Full text of "Atlantis. The book of the angels"

See other formats

Digitized by the Internet Arciiive

in 2007 with funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/atlantisbookofanOObridiala

ATLANTIS

THE BOOK OF THE ANGELS

Again from ocean's buried realms they rise,
Drowsy with their long sleep, the unshrived dead,
To speak with their thin voices of the Past
That lies beyond tradition.

Now we see
In fancy's thoughts the land before the Flood:
Again they stand, the battlements and towers
Against the azure skies:
Again those Atlantean temples rise,
And thronging pathways crown the heaving waves:
The voices of the Past speak yet again;
In dreams we hear them and we see the crowds
That dared the doom of vengeance.

B-M.

SAW IN THE NIGHT MANY SPIRITS DESCEND, WHICH WERE TO WORK THE APPOINTED WORD.

ATLANTIS

THE BOOK OF THE ANGELS

IXTERl'KKTED BY

D. BRIDGMAN-METCHIM

W/ TH ILL US TRA TIONS

BY THE AUTHOR.

eHEAP

EDITION.

L O X D O N :
SWAN SONNENSCPiElN .\: Co, Lim.

1* A 1 K K N ( ) S r t K S ( J U A K K .
1903.

4. 003

PREFACE.

This Interpretation is the fullest account we have yet of the
life ante-diluvium, filling in with apparent accuracy, as far as
I can judge, one of those many blanks in the earlier chapters
of Genesis, which, were they all to be so filled, would make
our great Bible several times greater without any good accruing
to our minds in learning of the embryo formation of Earth and Man.

This is the history of the zenith of the early Adamites, when
their superhuman attainments demanded their destruction ; and
by reason of the language being beyond all other languages —
the root language of Shinar — it has been a labour of time to
interpret the narrative, throughout which I have used common-
place and understandable terms, rendered in clear English of
to-day.

With the Flood the curtain falls, as it were, upon an inter-
rupted and unfinished act of the great drama of Man ; and
when we realise the sin of stoppage and the challenge of the
halt of progress, we stand appalled to watch the inevitable
result, and shudder as the elemental powers remove all traces
of rebeUion from before Heaven. And as the ages blot out all
but the mention of that vanished period that began we know
not when, we may wonder when our scenes will come to the
last one, and what will be the ending.

D. Bridgman-Metchim.

544950

CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

Page.
VII

LIBER I.

CAP.

II.

III.

IV.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

XI.

XII.

XIII.

XIV.

XV.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

THE TEMPLE ....
THE INTERIOR ....

TEKTHAH

THE PALACE ....
THE HALL OF FEASTING
THE GARDEN ....
THE MARKET-PLACE . .
THE MARCH OF HUITZA
AZTA

• • • • 3

.... 32

THE THRONE 82

NOAH 93

A MAN AND A NATION I02

THE CIRCUS 107

THE THIRD DAY I16

THE CHILD OF DOOM 123

THE FEAST OF DEATH I29

THE PASSING OF TEKTHAH 13^

THE HALT OF TRIUMPH 143

LIBER H.

I. PREPARATIONS iS^

II. THE SHADE OF HUITZA I59

III. THE RISING SUN 167

IV, THE CAMP OF TOLTIAH 174

V. THE TACOATLANTA I^I

VI. THE FIRST STEP OF FAME 188

VII. HUITZA AND TERROR ^95

CONTENTS.

Page.

CAP. VIII. A VISION OF WARNING 203

„ IX. THE MARCH OF TOLTIAH 211

„ X. THE NIGHT OF SPIRITS 2l8

„ XI. THE HOUSE DIVIDED 223

„ XII. THE WOOING OF ZUL 230

„ XIII. THE HILL OF THE TALCOATLA 236

„ XIV. THE SHAME OF THE STRONG 245

„ XV. THE JUBILEE OF ZUL 253

„ XVI. "O TERQUE QUATERQUE BEATI— ! " 263

,, XVII. THE INFERNAL COUNCIL 269

„ XVIII. THE VISION OF THE EARTH 276

„ XIX. THE HEART OF THE WORLD 287

„ XX. THE THRONE OF ATLANTIS 296

„ XXI. THE DEAFNESS OF THE NATION 303

„ XXII. susi 312

LIBER III.

