undergone, no sooner did I perceive those fair groups in the distance, than my weariness, both of frame and spirit, was forgotten. A thought crossed me that she, whom I sought, might haply be among them; and notwithstanding the feeling of awe, with which that unearthly scene inspired me, I was about to fly, on the instant, to ascertain my hope. But while in the act of making the effort, I felt my robe gently pulled, and turning round, beheld an aged man before me, whom, by the sacred hue of his garb, I knew at once to be a Hierophant. Placing a branch of the consecrated palm in my hand, he said, in a solemn voice, "Aspirant of the Mysteries, welcome!"—then, regarding me for a few seconds with grave attention, added, in a tone of courteousness and interest," The victory over the body hath been gained!-Follow me, young Greek, to thy resting-place." I obeyed the command in silence-and the 'Priest, turning away from the scene of splendor, into a secluded pathway, where the light gradually faded as we advanced, led me to a small pavilion, by the side of a whispering stream, where the very spirit of slumber seemed to preside, and pointing silently to a bed of dried poppy-leaves, left me to repose. CHAPTER VIII. THOUGH the sight of that splendid scene, whose glories opened upon me like a momentary glimpse into another world, had, for an instant, reanimated my strength and spirit, yet, so completely was my whole frame subdued by fatigue, that, even had the form of the young Priestess herself then stood before me, my limbs would have sunk in the effort to reach her. No sooner had I fallen on my leafy couch, than sleep, like a sudden death, come over me; and I lay, for hours, in that deep and motionless rest, which not even a shadow of life disturbs. On awaking, I saw, beside me, the same venerable personage who had welcomed me to this subterranean world on the preceding night. At the foot of my couch stood a statue, of Grecian workmanship, representing a boy, with wings, seated gracefully on a lotus-flower, and having the forefinger of his right hand pressed to his lips. This action, together with the glory round his brows, denoted, as I already knew, the God of Silence and Light.38 Impatient to know what further trials awaited me, I was about to speak, when the Priest exclaimed, anxiously, "Hush!"—and pointing to the statue at the foot of the couch, said,-"Let the spell of that Spirit be upon thy lips, young stranger, till the wisdom of thy instructors shall think fit to remove it. Not unaptly doth the same deity preside over Silence and Light; since it is only out of the depth of contemplative silence, that the great light of the soul, Truth, can arise!” Little used to the language of dictation or instruction, I was now preparing to rise, when the Priest again restrained me; and, at the same moment, two boys, beautiful as the young Genii of the stars, entered the pavilion. They were habited in long garments of the purest white, and bore each a small golden chalice in his hand.” Advancing towards me, they stopped on opposite sides of the couch, and one of them, presenting to me his chalice of gold, said, in a tone between singing and speaking, "Drink of this cup-Osiris40 sips The same in his halls below; And the same he gives, to cool the lips "Drink of this cup-the water within Is fresh from Lethe's stream; "Twill make the past, with all its sin, And all its pain and sorrows, seem Like a long-forgotten dream! "The pleasure, whose charms Are steeped in woe; The knowledge, that harms The soul to know; The hope, that, bright As the lake of the waste, Allures the sight, But mocks the taste; "The love, that binds Its innocent wreath, Where the serpent winds, In venom, beneath ; "All that, of evil or false, by thee Hath ever been known or seen, Shall melt away in this cup, and be Forgot, as it never had been!" 42 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, presenting 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, Heir of that boundless heaven on high, 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 halfway 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, "Glimpses of glory, ne'er forgot, That tell like gleams on a sunset sea, 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 enabled 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 tunic, 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. But far different, I found, was the region to which he now conducted me;-nor could the whole world have produced a scene more gloomy, or more strange. It wore the appearance 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 melancholy daylight of this nether world." Down the side of 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 broken 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 the appearance 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 colorless. 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 waters, 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 48 passed his meridian, I could perceive 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-humbled spirit, doth many a mystery of heaven reveal itself, of which they, who walk in the light of the proud world, know not!" 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 50 silent kingdom of the Dead. The same livid and lifeless hue was upon his features, that hung over every thing in this dim valley, and, with his right hand, he pointed directly downwards, to denote that his melancholy kingdom lay there. A plantain❞—__ that favorite 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 the 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 luminous revealment, when the Veils of the Sanctuary shall be thrown aside, and the Great Secret of Secrets unfolded to thy view!-Towards this object, the primary and most important step is, instruction. What the three purifying elements thou hast passed through have done for thy body, instruction will effect for "But that lovely maiden!" I exclaimed, bursting from my silence, having fallen, during his speech into a deep revery, 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 receive, with due feelings of reverence, the holy and imperish able knowledge we have in store for thee. With this hope I now leave thee to thy own thoughts, and to that God before whose calm and mournful eye all the vanities of the world, from which thou comest, wither!" Thus saying, he turned slowly away, and passing behind the statue, towards which he had pointed during the last sentence, suddenly, and as if by enchantment, disappeared from my sight. CHAPTER IX. BEING now 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 to escape from their toils, or to resist any machinations with which they might beset me. It appeared evident, from the state of preparation in which I had found all that wonderful apparatus, by which the terrors and splendors 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. 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 exclained, "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 victim of their vengeance!" Of these alternatives, bitter as they both were, the datter 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 despised, appeared to me, in my present mood of mind, a trial of patience, compared to which the flames and whirlwinds I had already 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 endeavored to find some outlet from its gloomy precincts. But vain were all my endeavors;-that rocky barrier, which seemed to end but in heaven, interposed itself everywhere. Neither did the image of the young maiden, though constantly in my mind, now bring with it the least consolation 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 enchantment 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 daylight, 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 the visitants of this mysterious realm were, after their descent 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 secret grove behind the statue; and soon 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 splendor 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. "Oh, 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 together in infinite perfection and bliss!” As he spoke these words, a burst of pure, bril liant light," like a sudden opening of heaven, broke through the valley; and, as soon as my eyes were able to endure the splendor, such a vision of glory and loveliness opened upon them, as took even my skeptical 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 immense 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; seeming, as they linked and unlinked each other's arms, to form a living labyrinth of beauty and grace. Though their feet appeared 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 ethereal 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 intense radiance, shone its last and vanished. Go," exclaimed 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 contrast he was about to draw between the happy spirits we had just seen and the fallen ones of earth, resumed again his melancholy History of the Soul. Tracing it gradually, from the first 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 earththe tremble of her wings on the edge of Heaventhe giddy slide, at length, down that fatal descent --and the Lethean cup, midway in the sky, of which when she has once tasted, Heaven is forgot VOL. II.-35 through all these gradations he traced mournfully her fall, to that last stage of darkness, when wholly immersed in this world, her celestial nature becomes 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 Soul 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 depths 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-" 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 --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, moonlight 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 gazed long before that form rose slowly from its drooping position;-the air around it grew bright, and the pale meteor overhead assumed a more cheerful and living light. The veil, which had before shrouded the face of the figure, became every minute more transparent, and the features, one by one, gradually disclosed themselves. Having tremblingly watched the progress of the apparition, I now started from my seat, and half exclaimed, "It is she!" In another minute, this |