Unwilling to throw a slight on this strange ceremony, I leaned forward, with all due gravity, and tasted the cup; which I had no sooner done than the young cup-bearer on the other side, invited my attention; and, in his turn, preating the chalice which he held, sung, with a voice still sweeter than that of his companion, the following strain:

"Drink of this cup-when Isis led

Her boy, of old, to the beaming sky, She mingled a draught divine, and said'Drink of this cup, thou'lt never die!'

"Thus do I say and sing to thee,

Heir of that boundless heaven on high,
Though frail, and fall'n, and lost thou be,
Drink of this cup, thou❜lt never die!"

Well as I had hitherto kept my philosophy on its guard against the illusions with which, I knew, this region abounded, the young cup-bearer had here touched a spring of imagination, over which my philosophy, as has been seen, had but little control. No sooner had the words, "thou shalt never die," struck on my ear, than the dream of the Garden came fully to my mind; and, starting half-way from the couch, I stretched forth my hands to the cup. But, recollecting myself instantly, and fearing that I had betrayed to others a weakness fit only for my own secret indulgence, I sunk back again, with a smile of affected indifference, on my couch-while the young minstrel, but little interrupted by my movement, still continued his strain, of which I heard but the concluding words:

"And Memory, too, with her dreams shall come
Dreams of a former, happier day,
When Heaven was still the Spirit's home,
And her wings had not yet fallen away;

"Glimpses of glory, ne'er forgot,

That tell, like gleams on a sunset sea,
What once hath been, what now is not,

But, oh! what again shall brightly be."

Though the assurances of immortality contained in these verses would at any other moment-vain and visionary as I thought them-have sent my fancy wandering into reveries of the future, the effort of self-control I had just made enabied me to hear them with indifference.

Having gone through the form of tasting his second cup, I again looked anxiously to the Hierophant, to ascertain whether I might be permitted to rise. His assent having been given, the young pages brought to my couch a robe and anic, which, like their own, were of linen of the purest white; and having assisted to clothe me in this sacred garb, they then placed upon my head a chaplet of myrtle, in which the symbol of Initiation, a golden grasshopper, was seen shining out from among the dark leaves.

Though sleep had done much to refresh my frame, something more was still wanting to restore its strength; and it was not without a smile at my own reveries I reflected, how much more welcome than even the young page's cup of immortality was the unpretending, but real, repast now set before me fresh fruits from the Isle of Gardens in the Nile, the delicate flesh of the desert antelope, and wine from the Vineyard of the Queens at Anthylla, which one of the pages fanned with a palm-leaf, to keep it cool.

Having done justice to these dainties, it was with pleasure I heard the proposal of the Priest, that we should walk forth together, and meditate among the scenes without. I had not forgotten the splendid Elysium that last night welcomed me -those rich gardens, that soft unearthly music and light, and, above all, those fair forms I had seen wandering about -as if, in the very midst of happiness, still seeking it. The hope, which had then occurred to me, that, among those bright groups might haply be found the young maiden I sought, now returned with increased strength. I had little doubt that my guide was leading me to the same Elysian scene, and that the form, so fit to inhabit it, would again appear before my eyes.

59

these rocky walls descended a cataract whose source was upon earth, and on whose waters, as they rolled glassily over the edge above, a gleam of radiance rested, showing how brilliant and pure was the sunshine they had left behind From thence, gradually growing darker, and frequently bro ken by alternate chasms and projections, the stream fell, at last, in a pale and thin mist-the phantom of what it had been on earth-into a small lake that lay at the base of the rock to receive it.

Nothing was ever so bleak and saddening as he appear ance of this lake. The usual ornaments of the waters of Egypt were not wanting to it: the tall lotus here uplifted her silvery flowers, and the crimson flamingo floated over the tide. But they looked not the same as in the world above; -the flower had exchanged its whiteness for a livid hue, and the wings of the bird hung heavy and colourless. Every thing wore the same half-living aspect; and the only sounds that disturbed the mournful stillness were the wailing cry of a heron among the sedges, and that din of the falling watera in their midway struggle, above.

There was, indeed, an unearthly sadness in the whole scene, of which no heart, however light, could resist the influence. Perceiving how much I was affected by it, "Such scenes,' ," remarked the Priest, "are best suited to that solemn complexion of mind, which becomes him who approaches the Great Mystery of futurity. Behold "-and, in saying thus he pointed to the opening over our heads, through which, though the sun had but just passed his meridian, I could ceive a star or two twinkling in the heavens-" in the same manner as from this gloomy depth we can see those fixed stars, which are invisible now to the dwellers on the bright earth, even so, to the sad and self-hunbled spirit, doth many a mystery of heaven reveal itself, of which they, who walk in the light of the proud world, know not!"

per

He now led me towards a rustic seat or alcove, beside which stood an image of that dark Deity, that God without a smile, who presides over the silent kingdom of the Dead The same livid and lifeless hue was upon his features, that hung over everything in this dim valley; and, with his right hand, he pointed directly downwards, to denote that his melancholy kingdom lay there. A plantain-that favourite tree of the genii of Death-stood behind the statue, and spread its branches over the alcove, in which the Priest now seated himself, and made a sign that I should take my place by his side.

