of
sight
ahead
!
but
you
saw
they
were
not
growing
—
or
growing
so
slowly
that
they
had
not
yet
developed
the
idea
of
growing
!
they
were
even
afraid
of
growing
!
—
You
had
never
seen
children
remain
children
!
"
"
But
surely
I
had
no
power
to
make
them
grow
!
"
"
You
might
have
removed
some
of
the
hindrances
to
their
growing
!
"
"
What
are
they
?
I
do
not
know
them
.
I
did
think
perhaps
it
was
the
want
of
water
!
"
"
Of
course
it
is
!
they
have
none
to
cry
with
!
"
"
I
would
gladly
have
kept
them
from
requiring
any
for
that
purpose
!
"
"
No
doubt
you
would
—
the
aim
of
all
stupid
philanthropists
!
Why
,
Mr.
Vane
,
but
for
the
weeping
in
it
,
your
world
would
never
have
become
worth
saving
!
You
confess
you
thought
it
might
be
water
they
wanted
:
why
did
not
you
dig
them
a
well
or
two
?
"
"
That
never
entered
my
mind
!
"
"
Not
when
the
sounds
of
the
waters
under
the
earth
entered
your
ears
?
"
"
I
believe
it
did
once
.
But
I
was
afraid
of
the
giants
for
them
.
That
was
what
made
me
bear
so
much
from
the
brutes
myself
!
"
"
Indeed
you
almost
taught
the
noble
little
creatures
to
be
afraid
of
the
stupid
Bags
!
While
they
fed
and
comforted
and
worshipped
you
,
all
the
time
you
submitted
to
be
the
slave
of
bestial
men
!
You
gave
the
darlings
a
seeming
coward
for
their
hero
!
A
worse
wrong
you
could
hardly
have
done
them
.
They
gave
you
their
hearts
;
you
owed
them
your
soul
!
—
You
might
by
this
time
have
made
the
Bags
hewers
of
wood
and
drawers
of
water
to
the
Little
Ones
!
"
"
I
fear
what
you
say
is
true
,
Mr.
Raven
!
But
indeed
I
was
afraid
that
more
knowledge
might
prove
an
injury
to
them
—
render
them
less
innocent
,
less
lovely
.
"
"
They
had
given
you
no
reason
to
harbour
such
a
fear
!
"
"
Is
not
a
little
knowledge
a
dangerous
thing
?
"
"
That
is
one
of
the
pet
falsehoods
of
your
world
!
Is
man
's
greatest
knowledge
more
than
a
little
?
or
is
it
therefore
dangerous
?
The
fancy
that
knowledge
is
in
itself
a
great
thing
,
would
make
any
degree
of
knowledge
more
dangerous
than
any
amount
of
ignorance
.
To
know
all
things
would
not
be
greatness
.
"
"
At
least
it
was
for
love
of
them
,
not
from
cowardice
that
I
served
the
giants
!
"
"
Granted
.
But
you
ought
to
have
served
the
Little
Ones
,
not
the
giants
!
You
ought
to
have
given
the
Little
Ones
water
;
then
they
would
soon
have
taught
the
giants
their
true
position
.
In
the
meantime
you
could
yourself
have
made
the
giants
cut
down
two-thirds
of
their
coarse
fruit-trees
to
give
room
to
the
little
delicate
ones
!
You
lost
your
chance
with
the
Lovers
,
Mr.
Vane
!
You
speculated
about
them
instead
of
helping
them
!
"
chapter
xxix
THE
PERSIAN
CAT
I
SAT
in
silence
and
shame
.
What
he
said
was
true
:
I
had
not
been
a
wise
neighbour
to
the
Little
Ones
!
Mr.
Raven
resumed
:
"
You
wronged
at
the
same
time
the
stupid
creatures
themselves
.
For
them
slavery
would
have
been
progress
.
To
them
a
few
such
lessons
as
you
could
have
given
them
with
a
stick
from
one
of
their
own
trees
,
would
have
been
invaluable
.
"
"
I
did
not
know
they
were
cowards
!
"
"
What
difference
does
that
make
?
The
man
who
grounds
his
action
on
another
's
cowardice
,
is
essentially
a
coward
himself
.
—
I
fear
worse
will
come
of
it
!
By
this
time
the
Little
Ones
might
have
been
able
to
protect
themselves
from
the
princess
,
not
to
say
the
giants
—
they
were
always
fit
enough
for
that
;
as
it
was
they
laughed
at
them
!
but
now
,
through
your
relations
with
her
,
—
—
"
"
I
hate
her
!
"
I
cried
.
"
Did
you
let
her
know
you
hated
her
?
"
Again
I
was
silent
.
"
Not
even
to
her
have
you
been
faithful
!
—
But
hush
!
we
were
followed
from
the
fountain
,
I
fear
!
"
"
No
living
creature
did
I
see
!
—
except
a
disreputable-looking
cat
that
bolted
into
the
shrubbery
.
