“’Twas a secret not for mortals
Hidden by that cavern walls
For beyond those gloomy portals——”
“In the name of all that is holy!” cried the Parson, suddenly. “By the nine Olympians, by the nine Heliconian muses, I abjure you! By the three Cyclos, by the three Centimani, the three Fates, the three Furies, the three Graces! By Acheron and the Styx! By the Pillars of Hercules and the Palladium of Troy. By all that men can mention, yea, by Zeus, I demand to know how you learned this!”
The Parson gasped after that; and the old man went on:
“Silence, rash, presumptuous mortal,
Seekest thou the Fates to know?
At whose word e’en Zeus doth tremble,
Sun and earth and moon below.”
There was nothing like a classical allusion to awe the Parson; convinced of the strange man’s superiority, then, he dared not a word more.