After a long pause, as if of thought and preparation,— "Nobly," said he, "young Greek, hast thou sustained t first trials of Initiation. What still remains, though of vital import to the soul, brings with it neither pain nor peril to the body. Having now proved and chastened thy mortal frame by the three ordeals of Fire, of Water, and of Air, the next task to which we are called is the purification of thy spirit-the effectual cleansing of that inward and immortal part, so as to render it fit for the reception of the last lumin ous revealment, when the Veils of the Sanctuary shall be thrown aside, and the Great Secret of Secrets unfolded thy view!-Towards this object, the primary and most im portant step is, instruction. What the three purifying ele ments thou hast passed through have done for thy body in struction will effect for-____”

"But that lovely maiden!" I exclaimed, bursting from my silence, having fallen, during his speech, into a deep reverie, in which I had forgotten him, myself, the Great Secret, every thing-but her.

Startled by this profane interruption, he cast a look of alarm towards the statue, as if fearful lest the God should have heard my words. Then, turning to me, in a tone of mild solemnity, "It is but too plain," said he, "that thoughts of the upper world, and of its vain, shadowy delights, still engross thee far too much, to allow the lessons of Truth to sink profitably into thy heart. A few hours of meditation amid this solemn scenery-of that wholesome meditation, which purifies, by saddening-may haply dispose thee to reBut far different, I found, was the region to which he now ceive, with due feelings of reverence, the holy and imperish conducted me;-nor could the whole world have produced a able knowledge we have in store for thee. With this hope scene more gloomy, or more strange. It wore the appear-I now leave thee to thy own thoughts, and to that God, be grce of a small, solitary valley, enclosed, on every side, by rocks, which seemed to rise, almost perpendicularly, till they reached the very sky;-for it was, indeed, the blue sky that I saw shining between their summits, and whose light, dimmed thus and nearly lost in its long descent, formed the melacholy daylight of this nether world. Down the side of

fore whose calm and mournful eye all the vanities of the world, from which thou comest, wither!"

Thus saying, he turned slowly away, and passing behin3 the statue, towards which he had pointed during the last sen tence, suddenly, and, as if by enchantment, disappeared from my sight

CHAPTER IX.

BEING Ow left to my own solitary thoughts, I was fully at leisure to reflect, with some degree of coolness, upon the inconveniences, if not dangers, of the situation into which my love of adventure had hurried me. However prompt my imagination was always to kindle, in its own ideal sphere, I have ever found that, when brought into contact with reality, it as suddenly cooled-like those meteors, that appear to be stars, while in the air, but the moment they touch earth, are extinguished. And such was the feeling of disenchantment that now succeeded to the wild dreams in which I had been indulging. As Long as Fancy had the field of the future to herself, even immortality did not seem too distant a race for her. But when human instruments interposed, the illusion all vanished. From mortal lips the promise of immortality seemed a mockery, and even imagination had no wings that could carry beyond the grave.

Nor was this disappointment the only feeling that pained and haunted me;-the imprudence of the step, on which I had ventured, now appeared in its full extent before my eyes. I had here thrown myself into the power of the most artful priesthood in the world, without even a chance of being able 10 escape from their toils, or to resist any machinations with which they might beset me. It appeared evident, from the Kate of preparation in which I had found all that wonderful spparatus, by which the terrors and splendours of Initiation are produced, that my descent into the pyramid was not unexpected. Numerous, indeed, and active as were the spies of the Sacred College of Memphis, it could little be doubted that all my movements, since my arrival, had been watchfully tracked; and the many hours I had employed in wandering and exploring around the pyramid, betrayed a curiosity and spirit of adventure which might well suggest to these wily priests the hope of inveigling an Epicurean into their toils.

the visitants of this mysterious realm were, after their descen from earth, never seen or heard of;-being condemned, for some failure in their initiatory trials, to pine away their lives in those dark dungeons, with which as well as with altars, this region abounded. Such, I shuddered to think, might probably be my own destiny; and so appalling was the thought, that even the courage by which I had been hitherto sustained died within me, and I was already giving myself up to helplessness and despair.