I. THE CLOUD ON THE EDGE OF THE STORM 323

II. THE ICY WARNING OF DOOM 330

III. THE FOLLY OF THE LAND 336

IV. THE CURSE OF ATLANTIS 3^2

V. THE SHAME OF ZUL 350

VI. THE WAR OF THE SPIRIT 357

VII. THE LEAVEN OF SIN 367

VIII. THE ANSWER TO THE CHALLENGE ........ 374

IX. THE SCORPION WHIPS OF GOD 381

X. THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS 388

XL THE NAVEL OF THE CLOUDS 394

XII. " FOR TO-MORROW WE DIE " 402

XIII. "mene mene tekel upharsin" 408

XIV. THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION 415

XV. "behold, I WILL destroy" 421

XVI. THE TRAVAIL OF EARTH 428

XVII. THE GATES OF DEATH 436

THE APPENDIX 447

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Pa^e.
I SAW IN THE NIGHT MANY SPIRITS DESCEND Frontispiece.

LIBER I.

INITIAL LETTER 3

THERE LAY ZUL ! 7

THOSE WHOM GOD HATH CHAINED FOR EVER 22

SURAPA 26

IN THE HALL OF FEASTING 46

O HALLOWED MOMENTS THAT SO SWIFT SPEED TO THE GATES OF

doom! 55

ALL OVER THE LAND WERE THESE TEMPLES 66

HUITZa's TROOPS WERE COMING 72

BEFORE THE MIGHT OF TEKTHAH 85

AZTA CAST HERSELF NEGLIGENTLY ONTO THE SEAT 87

A GREAT SENSATION PASSED THROUGH THE IMPERIAL THRONG . . II7

LIBER II.

INITIAL LETTER 151

WEEP WITH WONDERING ANGUISH 152

WHERE THE GREAT SERPENT KEPT WATCH 1 55

CLUSTERING UPON THE BULWARKS, THEY PREPARED TO LEAP . . . 168

REFLECTED IN THE QUIET WATERS 194

QUEEN OF THE WAVES, THAT RAISED HER TEMPLES 215

THE GREAT FISH-GOD WAS DECKED WITH ORNAMENTS 254

IN BAFFLED FURY RETIRED 274

MULTICOLOURED BLAZES OF GLORY 293

SUDDENLY A LONG, LOW WAVE BROKE ON THE SHORE 309

THE GIANT, PERCEIVING HER TERROR, SMILED 318

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
LIBER III.

Page.

INITIAL LETTER 323

O DEPTHS OF HORROR OF SILENT KNOWLEDGE! 324

THE SMALL PEOPLE WHICH WHEELED UP AND UP INTO THE SKY . . 344

THE COLD FURY OF A WRATH WHICH WOULD HAVE BLASTED . . . 362

YET WOULD I NOT RELINQUISH MY LOVE 365

WITH BURSTING EYES GAZING INTO INFINITY 379

NOR DID THE WATERS QUENCH IT 40O

PIERCING THE DREADFUL CLOUDS WITH WONDROUS LIGHT .... 434

REINFORCING THE POWER OF THE FIRST MIGHTY DESTROYER . . . 439

LIBER I

THERE-WERE GIANTS- IN
THE EARTH IN THOSE
DAYS-AND-ALSO AFTER
THAT WHEN THE SONS
OF-GOD-CAME IN UNTO
THE DAUGHTERS- OF- MEN
AND THEY BARE CHILDREN
TO THEM THESAME
BECAME- MIGHTY-MEN
WHICH-WERE-OF-OLD
MEN- OF RENOWN-

GEN Yl 4

CAP. I.

THE TEMPLE.

THE days when the sons
of Adam increased and
multiplied, and in the days
when they overran Atlantis
and builded themselves
cities, the noise of their
sin rose up the Heaven.
And to me, Asia, an
archangel tx, which stood
before the Throne of God,
was given command to go
forth upon the Earth and
by reason of my words
turn the heart of Man back
to the faith of his fathers,
and destroy his groves and
altars which he had raised

to the worship of gods created of his evil imaginings, which
were detestable to Us.

Now certain also among Us had gone forth and cohabited
with the daughters of Man, in mystic visions of the night or

X Mrs. Jameson in "Sacred and Legendary Art" gives us the following: —
"The great theologians divide the angelic hosts into three hierarchies, and these
again into nine choirs, three in each hierarchy : according to Dionysius the Areopagite,
in the following order: I. Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones. 2. Dominations, Virtues,
Powers. 3. Princedoms, Archangels, Angels. The order of these dominations is
not the same in all authorities: according to the Greek formula, St. Bernard, and

ATLANTIS.

by more physical manifestations causing them to conceive and
bear children unto them, which was neither seemly nor proper;
but in such strong form was the celestial passion manifested in the
beings of Earth that even angels stooped to partake of its pleas-
ures, (such angels as moved invery close communion with the farther
circles, and looked to an extent upon material things). And indeed
the separate Female was a m)sterious and wonderful creation.