"
"
It
was
a
magnificent
Persian
—
so
wet
and
draggled
,
though
,
as
to
look
what
she
was
—
worse
than
disreputable
!
"
"
What
do
you
mean
,
Mr.
Raven
?
"
I
cried
,
a
fresh
horror
taking
me
by
the
throat
.
"
—
There
was
a
beautiful
blue
Persian
about
the
house
,
but
she
fled
at
the
very
sound
of
water
!
—
Could
she
have
been
after
the
goldfish
?
"
"
We
shall
see
!
"
returned
the
librarian
.
"
I
know
a
little
about
cats
of
several
sorts
,
and
there
is
that
in
the
room
which
will
unmask
this
one
,
or
I
am
mistaken
in
her
.
"
He
rose
,
went
to
the
door
of
the
closet
,
brought
from
it
the
mutilated
volume
,
and
sat
down
again
beside
me
.
I
stared
at
the
book
in
his
hand
:
it
was
a
whole
book
,
entire
and
sound
!
"
Where
was
the
other
half
of
it
?
"
I
gasped
.
"
Sticking
through
into
my
library
,
"
he
answered
.
I
held
my
peace
.
A
single
question
more
would
have
been
a
plunge
into
a
bottomless
sea
,
and
there
might
be
no
time
!
"
Listen
,
"
he
said
:
"
I
am
going
to
read
a
stanza
or
two
.
There
is
one
present
who
,
I
imagine
,
will
hardly
enjoy
the
reading
!
"
He
opened
the
vellum
cover
,
and
turned
a
leaf
or
two
.
The
parchment
was
discoloured
with
age
,
and
one
leaf
showed
a
dark
stain
over
two-thirds
of
it
.
He
slowly
turned
this
also
,
and
seemed
looking
for
a
certain
passage
in
what
appeared
a
continuous
poem
.
Somewhere
about
the
middle
of
the
book
he
began
to
read
.
But
what
follows
represents
—
not
what
he
read
,
only
the
impression
it
made
upon
me
.
The
poem
seemed
in
a
language
I
had
never
before
heard
,
which
yet
I
understood
perfectly
,
although
I
could
not
write
the
words
,
or
give
their
meaning
save
in
poor
approximation
.
These
fragments
,
then
,
are
the
shapes
which
those
he
read
have
finally
taken
in
passing
again
through
my
brain
:
—
"
But
if
I
found
a
man
that
could
believe
In
what
he
saw
not
,
felt
not
,
and
yet
knew
,
From
him
I
should
take
substance
,
and
receive
Firmness
and
form
relate
to
touch
and
view
;
Then
should
I
clothe
me
in
the
likeness
true
Of
that
idea
where
his
soul
did
cleave
!
"
He
turned
a
leaf
and
read
again
:
—
"
In
me
was
every
woman
.
I
had
power
Over
the
soul
of
every
living
man
,
Such
as
no
woman
ever
had
in
dower
—
Could
what
no
woman
ever
could
,
or
can
;
All
women
,
I
,
the
woman
,
still
outran
,
Outsoared
,
outsank
,
outreigned
,
in
hall
or
bower
.
"
For
I
,
though
me
he
neither
saw
nor
heard
,
Nor
with
his
hand
could
touch
finger
of
mine
,
Although
not
once
my
breath
had
ever
stirred
A
hair
of
him
,
could
trammel
brain
and
spine
With
rooted
bonds
which
Death
could
not
untwine
—
Or
life
,
though
hope
were
evermore
deferred
.
"
Again
he
paused
,
again
turned
a
leaf
,
and
again
began
:
—
"
For
by
his
side
I
lay
,
a
bodiless
thing
;
I
breathed
not
,
saw
not
,
felt
not
,
only
thought
,
And
made
him
love
me
—
with
a
hungering
After
he
knew
not
what
—
if
it
was
aught
Or
but
a
nameless
something
that
was
wrought
By
him
out
of
himself
;
for
I
did
sing
"
A
song
that
had
no
sound
into
his
soul
;
I
lay
a
heartless
thing
against
his
heart
,
Giving
him
nothing
where
he
gave
his
whole
Being
to
clothe
me
human
,
every
part
:
That
I
at
last
into
his
sense
might
dart
,
Thus
first
into
his
living
mind
I
stole
.
"
Ah
,
who
was
ever
conquering
Love
but
I
!
Who
else
did
ever
throne
in
heart
of
man
!
To
visible
being
,
with
a
gladsome
cry
Waking
,
life
's
tremor
through
me
throbbing
ran
!
"
A
strange
,
repulsive
feline
wail
arose
somewhere
in
the
room
.
I
started
up
on
my
elbow
and
stared
about
me
,
but
could
see
nothing
.
Mr.
Raven
turned
several
leaves
,
and
went
on
:
—
"
Sudden
I
woke
,
nor
knew
the
ghastly
fear
That
held
me
—
not
like
serpent
coiled
about
,
But
like
a
vapour
moist
,
corrupt
,
and
drear
,
Filling
heart
,
soul
,
and
breast
and
brain
throughout
;
My
being
lay
motionless
in
sickening
doubt
,
Nor
dared
to
ask
how
came
the
horror
here
.