At length, after some hours of this gloomy musing, I heard a rustling in the sacred grove oehind the statue; and, oon after, the sound of the Priest's voice-more welcome than. I had ever thought such voice could be-brought the assurance that I was not yet wholly abandoned. Finding his way to me through the gloom, he now led me to the same spot, on which we had parted so many hours before; and, addressing me in a voice that retained no trace of displeasure, bespoke my attention, while he should reveal to me some of those divine truths, by whose infusion, he said, into the soul of man, its purification can alone be effected.

The valley had now become so dark, that we could no longer, as we sat, discern each other's faces. There was a melancholy in the voice of my instructor that well accorded with the gloom around us: and, saddened and subdued, I now listened with resignation. if not with interest, to those sublime, but, alas, I thought, vain tenets, which, with all the warmth of a true believer, this Hierophant expounded to me.

He spoke of the pre-existence of the soul-of its abode, from all eternity, in a place of splendour and bliss, of which whatever we have most beautiful in our conceptions here is but a dim transcript, a clouded remembrance. In the blue depths of ether, he said, lay that "Country of the Soul"-its boundary alone visible in the line of milky light, which, as by a barrier of stars, separates it from the dark earth. ** Ol realm of purity! Home of the yet unfallen Spirit!—where, in the days of her first innocence, she wandered; ere yet her beauty was soiled by the touch of earth, or her resplendent wings had withered away. Methinks I see," he cried, "at this moment, those fields of radiance-I look back, through the mists of life, into that luminous world, where the souls that have never lost their high, heavenly rank, still soar, without a stain, above the shadowless stars, and there dwell to

I was well aware of their hatred to the sect of which I was Chief; that they considered the Epicureans as, next to the Christians, the most formidable enemies of their craft and power. "How thoughtless, then," I exclaimed, "to have placed myself in a situation, where I am equally helpless against fraud and violence, and must either pretend to be the dupe of their impostures, or else submit to become the vic-gether in infinite perfection and bliss!" tim of their vengeance!" Of these alternatives, bitter as they both were, the latter appeared by far the more welcome. It was with a blush that I even looked back upon the mockeries I had already yielded to; and the prospect of being put through still further ceremonials, and of being tutored and preached to by hypocrites whom I so much deepisod, appeared to me, in my present mood of mind, a trial of patience, compared to which the flames and whirlwinds I had aiready encountered were pastime.

Often and impatiently did I look up, between those rocky walls, to the bright sky that appeared to rest upon their summits, as, pacing round and round, through every part of the valley, I endeavoured to find some outlet from its gloomy || precincts. But vain were all my endeavours;-that rocky barrier, which seemed to end but in heaven, interposed itself || every where. Neither did the image of the young maiden, though constantly in my mind, now bring with it the least cousolation or hope. Of what avail was it that she, perhaps, was an inhabitant of this region, if I could neither behold her smile, nor catch the sound of her voice-if, while among preaching priests I wasted away my hours, her presence was, alas, diffusing its enchantments elsewhere.

At length, exhausted, I lay down by the brink of the lake, and gave myself up to all the melancholy of my fancy. The pale semblance of day-light, which had hitherto glimmered around, grew, every moment, more dim and dismal. Even the rich gleam, at the summit of the cascade, had faded; and the sunshine, like the water, exhausted in its descent, had now dwindled into a ghostly glimmer, far worse than darkness. The birds upon the lake, as if about to die with the dying light, sunk down their heads; and, as I looked to the statue, the deepening shadows gave such an expression to its mournful features as chilled my very soul.

The thought of death, ever ready to present itself to my imagination, now came, with a disheartening weight, such as I had never before felt. I almost fancied myself already in the dark vestibule of the grave-removed, for ever, from the world above, and with nothing but the blank of an eternal sleep before me. It had happened, I knew, frequently, that

As he spoke these words, a burst of pure, brilliant light, like a sudden opening of heaven, broke through the valley; and, as soon as my eyes were able to endure the splendour, such a vision of glory and loveliness opened upon them, as took even my sceptical spirit by surprise, and made it yield, at once, to the potency of the spell.

Suspended, as I thought, in air, and occupying the whole of the opposite region of the valley, there appeared an im mense orb of light, within which, through a haze of radiance, I could see distinctly fair groups of young female spirits, who, in silent, but harmonious movement, like that of the stars, wound slowly through a variety of fanciful evolutions; seem ing, as they linked and unlinked each other's arms, to form a living labyrinth of beauty and grace. Though their feet ap peared to glide along a field of light, they had also wings, of the most brilliant hue, which, like rainbows over waterfalls, when played with by the breeze, reflected, every moment, a new variety of glory.