In manifested shape among them were many evil spirits,
working confusion by their own confusion, and whereby Man
came to know more than was meet that he should : whence
would have come much tribulation by reason of his turbulence
and ambition, and the use of powers superhuman for the attain-
ment of Earthly things, which is sorcery and witchcraft.

Not very much had I known of the New Creation and of
the world among the stars ; to me was sufficient the vast delights
of space and those far circles where the billows of Life broke
upon horizons beyond which flaming worlds fed the Immensity
with fire and light; sufficient was the song of endless spheres so

the Legenda Aurea, the Cherubim precede the Seraphim, and in the hymn o£
St. Ambrose they have also the precedence — To Thee, Cherubim and Seraphim
contifiually do oy^ etc. ; but the authority of St. Dionysius seems to be admitted
paramount, for, according to the legend, he was the convert and intimate friend
of St. Paul, and St. Paul, who had been transported to the seventh heaven, had
made him acquainted with all he had there beheld.

The first three choirs receive their glory immediately from God, and transmit
it on to the second; the second illuminate the third; the third are placed in
relation to the created universe and man. The first hierarchy are as counsellors,
the second as governors, the third as ministers. The Seraphim are absorbed in
perpetual love and adoration immediately around the throne of God. The Cherubim
know and worship. The Thrones sustain the seat of the Most High. The Dominations,
Virtues and Powers are the Regents of stars and elements. The three last orders,
Princedoms, Archangels and Angels, are the protectors of the great monarchies on
earth, and the executors of the will of God throughout the universe.

The term angel is properly applied to all these celestial beings; but it belongs
especially to the last two orders, who are brought into immediate communication
with the human race. The word Angel, Greek in its origin, signifies a Messenger,
or more literally, a bringer of tidings. In this sense, the Greeks entitle Christ
"The great Angel of the will of God."

For a discussion on the meaning and etymology of Seraphim and Cherubim see
note, cap. XVII., lib. II., where some curious information is revealed.

The word "Archangel" of the text is, in the original, ''Great Angel," or signifies
perh.aps "Mighty Spirit."

THE TEMPLE.

justly poised upon the seas of immeasurable air where the
rolling wheels of Fate turned, ever moved by the Word, hymned
of the winged ^ons.

And would that I had never left my happy estate, nor ever
looked upon thee, Earth world, thou dull spot within the starry
coronet that crowns the brows of God. When the noise of thy
rebellion and unrest arose, we marvelled ; and thinking upon
thy smallne?s it was as the noise of a tiny insect buzzing in
a great mansion. Yet, little pest, thy sting is sharp, and many
have felt it.

For it was whispered that the beings of Earth were goodly
to look upon, and were attractive in their wit and wisdom and
high in the sight of our Lord Jehovah, being greatly esteemed
that they combined with the subtlety of Heaven a manifested
form of Earth. Beautiful in sad truth were they, and excellent
in arts, particularly of mischief. And I, who have seen the days
when man first came upon Earth, and the last-created man,
Adam, and who have looked upon the face of God, bear witness
herein to their excellence, and to that ambition that ministered
by the female element, medium of Heaven, caused their downfall.

Why should we sing our defeats? Whence the desire that
others of Earth shall learn my record of them, that is hidden
up in the closing book of the Past? Fain would I lose myself
in profound meditation, yet it may not be; and ever arises in
sad memory the dreamy glories of Atlantis and starry nights
of love. Gone thou art, Zul, city of gods ! and thou, my Love,
where art thou now ? Wilt thou remember when we meet again ?
O Azta, could I but have led thee in those careless paths
where false ambition has no home and the fleeting triumph of
dearly-bought glory troubles not ! The Siren of Earth, that ever
sits beyond your reach and throws gifts of self-esteem whereby
ye need no warning and perish in self-created flames, sits not
in the lofty groves of Paradise.

Hear, Peoples of the Future, a recital of days that are past and
gone beyond the reach of history — a recital of a power that sought
to strive with the creator of itself for a mastery that would have
brought but a horror of impotent ruin on Universes unimagined —
a recital of how the heavenly power of Love brings disaster

ATLANTIS.

when not applied in its own spirit — and learn, if but in a passing
flash of intuition, that misapplied Good begets a more powerful
evil than Evil itself can do.

Stooping from Heaven, and full of the trust reposed in me,
I sought the Earth lying like a cloudy wonder on the bosom
of space ; and attaining at length the terrestrial atmosphere with
the speed of the Word, and the brightness of the Earth-atoms
generating light, stood thereon, an embodied Intellect, upon a
vast land, by the side of a lake of water wherein I perceived
myself fashioned wondrously. Thereon I gazed in an ecstacy
of admiration, not fully understanding as yet that it was my
own image, for I had never before taken on any carnal mani-
festation ; and then confusion overcame me and I rose up and
surveyed the surrounding beauties.