"
My
past
entire
I
knew
,
but
not
my
now
;
I
understood
nor
what
I
was
,
nor
where
;
I
knew
what
I
had
been
:
still
on
my
brow
I
felt
the
touch
of
what
no
more
was
there
!
I
was
a
fainting
,
dead
,
yet
live
Despair
;
A
life
that
flouted
life
with
mop
and
mow
!
"
That
I
was
once
a
queen
I
knew
right
well
,
And
sometimes
wore
a
splendour
on
my
head
Whose
flashing
even
dead
darkness
could
not
quell
—
The
like
on
neck
and
arms
and
girdle-stead
;
And
men
declared
a
light
my
closed
eyes
shed
That
killed
the
diamond
in
its
silver
cell
.
"
Again
I
heard
the
ugly
cry
of
feline
pain
.
Again
I
looked
,
but
saw
neither
shape
nor
motion
.
Mr.
Raven
seemed
to
listen
a
moment
,
but
again
turned
several
pages
,
and
resumed
:
—
"
Hideously
wet
,
my
hair
of
golden
hue
Fouled
my
fair
hands
:
to
have
it
swiftly
shorn
I
had
given
my
rubies
,
all
for
me
dug
new
—
No
eyes
had
seen
,
and
such
no
waist
had
worn
!
For
a
drought
of
water
from
a
drinking
horn
,
For
one
blue
breath
,
I
had
given
my
sapphires
blue
!
"
Nay
,
I
had
given
my
opals
for
a
smock
,
A
peasant-maiden
's
garment
,
coarse
and
clean
:
My
shroud
was
rotting
!
Once
I
heard
a
cock
Lustily
crow
upon
the
hillock
green
Over
my
coffin
.
Dulled
by
space
between
,
Came
back
an
answer
like
a
ghostly
mock
.
"
Once
more
arose
the
bestial
wail
.
"
I
thought
some
foul
thing
was
in
the
room
!
"
said
the
librarian
,
casting
a
glance
around
him
;
but
instantly
he
turned
a
leaf
or
two
,
and
again
read
:
—
"
For
I
had
bathed
in
milk
and
honey-dew
,
In
rain
from
roses
shook
,
that
ne'er
touched
earth
,
And
ointed
me
with
nard
of
amber
hue
;
Never
had
spot
me
spotted
from
my
birth
,
Or
mole
,
or
scar
of
hurt
,
or
fret
of
dearth
;
Never
one
hair
superfluous
on
me
grew
.
"
Fleeing
cold
whiteness
,
I
would
sit
alone
—
Not
in
the
sun
—
I
feared
his
bronzing
light
,
But
in
his
radiance
back
around
me
thrown
By
fulgent
mirrors
tempering
his
might
;
Thus
bathing
in
a
moon-bath
not
too
bright
,
My
skin
I
tinted
slow
to
ivory
tone
.
"
But
now
,
all
round
was
dark
,
dark
all
within
!
My
eyes
not
even
gave
out
a
phantom-flash
;
My
fingers
sank
in
pulp
through
pulpy
skin
;
My
body
lay
death-weltered
in
a
mash
Of
slimy
horrors
—
—
"
With
a
fearsome
yell
,
her
clammy
fur
staring
in
clumps
,
her
tail
thick
as
a
cable
,
her
eyes
flashing
green
as
a
chrysoprase
,
her
distended
claws
entangling
themselves
so
that
she
floundered
across
the
carpet
,
a
huge
white
cat
rushed
from
somewhere
,
and
made
for
the
chimney
.
Quick
as
thought
the
librarian
threw
the
manuscript
between
her
and
the
hearth
.
She
crouched
instantly
,
her
eyes
fixed
on
the
book
.
But
his
voice
went
on
as
if
still
he
read
,
and
his
eyes
seemed
also
fixed
on
the
book
:
—
"
Ah
,
the
two
worlds
!
so
strangely
are
they
one
,
And
yet
so
measurelessly
wide
apart
!
Oh
,
had
I
lived
the
bodiless
alone
And
from
defiling
sense
held
safe
my
heart
,
Then
had
I
scaped
the
canker
and
the
smart
,
Scaped
life-in-death
,
scaped
misery
's
endless
moan
!
"
At
these
words
such
a
howling
,
such
a
prolonged
yell
of
agony
burst
from
the
cat
,
that
we
both
stopped
our
ears
.
When
it
ceased
,
Mr.
Raven
walked
to
the
fire-place
,
took
up
the
book
,
and
,
standing
between
the
creature
and
the
chimney
,
pointed
his
finger
at
her
for
a
moment
.
She
lay
perfectly
still
.
