"'Oh, Harry; how brave and how noble thou art! Thy calmness gives me confidence. If thou hast will and courage to pass through this fire for me, then surely shalt thou be rewarded by calling me thine own—that is, provided my father hath no obstacle to urge against our union. But, brave one, the hour is already late, and we must return. Meet me here to-morrow even, at setting sun, and I will bring thee news from Echri. Until then, adieu.'
"'Courage, courage, Volinè, my darling. All shall yet be well,' I whispered to her, as we walked along the garden-paths towards the Palace; and then planting kiss after kiss upon her willing, desire-athirsted lips, and snowy brow, I released her from my arms, and she went away.
"Love runs no smoother here, in Gathma, than on Earth, I mused, as I walked along the brilliantly-lighted corridors, thinking over the events of the past hour. A great and indefinable awe seemed creeping through every fibre of my body, as I thought and thought over the ghastly pledge I had just given, tempted by the vision of beauty in my arms. Did I regret my hasty, passionate vow? I now asked myself in cooler moments. No, no, a thousand times no, I mentally answered my own question; for if the way to my own happiness lies through fire, through fire I am thoroughly prepared to go."
[Here in the original MS. follows a long account of a scientific nature, which, though of the greatest importance to philosophers, might not be of sufficient interest to the general reading public. I have therefore deemed it expedient to omit this portion of the narrative, and keep as closely as possible to the fortunes of Harry and Volinè.—ED.]
[CHAPTER XVII.]
AT THE TEMPLE ON THE HILL VEROSI.
"Already my comrades had retired to rest, and I did not see any of them until the morrow. Each one of us had now a separate chamber, fitted up with every convenience and every luxury; and after I had lightly supped a Martial showed me to my own apartment. Sleep I could not. The couch was soft; the surroundings all that might woo sleep for any man; but my eyes refused to close in slumber. Hour after hour I lay there awake, busy with thoughts of the woman I was about to espouse, and of the awful conditions under which our union was to be made. All night I tossed in feverish excitement, until the sickly light of the yellow dawn crept between the window draperies. Then I rose and dressed, and threw wide the casement, to let the refreshing morning air cool my burning temples. My tongue was dry and parched, and the cruel grip of a deadly fever seemed to have seized me. Then a terrible dread came over me that I was becoming mad. Was I still on Earth, and my visit to this strange world, and all that had befallen me thereon, but the wild delusion of a madman's dream? I would seek out Doctor Hermann, if all was an absolute reality, tell him my symptoms, and let him prescribe some remedy.
"Early as it was, I left my room and sought the Doctor's; for to stay there any longer I felt to be impossible.