And to me was given the power to take on whatsoever form
of Earth I wished, which power I perceived to be balanced by
a certain dulness of thought and intellect fitted to the heavy
atmosphere and the solidity around me.

With what curiosity I gazed on the white swans that skimmed^
the lake, and how I was ravished with the towering beauty of
palms and stately trees shadowing the fruitful Earth beneath
the blueness of the deeps of sky as apparent. Afar were moun-
tain slopes and grotesque yet shapely masses that filled a whole
horizon with irregular outlines, and I cried in the language of
Earth, How beautiful 1

But suddenly the brightness fled. The Earth rose above the
sun and there was darkness over everything. In eager haste I
mounted into the air and grasped the sword that lay along my
thigh, and soon I saw the burning planet and that half the
Earth was bright and half was not.

Curious, I lighted down again upon the dark part, near to
where I had at first come, and presently the moon shone with
a wonderful pure white gleam.

It was night. I stood on the sandy beach of the old sea, that
I knew was there long before man came, and that after in more
human nature I loved so well because of its restless sorrow; a

THE TEMPLE.

beach fringed with palm-groves and luxuriant vegetation, with
strange animals wandering upon it. I raised my eyes, full of
wonder, to the shapely masses rising from its plain, and per-
ceived a city.

THERE LAY ZUL!

There lay Zul 1 x from East to West horizon stretching, dark
against the moonlight; and afar, standing out in white sheen and
misty beauty, rose tower, pyramid and pylon in endless group-
ing, mass above mass, terrace above terrace, in cyclopean

X The etymology of the Atlantean Zul, which appears to indicate the Sun, is
perpetuated in the Akkad Zal, the Aymara Sillo, and the Latin Sol.

ATLANTIS.

gloom. Grim, awful and majestic in its immensity of sleeping
strength, lay the mighty city ; and full of the wonder of the night,
I drank my full of the mystery of it and marvelled at the glory
of Earth. Methought in the darkness it was the city of Satan
and of his legions, and at times I wonder now if I were correct
in my thought. Never, ah ! never can I forget the stupendous
wonder of Zul as it came upon me that night, when as an
atom of Earth I stood beneath its majesty.

Up and upward it rose from the bosom of the waters, and
within the mighty shadow of its walls I saw gates, massive ports
with carven columns and colossal statues, and within the walls,
palaces, arches and colonnades, and on this side a wide moat.

I saw the waving flames on temple roofs ; I strove to analyse
the piles of enormous masonry that rose in confusion — the
thronging columns, colossi, roofs and towers. This was a city
of giants !

There was life within ; there was music. Not like the strains
my soul loved, but blatant and ribald, and methought, discor-
dant. I perceived many more lights ; before a propylon stood
a pyramid ; and now the light began to return and to disclose
monstrous forms and faces, crude clashing colours and rough or-
namentations.

The colossi exhibited hideous deformities, and yet there
was nought to disgust. Nay ; although afterwards I knew them
in all their daring obscenity, all was so vast, so enormous,
and the grand columns clustered in such confusion of magni-
ficence, that the beastliness of some of their figures was forgotten
in tiie unblushing hugeness that exhibited the deformity so
openly. Vast, amorphous shadows formed a background to
gray, towering piles of such proportions that caused me to
marvel at their grand immensity ; square masses of brick and
masonry standing there under the shades of the night in be-
wildering grandeur, simple in their massive immobility, intricate
in the dim vistas of colonnade and arch, x gate and stairway,
column, altar and colossus.

oc Tlie arcli is known in early architecture, but only in a crude form — a beam
laid on the tops of two pillars, or the structure known as the " false arch," in
which bricks or stones project in each layer until they meet at llie top.

THE TEMPLE.

I saw strange scenes that then I did not understand, and
heard sounds of voices, and shrieks ; cries that seemed of
terror, and the occasional clash of arms. How well, ah, how
well was I to know that scene, and hear those sounds in days
to come that then I recked not of, being amazed and bewil-
dered by my tumult of emotions and delighted with the
strangeness of it all. It was so real, so oppressive and won-
derful, and the gray twilight so mysterious, that my senses
were intoxicated, and I gazed on the lofty walls and anon
over the dark waters with ecstacy.

A sound fell on my ears above all the rest and grew louder
and louder. It was the drum of the great temple of Zul,
crowning the hill above the waters, that, being struck, rolled
out like the awakening voice of Heaven over the city of the
Sun, and looking up, I perceived the topmost tower flash like a
polished mirror as the first rays of the returning Day struck on it.

