The Worshipper of the Image

by some wonderful word, which he had known would come sooner or later. All great natures are full of silence. Silence is the soil of all passion. But now it was not silenc

ffection, after the star-cold transcendentalism in which he had been living! How f

ver satisfy him again. For days he left Silencieux alone in the wood, and Beatrice's face brightened with their renewe

e side of Beatrice, who was sleeping deeply, h

here to meet Silencieux-"at the rising of the moon." He could hesitate no longer. Le

chill of fear passed through Antony as he stood in the circle of moonlight outside. His spirit seemed

rong for such undefined warnings. Once more he turned

like a veil of silver, and on her

e too with a softness of woman

," she said. "I lov

need Silen

a while, "so strange. I could have borne

l you the re

es

atrice. For a moment your thoughts had forsaken me

little indeed I give her. Could you

long as there is another woman in the world for you except me, I cannot be yours in the depths of

il w

her voice to an awful whisper,-"until yo

man sac

not really mine till then. Some have brought me many such o

lenci

t this that the voices had warned him as he came up the wood. O that he

he moon was near its setting, and soon the dawn would throw open the eastern doors of the sky. He walked on and on, waiting, praying for, s

e morning star, shining as though its heart would break, bright as a

altation had come with the quickening light, that it seemed as though the body, with little

e, however beautiful, no single human soul, however vast, can absorb it. Silencieux, Beatrice, Wonder, himself, all faded away, in a trance-like sense of a stupendous passion, an august poss

self for one brief space, a moment

awakened, be again the

g plumb down from that skyey exaltation, human again with the weakness that

e early sunlight and looked very p

illusion of the dark hours. Silencieux h

cieux," he said. A

Antony," she said

he cried, his heart

ear to my lips-Antony, if you

, "here in the su

s nature heavy upon him, he on