As I stood, gazing with wonder, the orb, with all its ethe real inmates, began gradually to recede into the dark void, lessening, as it went, and becoming more bright, as it lessened;-till, at length, distant, to all appearance, as a retiring comet, this little world of Spirits, in one small point of in tense radiance, shone its last and vanished. "Go," exclaim ed the rapt Priest, "ye happy souls, of whose dwelling a glimpse is thus given to our eyes,-go, wander, in your orb, through the boundless heaven, nor ever let a thought of this perishable world come to mingle its dross with your divine nature, or allure you down earthward to that mortal fall by which spirits, no less bright and admirable, have been ruined!" A pause ensued, during which, still under the influence of wonder, I sent my fancy wandering after the inhabitants of that orb-almost wishing myself credulous enough to believe in a heaven, of which-creatures, so much like those I had worshipped on earth, were inmates.

At length, the Priest, with a mournful sigh at the sad con trast he was about to draw between the happy spirits we had just seen and the fallen ones of earth, resumed again his me lancholy History of the Soul. Tracing it gradually, from the

"Irst moment of earthward desire to its final eclipse in the shadows of this world, he dwelt upon every stage of its darkening descent, with a pathos that sent sadness into the very depths of the heart. The first downward look of the spirit towards earth-the tremble of her wings on the edge of Heaven the giddy slide, at length, down that fatal descent-and the Leathern cup, midway in the sky, of which when she has ence tasted, Heaven is forgot-through all these gradations be traced mournfully her fall, to that last stage of darkness, when wholly immersed in this world, her celestial nature be comes changed, she no longer can rise above earth, nor even remember her former home, except by glimpses so vague, that, at length, mistaking for hope what is only, alas! recollection, she believes those gleams to be a light from the Future, not the Past.

"To retrieve this ruin of the once-blessed sou-to clear away from around her the clouds of earth, and, restoring her lost wings, facilitate their return to Heaven-such," said the|| reverend man, "is the great task of our religion, and such the triumph of those divine Mysteries, in whose inmost dept the life and essence of that holy religion lie treasured. However sunk, and changed, and clouded may be the Spirit, yet || as long as a single trace of her original light remains, there is still hope that —”

I saw

and fancies in which, during my descent from earth, I had
indulged. I had now seen once more that matchless crea
ture, who had been my guiding star into this mysterious
realm; and that she was destined to be, in some way, con
nected with the further revelations that awaited me,
no reason to doubt. There was a sublimity, too, in the doc
trines of my reverend teacher, and even a hope in the pro
mises of mmortality held out by him, which, in spite of re
son, won insensibly both upon my fancy and my pride.
The Future, however, was now but of secondary considera
tion; the Present, and that deity of the Present, woman,
were the objects that engrossed my whole soul. It was, in
deed, for the sake of such beings alone that I considered im
mortality desirable, nor, without them, would eternal life have
appeared to me worth a single prayer. To every further trial
of my patience and faith, I now made up my mind to sub-
mit without a murmur. Some kind chance, I fondly per
suaded myself, might yet bring me nearer to the object of
my adoration, and enable me to address, as mortal woman,
one who had hitherto been to me but as a vision, a shade.
The period of my probation, however, was nearly at an
end. Both frame and spirit had now stood the trial; and as
the crowning test of the purification of the latter was that
power of seeing into the world of spirits, with which I kad
proved myself, in the Valley of Visions, to be endowed, there
now remained, to complete my Initiation, but this one night
more, when, in the Temple of Isis, and in the presence of
her unveiled image, the last grand revelation of the Secret of

Here the voice of the Priest was interrupted by a strain of
mournful music, of which the low, distant breathings had
been, for some minutes, audible, but which now gained upon
the ear too thrillingly to let it listen to any more earthly sound.
A faint light too at that instant broke through the valley-Secrets was to be laid open to me.
and I could perceive, not far from the spot where we sat, a
female figure, veiled, and crouching to earth, as if subdued by
sorrow, or under the influence of shame.

The feeble light, by which I saw her, came from a pale, moon-like meteor which had gradually formed itself in the air as the music approached, and now shed over the rocks and the lake a glimmer as cold as that by which the Dead, in their own kingdom, gaze upon each other. The music, too, which appeared to rise from out of the lake, full of the breath of its dark waters, spoke a despondency in every note which no language could express;-and as I listened to its tones, and looked upon that fallen Spirit, (for such, the holy man whispered, was the form before us,) so entirely did the illusion of the scene take possession of me, that, with almost painful anxiety, I now awaited the result.

Nor had I gazed long before that form rose slowly from its drooping position, the air around it grew bright, and the pale meteor over-head assumed a more cheerful and living light. Th veil, which had before shrouded the face of the figure, beca ne every minu e more transparent, and the features, one by on. gradually di. closed themselves. Having tremblingly watch the progres of the apparition, I now started from my seat, and half exc aimed, “It is she!" In another minute, this veil, like a t in mist, melted away, and the young priestess the Moon stood, for the third time, revealed before my eye!