I wished to observe what might come, unseen, and, burning
with curiosity, lighted on the topmost tower and mingled with
the wavy flame, so pure was I then and so powerful. Far
above the great ocean that laved the terraced cliff, and far
above all the city that spread away into the dark shadows
below ; beneath me, the temple, story on story, four-sided and
flat-topped, each pyramidal and smaller than the one below,
reared its mighty mass to Heaven, oc and, from immediately

« From the very earliest times we find a pyramidal form used in building,
probably not so much for the sake of the outline as for the fact that this form
aids the effort to obtain vast dimensions with perfect solidity; and the ruins
testifying to this are found in Babylonia, Egypt and America, while the form is
seen in India in her grandest temple, the great pagoda at Tanjore, rising in 14
stories to a height of nearly 200 ft. from a base 83 ft. square.

In Babylonia the great mound Babil among the ruins of the capital, represents
the temple of Bel, which was a pyramid of 8 square stages with a winding
ascent to the top platform; and the mound of Birs Nimroud is all that is left of
the "temple of the seven spheres" which was but 156 feet in height, but wonderful
by reason of each of the seven stages being a mass of one colour different from
the others. Of this class we find temples built in stages of 3, 5, or 7, — each of
which numbers had a mystic significance. In Yucatan are found sculptured and
architectural monuments of a coarse character, temples (teocallis) elevated far above
the surrounding buildings on square basements, rising by huge steps to the
summit in the form of a low truncated pyramid.

The architecture of Egypt is too well known and too familiar to need any

ATLANTIS.

beneath me, the roar of the drum swelled louder and more
sonorous, reverberating through the quiet atmosphere; then died
slowly away in tremulous waves of sound most beautiful to my
cars as they floated afar.

And now the flame on the golden tower in which I was,
which stood in the centre of the topmost roof wafted by the
sea-breezes, seemed to have become absorbed in the glory of
the Sun and vanished in the splendour, and from the shadows
of the base of the tower a dark figure moved to the edge of
the platform facing the brightness. It was a man, and with a
great curiosit)- 1 gazed upon this one individual atom of the human
Life of Karth. that in manifested form could move apart from
the rest and live with his own separate functions. And methought
there was a strange sympathy between us, for he started and
gazed up towards where I hung in airy flame, and then turned
and looked long on the flashing beauty of the ocean and the
shades beneath. His attitude betokened adoration, and once,
twice, three times he bowed his whole body with outstretched
hands towards the glory of the sunrise.

Very far off inland I perceived mountains among golden fields
of wheat, and other cities, and abundant verdure covered the
fair, shadowy Earth, where rivers ran and lakes reflected the
tiny pink clouds and the city walls and battlements. After, I
learned that the mighty piles were built by the enforced labour
of concjuered nations of physique and presence immeasurably
inferior to the white conquerors in their midst, and who had

(Ifsciiption here, hut hy no means is llie pyramid an exclusively Egyptian form,
as we see.

or the architecture of Zul we have no comi)arative measurements, and with the
one v.igue statement on p. 14— "greater than great Babylon," and the bare
description, we must imagine an architecture at least equal to Egypt in her prime.
( )f all the wonders of these mighty works surely the greatest is the size of the
blocks of stone used in their construction. Professor Lewis tells us that the very
ancient Egyptians must have reached a proficiency in the mechanical arts of which
we can form no concejition, ])y reason that they were able to quarry rocks
of even granite and to move tliem to great distances, polishing their almost iron
sides and carving upon them, raising huge masses that would puzzle our most
powerful ai>pliances of to-day to move. Nor in this again were the Egyptians
uni«iue, for in America, at Txmal, Tihuanaco, I'alenque and other places are
found stupendous ruins, of wliich the huge idocks had been brought into shape
ami angle witliout (lie ust' of iron.

THE TEMPLE.

been there since, as their old traditions told, the entrance of
that first man and woman from the East, where great Gabriel
guarded the gates of Eden, from whom had sprung a nation
that subjugated all around by its arts and prowess.

Lost in contemplation, I surveyed the massive architecture
and rejoiced in the solemn and shadowy grandeur of the city
as it lay vast and magnificent, with the flames of its many
temples leaping and swaying like bright spirits from the Sun
that never sleep nor die.