He
took
a
half-burnt
stick
from
the
hearth
,
drew
with
it
some
sign
on
the
floor
,
put
the
manuscript
back
in
its
place
,
with
a
look
that
seemed
to
say
,
"
Now
we
have
her
,
I
think
!
"
and
,
returning
to
the
cat
,
stood
over
her
and
said
,
in
a
still
,
solemn
voice
:
—
"
Lilith
,
when
you
came
here
on
the
way
to
your
evil
will
,
you
little
thought
into
whose
hands
you
were
delivering
yourself
!
—
Mr
.
Vane
,
when
God
created
me
,
—
not
out
of
Nothing
,
as
say
the
unwise
,
but
out
of
His
own
endless
glory
—
He
brought
me
an
angelic
splendour
to
be
my
wife
:
there
she
lies
!
For
her
first
thought
was
power
;
she
counted
it
slavery
to
be
one
with
me
,
and
bear
children
for
Him
who
gave
her
being
.
One
child
,
indeed
,
she
bore
;
then
,
puffed
with
the
fancy
that
she
had
created
her
,
would
have
me
fall
down
and
worship
her
!
Finding
,
however
,
that
I
would
but
love
and
honour
,
never
obey
and
worship
her
,
she
poured
out
her
blood
to
escape
me
,
fled
to
the
army
of
the
aliens
,
and
soon
had
so
ensnared
the
heart
of
the
great
Shadow
,
that
he
became
her
slave
,
wrought
her
will
,
and
made
her
queen
of
Hell
.
How
it
is
with
her
now
,
she
best
knows
,
but
I
know
also
.
The
one
child
of
her
body
she
fears
and
hates
,
and
would
kill
,
asserting
a
right
,
which
is
a
lie
,
over
what
God
sent
through
her
into
His
new
world
.
Of
creating
,
she
knows
no
more
than
the
crystal
that
takes
its
allotted
shape
,
or
the
worm
that
makes
two
worms
when
it
is
cloven
asunder
.
Vilest
of
God
's
creatures
,
she
lives
by
the
blood
and
lives
and
souls
of
men
.
She
consumes
and
slays
,
but
is
powerless
to
destroy
as
to
create
.
"
The
animal
lay
motionless
,
its
beryl
eyes
fixed
flaming
on
the
man
:
his
eyes
on
hers
held
them
fixed
that
they
could
not
move
from
his
.
"
Then
God
gave
me
another
wife
—
not
an
angel
but
a
woman
—
who
is
to
this
as
light
is
to
darkness
.
"
The
cat
gave
a
horrible
screech
,
and
began
to
grow
bigger
.
She
went
on
growing
and
growing
.
At
last
the
spotted
leopardess
uttered
a
roar
that
made
the
house
tremble
.
I
sprang
to
my
feet
.
I
do
not
think
Mr.
Raven
started
even
with
his
eyelids
.
"
It
is
but
her
jealousy
that
speaks
,
"
he
said
,
"
jealousy
self-kindled
,
foiled
and
fruitless
;
for
here
I
am
,
her
master
now
whom
she
,
would
not
have
for
her
husband
!
while
my
beautiful
Eve
yet
lives
,
hoping
immortally
!
Her
hated
daughter
lives
also
,
but
beyond
her
evil
ken
,
one
day
to
be
what
she
counts
her
destruction
—
for
even
Lilith
shall
be
saved
by
her
child-bearing
.
Meanwhile
she
exults
that
my
human
wife
plunged
herself
and
me
in
despair
,
and
has
borne
me
a
countless
race
of
miserables
;
but
my
Eve
repented
,
and
is
now
beautiful
as
never
was
woman
or
angel
,
while
her
groaning
,
travailing
world
is
the
nursery
of
our
Father
's
children
.
I
too
have
repented
,
and
am
blessed
.
—
Thou
,
Lilith
,
hast
not
yet
repented
;
but
thou
must
.
—
Tell
me
,
is
the
great
Shadow
beautiful
?
Knowest
thou
how
long
thou
wilt
thyself
remain
beautiful
?
—
Answer
me
,
if
thou
knowest
.
"
Then
at
last
I
understood
that
Mr.
Raven
was
indeed
Adam
,
the
old
and
the
new
man
;
and
that
his
wife
,
ministering
in
the
house
of
the
dead
,
was
Eve
,
the
mother
of
us
all
,
the
lady
of
the
New
Jerusalem
.
The
leopardess
reared
;
the
flickering
and
fleeing
of
her
spots
began
;
the
princess
at
length
stood
radiant
in
her
perfect
shape
.
"
I
am
beautiful
—
and
immortal
!
"
she
said
—
and
she
looked
the
goddess
she
would
be
.
"
As
a
bush
that
burns
,
and
is
consumed
,
"
answered
he
who
had
been
her
husband
.
"
—
What
is
that
under
thy
right
hand
?
"
For
her
arm
lay
across
her
bosom
,
and
her
hand
was
pressed
to
her
side
.
A
swift
pang
contorted
her
beautiful
face
,
and
passed
.