To rush i stantly to vards her was my first impulse-but the arm of the Priest hd me firmly back. The fresh light, which had begin to flow in from all sides, collected itself in a flood of glory around he spot where she stood. Instead of melancholy mu ic, stra ns of the most exalted rapture were heard; and the yo ng ma den, buoyant as the inhabitants of the fairy orb, amid & blaze of light like that which fell upon her in the Temple, as 'ende i slowly into the air.

"Stay, beautiful visi. n, s ay!" I exclaimed, as, breaking from the hold of the F.e I flung myself prostrate on the ground—the only mode by which I could express the admiration, even to worship, with which I was filled. But the vanishing spirit heard me not:-receding into the darkness, like that orb, whose heavenward track he seemed to follow her form lessened by degrees away, till she was seen no more; while, gazing, till the last luminous speck had disappears, allowed myself unconsciously to be led away 'y reverend guide, who, placing me once more on my bed of poppy-leaves, eft me there to such repose as it was possible, after such a scene, to enjoy.

CHAPTER X.

THE apparition with wirich I had been blessed in that Valy of Visions-for so the place where I had witnessed these wonders was called-brought back to my heart all the hopes

I passed the morning of this day in c. any with the same venerable personage, who had, fro. first, presided over the ceremonies of my instruct and who, to inspire me with due reverence for the and magnificence of his religion, now conducted Lough the long range of il luminated galleries and shrines, that extend under the sito upon which Memphis and the Pyramids stand, and form s counterpart under ground to that mighty city of temples upon earth.

He then descended with me, still lower, into those winding crypts, where lay the Seven Tables of stone, found by Hermes in the valley of Hebron. "On these tables," said he, "is written all the knowledge of the antediluvian race-the decrees of the stars from the beginning of time, the annals of a still earlier world, and all the marvellous secrets, both of heaven and earth, which would have been,

but for this key.

Lost in the Universal Sea."'"

Returning to the region, from which we had descended, we next visited, in succession, a series of small shrines repre senting the various objects of adoration throughout Egypt, and thus furnishing to the Priest an occasion for explaining the mysterious nature of animal worship, and the refined doc trines of theology that lay veiled under its forms. Every shrine was consecrated to a particular faith, and contained a living image of the deity which it adored. Beside the goat of Mendes, with his refulgent star upon his breast, I saw the crocodile, as presented to the eyes of its idolator at Arsinoe, with costly gems in its loathsome ears, and rich bracelets of gold encircling its feet. Here, floating through a tank in the centre of a temple, the sacred carp of Lepidotum showed its silvery scales; while, there, the Isiac serpents trailed lan guidly over the altar, with that sort of movement which is thought most favourable to the aspirations of their votazion. In one of the small chapels we found a beautiful child, era ployed in feeding and watching over those golden beetles which are adored for their brightness, as emblems of the sun, while, in another, stood a sacred ibis upon its pedestal, os like, in plumage and attitude, to the bird of the young Priestera, that mos gladly would I have knelt down and worshipped li

fx er sake.

After visiting all these various shrines, and hearing the reflections which they suggested, I was next led by my guidə to the Great Hall of the Zodiac, on whose ceiling was delinea ted, in bright and undying colours, the map of the firmament, as it appeared at the first dawn of time. Here, in pointing out the track of the sun among the spheres, he spoke of the analogy that exists between moral and physical darkness-of the sympathy with which all spiritual creatures regard the sun, so as to sadden and decline when he sinks into his wintry hemisphere, and to rejoice when he resumes his own empire of light. Hence, the festivals and hymns, with which mosꞌ

of the nations of the earth are wont to welcome the resurrection of his orb in spring, as an emblem and pledge of the reascent of the soul to heaven. Hence, the songs of sorrow, the mournful ceremonies-like those Mysteries of the Night, upon the Lake of Sais-in which they brood over its autumnal descent into the shades, as a type of the Spirit's fall into this world of death.

In discourses such as these the hours passed away; and though there was nothing in the light of this sunless region to mark to the eye the decline of day, my own feelings told me that the night drew near;-nor, in spite of my incredulity, could I refrain from a slight flutter of hope, as that promised moment of revelation drew nigh, when the Mystery of Mysteries was to be made all my own. This consummation, however, was less near than I expected. My patience had still further trials to encounter. It was necessary, I now found, that, during the greater part of the night, I should keep watch in the Sanctuary of the Temple, alone and in utter darkness-thus preparing myself, by meditation, for the awful moment, when the irradiation from behind the sacred Veils was to burst upon me.