There was a great palace, vast and striking beyond all the
rest, enclosing a courtyard of palms and pleasant verdure with
red towers and pylons and sweeping terraces of steps, grim
and massive as the halls of Hell oc and in truth holding as
much sin. Yet then I knew it not, and did but gaze in
wrapt pleasure on the mighty structures that rose in impious
pride above the gloom lying in a wan purple cloud over the
gardens that faced the sea beyond the temple, and noted
the open spaces of the Circus and the market-place yawning
darker than the wide streets. I saw the square pile of the
Museum, and palaces of nobles ; a round temple, that I
afterwards knew to be that of the virgin Goddess Neptsis,
whose emblem was a serpent, and whose son, the Lord of Light,
was worshipped in Zul, standing conspicuously, near by which

a. Dining the earliest periods of archiieclure a similar style appears to have
been universal, and indeed survives to this day in many parts of the world.
The old Pueblos of Mexico — the successors to the Pallos of Atlantis, wtre generally
one enormous building occupying three sides of a court, (see note y p. 25). Of
the very oldest styles of architecture the pyramidal proportions before referred to,
and great flights of steps, are the most striking features. Although not used, as
we shall see. in the Pueblos, a stairway would of necessity be a simple and
obvious idea. We learn that in some of the Peruvian Htiacas^ which I take to be
Pueblos, there are considerable remains of staircases, and these useful fixtures were
in vogue among the Chinese. In many vast ruins in Yucatan and Central America
explored by Mr. Stephens in 1838 they are found, where temples and palaces of
an almost invariably pyramidal form, built in several stages with wide terraces,
were reached by grand flights of steps.

We are told that the principal building at Uxmal seems to have been a very
magnificent pyramid in three stages or terraces, faced with hewn stone, and neatly
rounded at the angles. The first ten-ace is 575 ft. long, 15 ft. broad, and 3 ft.
high, serving as a sort of plinth to the whole ; the second terrace is 545 ft. long,
250 ft. wide and 20 ft. high; the third terrace is 360 ft. long, by 30 ft. wide,

ATLANTIS.

were the temples ot Winged things, the Serpent, and the Moon.
I saw the fortifications stretching far as the eye could see, and
below, the cliff facing the sea, where it declined to the level
of the beach and formed a bay ; the harbour and water-way and
an outer protecting reef of rocks.

The roar of the drum was answered in the far-echoing spaces
for a long time, by others on the surrounding temples, and
the music of a myriad birds arose to my delighted ears. I
perceived many people to be approaching, and, mounting the
stairway running up the eastern front of the temple of "The
Lord of Light" — Zul — came a long procession, the leaders
chanting a hymn to the Divinity. Up, up, from the comparative
gloom, until the sunlight brightened the yellow mantles of the
leading priests and flashed back from helmets and armour and
the gorgeous cloaks of those following. It was the procession
of the Emperor's household and the great nobles.

Upwards they came with a growing hum of voices and clatter
of feet, reaching each terrace successively, where ten men could
walk abreast, until a zig-zag of bright colour reached from top
to bottom as the priests stepped onto the platform of the highest
roof. r^oUowing them came many priestesses, for the god Zul
was sujjposed to partake within himself of the nature of both
sexes and was equally served by both, and by twos the succes-
sors followed them until over fifteen score were gathered beneath
my enraptured eyes, delighted to watch their movements and

and 19 ft. in height. From the centre of the second terrace the upper part is
gained l>y a vast flight of well-constructed steps 130 ft. wide. This leads to the
temple the fagade of which is no less than 322 ft. long, but has not had a greater
elevation than 25 ft., yet its grandeur is enhanced by the rich sculpture that
covers the upper part above a fillet, or cornice, that surrounds the whole building
at about half its elevation. The interior consists of two parallel rows of chambers,
eleven in each row. The front apartments are entered by eleven doorways,
enriched with sculpture, which give sufficient light to those rooms; but the posterior
row receives no light except what enters by their doors from the exterior rooms.
In the Central American architecture we have before us a very significant fact,
that llie chambers in the buildings, like the peculiar architecture of Assyria, have
generally a length disproportionate to their width, whereas the Egyptian halls
were s(iuare. One Yucatan building, for example, is in disproportion as 4 to I, the
halls of Assyria were 4 or even 8 times longer than wide, and in both lands the
thickness of wall is enormous — from 15 to 30 ft. Also jhe Assyrian Iniildings
wt-re raised upon mounls and a[)pro.iched by great flights of steps.

THE TEMPLE.

hear all that they said. Beneath their feet plates of gold
gleamed sombre in the shadows cast; from their midst arose
the golden tower, a pyramid of light, with the imper-
ishable flame waving like a vapour over it, in which I lay
entranced. Within this tower was the drum and also within
it was kept the victorious standard of the nation, the sacred
symbol of victory — a Cross with four arms stretching horizon-
tally, signifying the national prowess North, South, East and
West — the old, rough rally-signal carried by the Emperor
Tekthah from the North. Afterwards I knew that all the other
cities had, in their Temple of the Sun, that same emblem,
feared and venerated throughout the land and — Oh, confusion
as I write! — worshipped as a god. There also stood an altar
on that roof, overlaid with gold, and all was bright save the
dark man I had first seen come from the tower, which one
still remained on the edge looking towards the Sun, and to
whom a priestess handed a little smoking bowl.