"
It
is
but
a
leopard-spot
that
lingers
!
it
will
quickly
follow
those
I
have
dismissed
,
"
she
answered
.
"
Thou
art
beautiful
because
God
created
thee
,
but
thou
art
the
slave
of
sin
:
take
thy
hand
from
thy
side
.
"
Her
hand
sank
away
,
and
as
it
dropt
she
looked
him
in
the
eyes
with
a
quailing
fierceness
that
had
in
it
no
surrender
.
He
gazed
a
moment
at
the
spot
.
"
It
is
not
on
the
leopard
;
it
is
in
the
woman
!
"
he
said
.
"
Nor
will
it
leave
thee
until
it
hath
eaten
to
thy
heart
,
and
thy
beauty
hath
flowed
from
thee
through
the
open
wound
!
"
She
gave
a
glance
downward
,
and
shivered
.
"
Lilith
,
"
said
Adam
,
and
his
tone
had
changed
to
a
tender
beseeching
,
"
hear
me
,
and
repent
,
and
He
who
made
thee
will
cleanse
thee
!
"
Her
hand
returned
quivering
to
her
side
.
Her
face
grew
dark
.
She
gave
the
cry
of
one
from
whom
hope
is
vanishing
.
The
cry
passed
into
a
howl
.
She
lay
writhing
on
the
floor
,
a
leopardess
covered
with
spots
.
"
The
evil
thou
meditatest
,
"
Adam
resumed
,
"
thou
shalt
never
compass
,
Lilith
,
for
Good
and
not
Evil
is
the
Universe
.
The
battle
between
them
may
last
for
countless
ages
,
but
it
must
end
:
how
will
it
fare
with
thee
when
Time
hath
vanished
in
the
dawn
of
the
eternal
morn
?
Repent
,
I
beseech
thee
;
repent
,
and
be
again
an
angel
of
God
!
"
She
rose
,
she
stood
upright
,
a
woman
once
more
,
and
said
,
"
I
will
not
repent
.
I
will
drink
the
blood
of
thy
child
.
"
My
eyes
were
fastened
on
the
princess
;
but
when
Adam
spoke
,
I
turned
to
him
:
he
stood
towering
above
her
;
the
form
of
his
visage
was
altered
,
and
his
voice
was
terrible
.
"
Down
!
"
he
cried
;
"
or
by
the
power
given
me
I
will
melt
thy
very
bones
.
"
She
flung
herself
on
the
floor
,
dwindled
and
dwindled
,
and
was
again
a
gray
cat
.
Adam
caught
her
up
by
the
skin
of
her
neck
,
bore
her
to
the
closet
,
and
threw
her
in
.
He
described
a
strange
figure
on
the
threshold
,
and
closing
the
door
,
locked
it
.
Then
he
returned
to
my
side
the
old
librarian
,
looking
sad
and
worn
,
and
furtively
wiping
tears
from
his
eyes
.
chapter
xxx
ADAM
EXPLAINS
"
WE
must
be
on
our
guard
,
"
he
said
,
"
or
she
will
again
outwit
us
.
She
would
befool
the
very
elect
!
"
"
How
are
we
to
be
on
our
guard
?
"
I
asked
.
"
Every
way
,
"
he
answered
.
"
She
fears
,
therefore
hates
her
child
,
and
is
in
this
house
on
her
way
to
destroy
her
.
The
birth
of
children
is
in
her
eyes
the
death
of
their
parents
,
and
every
new
generation
the
enemy
of
the
last
.
Her
daughter
appears
to
her
an
open
channel
through
which
her
immortality
—
which
yet
she
counts
self-inherent
—
is
flowing
fast
away
:
to
fill
it
up
,
almost
from
her
birth
she
has
pursued
her
with
an
utter
enmity
.
But
the
result
of
her
machinations
hitherto
is
,
that
in
the
region
she
claims
as
her
own
,
has
appeared
a
colony
of
children
,
to
which
that
daughter
is
heart
and
head
and
sheltering
wings
.
My
Eve
longed
after
the
child
,
and
would
have
been
to
her
as
a
mother
to
her
first-born
,
but
we
were
then
unfit
to
train
her
:
she
was
carried
into
the
wilderness
,
and
for
ages
we
knew
nothing
of
her
fate
.
But
she
was
divinely
fostered
,
and
had
young
angels
for
her
playmates
;
nor
did
she
ever
know
care
until
she
found
a
baby
in
the
wood
,
and
the
mother-heart
in
her
awoke
.
One
by
one
she
has
found
many
children
since
,
and
that
heart
is
not
yet
full
.
Her
family
is
her
absorbing
charge
,
and
never
children
were
better
mothered
.
Her
authority
over
them
is
without
appeal
,
but
it
is
unknown
to
herself
,
and
never
comes
to
the
surface
except
in
watchfulness
and
service
.
She
has
forgotten
the
time
when
she
lived
without
them
,
and
thinks
she
came
herself
from
the
wood
,
the
first
of
the
family
.