At the appointed hour, we left the Hall of the Zodiac, and proceeded through a long line of marble galleries, where the lamps were more thinly scattered as we advanced, till, at length, we found ourselves in total darkness. Here the Priest, taking me by the hand, and leading me down a flight of steps, into a place where the same deep gloom prevailed, said, with a voice trembling, as if from excess of awe,"Thou art now within the Sanctuary of our goddess, Isis, and the veils, that conceal her sacred image, are before thee!" After exhorting me earnestly to that train of thought, which best accorded with the spirit of the place where I stood, and, above all, to that full and unhesitating faith, with which alone, he said, the manifestation of such mysteries should be approached, the holy man took leave of me, and re-ascended the steps; while so spell-bound did I feel by that deep darkness, that the last sound of his footsteps died upon my ear, before I ventured to stir a limb from the position in which he had left me.

The prospect of the long watch I had now to look forward to was dreadful. Even danger itself, if in an active form, would have been far preferable to this sort of safe, but dull, provation, by which patience was the only virtue put to the proof. Having ascertained how far the space around me was free from obstacles, I endeavoured to beguile the time by pacing || up and down within those limits, till I became tired of the monotonous echoes of my own tread. Finding my way, then, to what I felt to be a massive pillar, and, leaning wearily against it, I surrendered myself to a train of thoughts and feelings, far differe it from those with which the good Hierophant had hoped to inspire me.

"If these priests," thought I, "possess really the secret of life, why are they themselves the victims of death? why sink into the grave with the cup of immortality in their hands? But no, safe boasters, the eternity they so lavishly promise is reserved for another, a future world-that ready resource of all priestly promises-that depository of the airy pledges of all creeds. Another world!-alas! where doth it lie? or, what spirit hath ever come to say that Life is there?"

The conclusion at which, half sadly, half passionately, I arrived, was that, life being but a dream of the moment never to come again, every bliss so vaguely promised for hereafter ought to be secured by the wise man here. And, as no heaven I had ever heard of from these visionary priests opened half such certainty of happiness as that smile which I beheld last night-"Let me," I exclaimed, impatiently, striking the massy pillar till it rung, "let me but make that beautiful Priestess my own, and I here willingly exchange for her every chance of immortality, that the combined wisdom of Egypt's Twelve Temples can offer me!"

No sooner had I uttered these words, than a tremendous peal, like that of thunder, rolled over the Sanctuary, and seemed to shake its very walls. On every side, too, a success on of blue, vivid flashes pierced, like lances of light, through the gloom, revealing to me, at intervals, the mighty dome in which I stood-its ceiling of azure, studded with stars-its colossal columns, towering aloft,-and those dark, awful veils, whose massy drapery hung from the roof to the floor, covering the rich glories of the Shrine beneath their folds. So weary had I grown of my tedious watch, that this stormy and fitful illumination, during which the Sanctuary seemed to mck to its base, was by no means an unwelcome interruption

of the monotonous trial my patience had to suffer. After a short interval, however, the flashes ceased;-the sounds died away, like exhausted thunder, through the abyss, and dark ness and silence, like that of the grave, succeeded.

Resting my back once more against the pillar, and fixing my eyes upon that side of the Sanctuary from which the promised irradiation was to burst, I now resolved to await the Iawful moment in patience. Resigned, and almost immova ble, I had remained thus for nearly another hour, when suddenly along the edges of the mighty Veils, I perceived a thin rim of light, as if from some brilliant object under them;-resembling that border which encircles a cloud at sunset, when the rich radiance from behind is escaping at its edges.

This indication of concealed glories grew every instant more strong; till, at last, vividly marked as it was upon the dar ness, the narrow fringe of lustre almost pained the eye—giv ing a promise of a fulness of splendour too bright to be en dured. My expectations were now wound to the highest pitch, and all the scepticism, into which I had been cooling down my mi id, was forgotten. The wonders that had been presented to me since my descent from earth-that glimpse into Elysium on the first night of my coming-those visitants from the land of Spirits in the mysterious valley-all led me to expect, in this last and brightest revelation, such visions of glory and knowledge as might transcend even fancy itself, noz leave a doubt that they belonged less to earth than heaven.

While, with an imagination thus excited, I stood waiting the result, an increased gush of light still more awakened my attention; and I saw with an intenseness of interest, which made my heart beat aloud, one of the corners of the mighty Veil raised slowly from the floor. I now felt that the Great Secret, whatever it might be, was at hand. A vague hope even crossed my mind-so wholly had imagination now resumed her empire-that the splendid promise of my dream was on the very point of being realized!