The men before me were tall and godhke and of excellent
stature, and I knew them afterwards to be sons of Tekthah and
some of the great Tzantans x and Patriarchs — chiefs of the ar-
mies, Polemarchs, and tribe leaders. There were women too,
on whom I gazed with exceeding admiration, for they were of
beautiful form ; conspicuous among them stoodest thou, my
Love, shining as the moon among stars— the Empress Azta,
her tawny hair, where golden streams seemed to move in
waves of light, fastened above her head by a pin crowned by
a butterfly of gold and very large as to size; her yellow eyes
heavy and slumbrous and their fires dull, as new awaked from
sleep. There were daughters of the Imperial household and of
the favoured chiefs, and many that were concubines of Tekthah,
which last were very splendid in their* persons and majestic in
carriage, and some of them were of other races. Upon their

X The word Tzantan is probably the original of the Accadian Tur-dan^ a title
of the chief officer in the army. The name Tartan of the Holy Scriptures
(2 Kgs. XVni. 17) is the Hebrew form of this, and the Apache Nantan seems to
have some affinity to it. Also, perhaps, the Servian Zupan.

Tzan, akin to Czar, Coezar, is another form of the same meaning, of which the
first appears to be a diminutive.

ATLANTIS.

faces lay thickly powdered white pearl-dust, and as they smiled
they disclosed their teeth in which were set flashing gems,
which gave them a strange appearance.

Some of the men's faces were half concealed by large beards,
nearly all black, falling from under their helmets of various
shapes according to their rank and following, and flowing over
their polished breast-plates. Their hair was as long as that of
the women, but coarser, and I learnt that in war the thick
tresses were rolled around the neck under closed visors to
afford additional protection and make an elastic shield under
the metal. Among these ebon chevelures the red-brown one
of Huitza, first son of the Tzan Tekthah, (which was King over
all the land,) and a very splendid prince, was conspicuous by
contrast, with its subtle effects of yellow. From the colour he
was supposed to be particularly favoured of the Sun, and the
people's hopes leaned to him, their idol, builder of the great
province of Tek-Ra : whose Empress-mother, Atlace, had hidden
her baby boy, begotten by a celestial lover, until such time as
she could mingle him with the unremembered crowd and claim
him as a child of the Throne. He stood now the real, though
not openly acknowledged, leader of the armies of the mightiest
power of Atlantis and the World^ — the Last-created.

My eye roved over the gay throng, but ever returned to
Azta; and, O Zul, I looked upon thee, thou fair abode of Evil,
greater than Great Babylon, yet unheard of and unknown. Every
terrace of the great temple was filled with worshippers, and
the roofs of all the other temples were swarming with super-
stitious idolaters fresh from some wild orgie of the night, and
by reason of my perception of spirits I saw their thoughts
turning on their wanton excesses and planning more in their
hearts, while their crossed hands and bent heads revealed a
mockery of adoration. Through a tube the dark man upon the
edge of the platform inhaled the smoke from the bowl, which
he expelled in clouds towards the four quarters of the heavens, y.

The yellow-robed priests, with wild movements indicative

X This custom was always practised as an invocation by the American tribes, among
whom tobacco smoking and chewing, (especially the former,) were universal and
immemorial usages.

THE TEMPLE.

of joy, broke into a weird chant, and in the pauses the faint
echo of the distant myriads rose into the pure air with wonderful
beauty from below and afar. The god had arisen I a thousand
voices shouted in rapture as from the shadows flashed tower
and sculptured column, and like a coloured carpet the city rose
through the mist.

And who could dream a fairer dream of all the wealth of
Earth ! There stood revealed the massive grandeur of enormous
piles of wonder and awe, scarce o'ertopped by mighty trees of
thy many groves, cooled by lakelets and fountains, surrounded
by colonnades and courts and the lacy beauty of palms, ablaze
with the flaming blossoms of the yellow sartreel bushes and the
crimson flowers of the pomegranate, lovely with the columned
arches and the statues surpassingly beautiful. O excellent in
majesty, would that I had never seen thee !

And then a fleeting idea of my mission ran though me, but I
wondered why and how I must fulfil it, my thoughts immediately
becoming fixed on the scene before my eyes, causing much per-
plexity to me, as the dark man which stood against the sun now,
with movements representing terror, leaped towards the golden
tower, everyone making hasty room. For a short space he
disappeared and then, mounting the interior, stood out before me
on the highest summit, distinct and clear against the bright sky.