"
You
have
saved
the
life
of
her
and
their
enemy
;
therefore
your
life
belongs
to
her
and
them
.
The
princess
was
on
her
way
to
destroy
them
,
but
as
she
crossed
that
stream
,
vengeance
overtook
her
,
and
she
would
have
died
had
you
not
come
to
her
aid
.
You
did
;
and
ere
now
she
would
have
been
raging
among
the
Little
Ones
,
had
she
dared
again
cross
the
stream
.
But
there
was
yet
a
way
to
the
blessed
little
colony
through
the
world
of
the
three
dimensions
;
only
,
from
that
,
by
the
slaying
of
her
former
body
,
she
had
excluded
herself
,
and
except
in
personal
contact
with
one
belonging
to
it
,
could
not
re-enter
it
.
You
provided
the
opportunity
:
never
,
in
all
her
long
years
,
had
she
had
one
before
.
Her
hand
,
with
lightest
touch
,
was
on
one
or
other
of
your
muffled
feet
,
every
step
as
you
climbed
.
In
that
little
chamber
,
she
is
now
watching
to
leave
it
as
soon
as
ever
she
may
.
"
"
She
cannot
know
anything
about
the
door
!
—
she
cannot
at
least
know
how
to
open
it
!
"
I
said
;
but
my
heart
was
not
so
confident
as
my
words
.
"
Hush
,
hush
!
"
whispered
the
librarian
,
with
uplifted
hand
;
"
she
can
hear
through
anything
!
—
You
must
go
at
once
,
and
make
your
way
to
my
wife
's
cottage
.
I
will
remain
to
keep
guard
over
her
.
"
"
Let
me
go
to
the
Little
Ones
!
"
I
cried
.
"
Beware
of
that
,
Mr.
Vane
.
Go
to
my
wife
,
and
do
as
she
tells
you
.
"
His
advice
did
not
recommend
itself
:
why
haste
to
encounter
measureless
delay
?
If
not
to
protect
the
children
,
why
go
at
all
?
Alas
,
even
now
I
believed
him
only
enough
to
ask
him
questions
,
not
to
obey
him
!
"
Tell
me
first
,
Mr.
Raven
,
"
I
said
,
"
why
,
of
all
places
,
you
have
shut
her
up
there
!
The
night
I
ran
from
your
house
,
it
was
immediately
into
that
closet
!
"
"
The
closet
is
no
nearer
our
cottage
,
and
no
farther
from
it
,
than
any
or
every
other
place
.
"
"
But
,
"
I
returned
,
hard
to
persuade
where
I
could
not
understand
,
"
how
is
it
then
that
,
when
you
please
,
you
take
from
that
same
door
a
whole
book
where
I
saw
and
felt
only
a
part
of
one
?
The
other
part
,
you
have
just
told
me
,
stuck
through
into
your
library
:
when
you
put
it
again
on
the
shelf
,
will
it
not
again
stick
through
into
that
?
Must
not
then
the
two
places
,
in
which
parts
of
the
same
volume
can
at
the
same
moment
exist
,
lie
close
together
?
Or
can
one
part
of
the
book
be
in
space
,
or
somewhere
,
and
the
other
out
of
space
,
or
nowhere
?
"
"
I
am
sorry
I
cannot
explain
the
thing
to
you
,
"
he
answered
;
"
but
there
is
no
provision
in
you
for
understanding
it
.
Not
merely
,
therefore
,
is
the
phenomenon
inexplicable
to
you
,
but
the
very
nature
of
it
is
inapprehensible
by
you
.
Indeed
I
but
partially
apprehend
it
myself
.
At
the
same
time
you
are
constantly
experiencing
things
which
you
not
only
do
not
,
but
cannot
understand
.
You
think
you
understand
them
,
but
your
understanding
of
them
is
only
your
being
used
to
them
,
and
therefore
not
surprised
at
them
.
You
accept
them
,
not
because
you
understand
them
,
but
because
you
must
accept
them
:
they
are
there
,
and
have
unavoidable
relations
with
you
!
The
fact
is
,
no
man
understands
anything
;
when
he
knows
he
does
not
understand
,
that
is
his
first
tottering
step
—
not
toward
understanding
,
but
toward
the
capability
of
one
day
understanding
.
To
such
things
as
these
you
are
not
used
,
therefore
you
do
not
fancy
you
understand
them
.
Neither
I
nor
any
man
can
here
help
you
to
understand
;
but
I
may
,
perhaps
,
help
you
a
little
to
believe
!
"
He
went
to
the
door
of
the
closet
,
gave
a
low
whistle
,
and
stood
listening
.
A
moment
after
,
I
heard
,
or
seemed
to
hear
,
a
soft
whir
of
wings
,
and
,
looking
up
,
saw
a
white
dove
perch
for
an
instant
on
the
top
of
the
shelves
over
the
portrait
,
thence
drop
to
Mr.
Raven
's
shoulder
,
and
lay
her
head
against
his
cheek
.