With surprise, however, and, for the moment, with some disappointment, I perceived, that the massy corner of the Veil was but lifted sufficiently from the ground to allow a female figure to emerge from under it—and then fell over its mystic splendours as utterly dark as before. By the strong light, too, that issued when the drapery was raised, and illuminat ed the profile of the emerging figure, I either saw, or fancied that I saw, the same bright features, that had already so often mocked me with their momentary charm, and seemed des tined, indeed, to haunt my fancy as unavailingly as even the fond vain dream of Immortality itself.

Dazzled as I had been by that short gush of splendour, and distrusting even my senses, when under the influence of so much excitement, I had but just begun to question myself as to the reality of my impression, when I heard the sounds of light footsteps approaching me through the gloom. In a se cond or two more, the figure stopped before me, and, placing the end of a riband gently in my hand, said, in a tremulous whisper, "Follow, and be silent."

So sudden and strange was the adventure, that, for a mo ment, I hesitated-fearing that my eyes might possibly have been deceived as to the object they had seen. Casting a look towards the Veil, which seemed bursting with its luminous secret, I was almost doubting to which of the two chances 1 should commit myself, when I felt the riband in my hand pulled softly at the other extremity. This movement, like a touch of magic, at once decided me. Without any further deliberation, I yielded to the silent summons, and following my guide, who was already at some distance before me, found myseif led up the same flight of marble steps, by which the Priest had conducted me into the Sanctuary. Arived at their summit, I felt the pace of my conductress quicken, and giving one more look to the Veiled Shrine, whose glories we left burmg uselessly behind us, hastened onward into the gloom, full of confidence in the belief, that she, who now held the other end of that clue, was one whom I was ready to follow devotedly through the world.

CHAPTER XI.

WITH such rapidity was I hurried along by my unseen guide, full of wonder at the speed with which she ventured through these labyrinths, that I had but little time left for reflection upon the strangeness of the adventure to which I had com mitted myself. My knowledge of the character of the Mem phian priests, as well as some fearful rumours that had reach

el me, concerning the fate that often attended unbelievers in their hands awakened a momentary suspicion of treachery in my mind. But, when I recalled the face of my guide, as I had seen it in the small chapel, with that divine look, the very memory of which brought purity into the heart, I found my suspicions all vanth, and felt shame at having harboured them but an instant.

In the mean while, our rapid course continued without any Interruption, through windings even more capriciously intricate than any I had yet passed, and whose thick gloom seemed Lever to have been broken by a single glimmer of light. My unseen conductress was still at some distance before me, and the slight clue, to which I clung as if it were Destiny's own thread, was still kept, by the speed of her course, at full stretch between us. At length, suddenly stopping, she said, in a breathless whisper, "Seat thyself here;" and, at the same moment, led me by the hand to a sort of low car, in which, obeying her brief command, I lost not a moment in placing myself, while the maiden, no less promptly, took her seat by my side.

A sudden click, like the touching of a spring, was then heard, and the car-which, as I had felt in entering it, leaned half-way over a steep descent-on being let loose from its station, shot down, almost perpendicularly, into the darkness, with a rapidity which, at first, nearly deprived me of breath. The wheels slid smoothly and noiselessly in grooves, and the impetus, which the car acquired in descending, was sufficient, I perceived, to carry it up an eminence that succeeded—from the summit of which it again rushed down another declivity, even still more long and precipitous than the former. In this manner we proceeded, by alternate falls and rises, till, at length, from the last and steepest elevation, the car descended upon a level of deep sand, where, after running for a few yards, it by degrees lost its motion, and stopped.

Here the maiden, alighting. again, placed the riband in my rand and again I followed her, though with more slowness and difficulty than before, as our way now led up a flight of damp and time-worn steps, whose ascent seemed to the wearied and insecure foot interminable. Perceiving with what languor my guide advanced, I was on the point of making an effort to assist her progress, when the creak of an opening door above, and a faint gleam of light which, at the same moment, shone upon her figure, apprised me that we were at last arrived within reach of sunshine.

*Joyfully I followed through this opening, and, by the dim light, could discern that we were now in the sanctuary of a vast, ruined temple-having entered by a secret passage under the pedestal, upon which an image of the idol of the place cuce stood. The first movement of the young maiden, after closing again the portal under the pedestal, was, without even a single look towards me, to cast herself down upon her knees, with her hand clasped and uplifted, as if in thanks giving or prayer. But she was unable, evidently, to sustain herself in this position;-her strength could hold out no longer. Overcome by agitation and fatigue, she sunk senseless upon the pavement.

Bewildered as I was myself, by the strange events of the night, I stood for some minutes looking upon her in a state of helplessness and alarm. But, reminded, by my own feverish sensations, of the reviving effects of the air, I raised her gently in my arms, and crossing the corridor that surrounded the sanctuary, found my way to the outer vestibule of the Temple. Here, shading her eyes from the sun, I placed her, reclining upon the steps, where the cool north-wind, then blowing freshly between the pillars, might play, with free draught, over her brow.

It was, indeed-as I now saw, with certainty-the same beautiful and mysterious girl, who had been the cause of my descent into that subterranean world, and who now, under such strange and unaccountable circumstances, was my guide || back again to the realms of day. I looked around to discover where we were, and beheld such a scene of grandeur, as, could my eyes have been then attracted to any object but the pale form reclining at my side, might well have induced them to dwell on its splendid beautics.

mids, was still, though divested of many of these wonders, a scene of interest and splendour such as the whole world could not equal. While the shores still sparkled with mansions and temples, that bore testimony to the luxury of a living race, the voice of the Past, speaking out of unnumbered ruins, whose summits, here and there, rose blackly above the Iwave, told of times long fled, and generations long swept away, before whose giant remains all the glory of the present stood humbled. Over the southern bank of the Lake hung the dark relics of the Labyrinth;-its twelve Royal Palaces representing the mansions of the Zodiac-its thundering por tals and constellated halls, having left nothing now behind but a few frowning ruins, which, contrasted with the soft groves of acacia and olive around them, seemed to rebuke the luxuriant smiles of nature, and threw a melancholy grandeur over the whole scene.

The effects of the air, in re-animating the young Priestess, were less speedy than I had expected;-her eyes were still closed, and she remained pale and insensible. Alarmed, I now rested her head (which had been, for some time, sup ported by my arm) against the base of one of the columns, with my cloak for its pillow, while I hastened to procure some water from the Lake. The temple stood high, and the descent to the shore was precipitous. But, my Epicurean habits having but little impaired my activity, I soon descend ed, with the lightness of a desert deer, to the bottom. Here, plucking from a lofty bean-tree, whose flowers stood, shining like gold, above the water, one of those large hollowed leaves that serve as cups for the Hebes of the Nile, I filled it from the Lake, and hurried back with the cool draught towards the Temple. It was not, however, without some difficulty thas I at last succeeded in bearing my rustic chalice steadily up the steep; more than once did an unlucky slip waste all its contents, and as often did I return impatiently to refill it.

During this time, the young maiden was fast recovering her animation and consciousness; and, at the moment when I appeared above the edge of the steep, was just rising from the steps, with her hand pressed to her forehead, as if con fusedly recalling the recollection of what had occurred. No sooner did she observe me, than a short cry of alarm broko from her lips. Looking anxiously round, as though she sought for protection, and half-audibly uttering the words, "Where is he?" she made an effort, as I approached, to retreat into the Temple.

Already, however, I was by her side, and taking her hand, as she turned away from me, gently in mine, asked, “Whom dost thou seek, fair Priestess?"-thus, for the first time, breaking the silence she had enjoined, and in a tone that might have re-assured the most timid spirit. But my words had no effect in calming her apprehension. Trembling, and with her eyes still averted towards the Temple, she continued in a voice of suppressed alarm, "Where can he be ?-that venerable Athenian, that philosopher, who "

Here, here," I exclaimed, anxiously, interrupting her "behold him still by thy side-the same, the very same, wh saw thee steal from under the Veils of the Sanctuary, whom thou hast guided by a clue through those labyrinths below, and who now only waits his command from those lips, to devote himself through life and death to thy service." As 1 spoke these words, she turned slowly round, and looking timidly in my face, while her own burned with blushes, said, in a tone of doubt and wonder, "Thou!" and then hid hea eyes in her hands.

I knew not how to interpret a reception so unexpected That some mistake or disappointment had occurred was evi dent; but so inexplicable did the whole adventure appear to me, that it was in vain to think of unravelling any part of is Weak and agitated, she now tottered to the steps of the Tem ple, and there seating herself, with her forehead against the cold marble, seemed for some moments absorbed in the most anxious thought; while silent and watchful I awaited her docision, though, at the same time, with a feeling which the result proved to be prophetic-that my destiny was, from thenceforth, linked inseparably with hers.

The inward struggle by which she was agitated, though I was now standing, I found, on the small island in the violent, was not of long continuance. Starting suddenly from centre of Lake Moris; and that sanctuary, where we had her seat, with a look of terror towards the Temple, as if the just emerged from darkness, formed part of the ruins of an fear of immediate pursuit had alone decided her, she pointed ancient temple, which was, (as I have since learned,) in the eagerly towards the East, and exclaimed, "To the Nile, with grander days of Memphis, a place of pilgrimage for worship-out delay!"-clasping her hands, after she had thus spoken, pers from all parts of Egypt. The fair Lake, itself, out of with the most suppliant fervour, as if to soften the abruptness whose waters once rose pavilions, palaces, and even lofty pyra- of the mandate she had given, and appealing to me at the