Only
by
the
motions
of
their
two
heads
could
I
tell
that
they
were
talking
together
;
I
heard
nothing
.
Neither
had
I
moved
my
eyes
from
them
,
when
suddenly
she
was
not
there
,
and
Mr.
Raven
came
back
to
his
seat
.
"
Why
did
you
whistle
?
"
I
asked
.
"
Surely
sound
here
is
not
sound
there
!
"
"
You
are
right
,
"
he
answered
.
"
I
whistled
that
you
might
know
I
called
her
.
Not
the
whistle
,
but
what
the
whistle
meant
reached
her
.
—
There
is
not
a
minute
to
lose
:
you
must
go
!
"
"
I
will
at
once
!
"
I
replied
,
and
moved
for
the
door
.
"
You
will
sleep
to-night
at
my
hostelry
!
"
he
said
—
not
as
a
question
,
but
in
a
tone
of
mild
authority
.
"
My
heart
is
with
the
children
,
"
I
replied
.
"
But
if
you
insist
—
—
"
"
I
do
insist
.
You
can
otherwise
effect
nothing
.
—
I
will
go
with
you
as
far
as
the
mirror
,
and
see
you
off
.
"
He
rose
.
There
came
a
sudden
shock
in
the
closet
.
Apparently
the
leopardess
had
flung
herself
against
the
heavy
door
.
I
looked
at
my
companion
.
"
Come
;
come
!
"
he
said
.
Ere
we
reached
the
door
of
the
library
,
a
howling
yell
came
after
us
,
mingled
with
the
noise
of
claws
that
scored
at
the
hard
oak
.
I
hesitated
,
and
half
turned
.
"
To
think
of
her
lying
there
alone
,
"
I
murmured
,
"
—
with
that
terrible
wound
!
"
"
Nothing
will
ever
close
that
wound
,
"
he
answered
,
with
a
sigh
.
"
It
must
eat
into
her
heart
!
Annihilation
itself
is
no
death
to
evil
.
Only
good
where
evil
was
,
is
evil
dead
.
An
evil
thing
must
live
with
its
evil
until
it
chooses
to
be
good
.
That
alone
is
the
slaying
of
evil
.
"
I
held
my
peace
until
a
sound
I
did
not
understand
overtook
us
.
"
If
she
should
break
loose
!
"
I
cried
.
"
Make
haste
!
"
he
rejoined
.
"
I
shall
hurry
down
the
moment
you
are
gone
,
and
I
have
disarranged
the
mirrors
.
"
We
ran
,
and
reached
the
wooden
chamber
breathless
.
Mr.
Raven
seized
the
chains
and
adjusted
the
hood
.
Then
he
set
the
mirrors
in
their
proper
relation
,
and
came
beside
me
in
front
of
the
standing
one
.
Already
I
saw
the
mountain
range
emerging
from
the
mist
.
Between
us
,
wedging
us
asunder
,
darted
,
with
the
yell
of
a
demon
,
the
huge
bulk
of
the
spotted
leopardess
.
She
leaped
through
the
mirror
as
through
an
open
window
,
and
settled
at
once
into
a
low
,
even
,
swift
gallop
.
I
cast
a
look
of
dismay
at
my
companion
,
and
sprang
through
to
follow
her
.
He
came
after
me
leisurely
.
"
You
need
not
run
,
"
he
called
;
"
you
cannot
overtake
her
.
This
is
our
way
.
"
As
he
spoke
he
turned
in
the
opposite
direction
.
"
She
has
more
magic
at
her
finger-ends
than
I
care
to
know
!
"
he
added
quietly
.
"
We
must
do
what
we
can
!
"
I
said
,
and
ran
on
,
but
sickening
as
I
saw
her
dwindle
in
the
distance
,
stopped
,
and
went
back
to
him
.
"
Doubtless
we
must
,
"
he
answered
.
"
But
my
wife
has
warned
Mara
,
and
she
will
do
her
part
;
you
must
sleep
first
:
you
have
given
me
your
word
!
"
"
Nor
do
I
mean
to
break
it
.
But
surely
sleep
is
not
the
first
thing
!
Surely
,
surely
,
action
takes
precedence
of
repose
!
"
"
A
man
can
do
nothing
he
is
not
fit
to
do
.
—
See
!
did
I
not
tell
you
Mara
would
do
her
part
?
"
I
looked
whither
he
pointed
,
and
saw
a
white
spot
moving
at
an
acute
angle
with
the
line
taken
by
the
leopardess
.
"
There
she
is
!
"
he
cried
.
"
The
spotted
leopardess
is
strong
,
but
the
white
is
stronger
!
"
"
I
have
seen
them
fight
:
the
combat
did
not
appear
decisive
as
to
that
.
"
"
How
should
such
eyes
tell
which
have
never
slept
?
The
princess
did
not
confess
herself
beaten
—
that
she
never
does
—
but
she
fled
!
When
she
confesses
her
last
hope
gone
,
that
it
is
indeed
hard
to
kick
against
the
goad
,
then
will
her
day
begin
to
dawn
!
Come
;
come
!
He
who
cannot
act
must
make
haste
to
sleep
!
"
chapter
xxxi
THE
SEXTON
'S
OLD
HORSE
I
STOOD
and
watched
the
last
gleam
of
the
white
leopardess
melt
away
,
then
turned
to
follow
my
guide
—
but
reluctantly
.
What
had
I
to
do
with
sleep
?
Surely
reason
was
the
same
in
every
world
,
and
what
reason
could
there
be
in
going
to
sleep
with
the
dead
,
when
the
hour
was
calling
the
live
man
?
Besides
,
no
one
would
wake
me
,
and
how
could
I
be
certain
of
waking
early
—
of
waking
at
all
?
—
the
sleepers
in
that
house
let
morning
glide
into
noon
,
and
noon
into
night
,
nor
ever
stirred
!
I
murmured
,
but
followed
,
for
I
knew
not
what
else
to
do
.
The
librarian
walked
on
in
silence
,
and
I
walked
silent
as
he
.
Time
and
space
glided
past
us
.
The
sun
set
;
it
began
to
grow
dark
,
and
I
felt
in
the
air
the
spreading
cold
of
the
chamber
of
death
.
My
heart
sank
lower
and
lower
.
I
began
to
lose
sight
of
the
lean
,
long-coated
figure
,
and
at
length
could
no
more
hear
his
swishing
stride
through
the
heather
.
But
then
I
heard
instead
the
slow-flapping
wings
of
the
raven
;
and
,
at
intervals
,
now
a
firefly
,
now
a
gleaming
butterfly
rose
into
the
rayless
air
.
By
and
by
the
moon
appeared
,
slow
crossing
the
far
horizon
.
"
You
are
tired
,
are
you
not
,
Mr.
Vane
?
"
said
the
raven
,
alighting
on
a
stone
.
"
You
must
make
acquaintance
with
the
horse
that
will
carry
you
in
the
morning
!
"
He
gave
a
strange
whistle
through
his
long
black
beak
.
A
spot
appeared
on
the
face
of
the
half-risen
moon
.
To
my
ears
came
presently
the
drumming
of
swift
,
soft-galloping
hoofs
,
and
in
a
minute
or
two
,
out
of
the
very
disc
of
the
moon
,
low-thundered
the
terrible
horse
.
His
mane
flowed
away
behind
him
like
the
crest
of
a
wind-fighting
wave
,
torn
seaward
in
hoary
spray
,
and
the
whisk
of
his
tail
kept
blinding
the
eye
of
the
moon
.
Nineteen
hands
he
seemed
,
huge
of
bone
,
tight
of
skin
,
hard
of
muscle
—
a
steed
the
holy
Death
himself
might
choose
on
which
to
ride
abroad
and
slay
!
The
moon
seemed
to
regard
him
with
awe
;
in
her
scary
light
he
looked
a
very
skeleton
,
loosely
roped
together
.
Terrifically
large
,
he
moved
with
the
lightness
of
a
winged
insect
.
As
he
drew
near
,
his
speed
slackened
,
and
his
mane
and
tail
drifted
about
him
settling
.
Now
I
was
not
merely
a
lover
of
horses
,
but
I
loved
every
horse
I
saw
.
I
had
never
spent
money
except
upon
horses
,
and
had
never
sold
a
horse
.
The
sight
of
this
mighty
one
,
terrible
to
look
at
,
woke
in
me
longing
to
possess
him
.
It
was
pure
greed
,
nay
,
rank
covetousness
,
an
evil
thing
in
all
the
worlds
.
I
do
not
mean
that
I
could
have
stolen
him
,
but
that
,
regardless
of
his
proper
place
,
I
would
have
bought
him
if
I
could
.
I
laid
my
hands
on
him
,
and
stroked
the
protuberant
bones
that
humped
a
hide
smooth
and
thin
,
and
shiny
as
satin
—
so
shiny
that
the
very
shape
of
the
moon
was
reflected
in
it
;
I
fondled
his
sharp-pointed
ears
,
whispered
words
in
them
,
and
breathed
into
his
red
nostrils
the
breath
of
a
man
's
life
.
He
in
return
breathed
into
mine
the
breath
of
a
horse
's
life
,
and
we
loved
one
another
.
What
eyes
he
had
!
Blue-filmy
like
the
eyes
of
the
dead
,
behind
each
was
a
glowing
coal
!
The
raven
,
with
wings
half
extended
,
looked
on
pleased
at
my
love-making
to
his
magnificent
horse
.
"
That
is
well
!
be
friends
with
him
,
"
he
said
:
"
he
will
carry
you
all
the
better
to-morrow
!
—
Now
we
must
hurry
home
!
"
My
desire
to
ride
the
horse
had
grown
passionate
.
"
May
I
not
mount
him
at
once
,
Mr.
Raven
?
"
I
cried
.
"
By