The dark mantle was thrown open — torn ofl" — cast into the
flame, that consumed it in a breath — and the pantomime of
Night fleeing before Day was over as the High Priest Acoa, the
" Voice of God," stood forth in a gleaming garment of the universal
yellow and bowed in adoration to the flashing dawn.

Priest of Zul, I rejoice that thy deep lore was locked within
thy bosom, for thou knewest indeed more than many of Our-
selves. This same was a furious fanatic, believing, heart and
soul, in his god, and zealous of the observances of the rites
of his temple. Thus ever dweUing on the divinity, with a
feverish zeal, he would have sacrificed Tekthah himself or his
own person even to the " Lord of Light." How wondrous an
influence is fanaticism on the heart of man! Unreasoning,
devoted, it is almost noble by its very unselfishness and stead-
fastness of purpose, by its fury and its zeal.

CAP. II.

THE INTERIOR.

The god comes! A myriad voices hailed him from temple
and house-top. The kneeling thousands bowed in real emotional
adoration now, the gay crowd on Zul in weary compliance to
custom. With the virtue of the dark cloak of Acoa I became
more aware of the meaning of all I saw; and bear Thou
witness now, O Elohim, x who knows and understands all, and
perceives how the torment of the spirit forces foolishness from
the lips, that to none is showed the hidden things nor the
accomplishment of those great affairs that I revealed to such
as lived then. For in my impious pride and profound despair
I dared to raise the rebellious head, but all those are dead
which saw my works and none shall know them more. »

I perceived that the people were daringly and defiantly
weary, preferring to look with bold glances upon one another
to bending their thoughts on worship. But to the mass of the
people the glowing orb was a terrific Thing to be appeased
— the Father of Flame as well as Lord of Light, and King of the
leaping Spirits that ever dwelled on their temples— ruler of the

X There are four names by which God was known of old: Adonai, Lord or
Possessor: Shaddai, Almighty: Jehovah, the self-existing one; and Elohim, God,
the Covenant-keeper, and Lord of the Universe.

The word Elohim is probal^ly derived from the Hebrew word " Alah " to swear,
in supjKirt of which we have the Arabic "Allah", God, an almost identical word.
Our Lord's last words from the Cross also seem to indicate this meaning: "Eli,
Eli, lama sabachthani ". That is to say, "My God, my God"... where is the
covenant! And in .S. Mark it is still nearer : "Eloi, Eloi . . . ". The word Elohim
or Elim is the plural of El, chief of the Piinenician divinities.

I understand that the origin of the word "Javeh" or Jehovah appears to be lost
in mystery, but apparently indicates One who w, and is Eternal, and true to his
covenant: and of these two names, wiiich are frequently used, each with its own
significance, Elokiin is regarded as treating natural, Jehovah revealed, religion.

THE INTERIOR.

internal fires that devoured them in thunder, to whom the
messenger of Zul flew in the bright lightning and raised in
frightful revolt from hidden cares in the mountains; those dis-
tant hills, from which, to the west, towering Axatlan lifted her
high cone with its coronet of fire and smoke.

From every corner of the great city arose the voice of prayer
and praise, and now the High Priest descended from the central
tower to the platform. The wild clangour of a song boomed
and clashed out, and a silence of death lay over all.

It was the signal for a sacrifice. A death was to take place
up there in the pure, holy calm of the early morning, and
with that unappeasable appetite of the terrible human heart to
gloat over suffering, an appetite that never wearies, the mul-
titudes strained their eyes upwards to the temple platform, and
those too far off to see were yet pleasantly aware of what
was transpiring. For, despite bloody carnivals, brutal scenes
of torture and devilish butcheries on a ghastly scale, there was
yet something in the solemnity of the hour that startled the
ghoulish appetites and made the pulses beat with a pleasant
interest.

Up the stairway came the Procession of Atonement, the
attendant priests robed in black, the victim in the middle, in
silence deep and profound, broken by a weird chant from the
priestesses.

The sad procession moved slowly ; and moved by an intuition,
I knew something dreadful was about to happen, yet, alasl so
curious was I, I moved not one step to its hindrance.

I perceived a feeling of natural horror to pervade the
multitudes as the dark butcher stood silhouetted against the
sky and seized the victim as he stepped on to the platform —
a grisly pantomime that often resulted in a terrible struggle,
the more fearful to those below from its silence and desperate
earnestness.

As now, it always resulted in the same thing — the victim
being carried to the golden altar facing the sunrise and bound
down securely. The High Priest raised his voice in a poetic
appeal to the Sun, then one gash of a dagger of obsidian
laid open the victim's breast, from which the butcher's fingers

17 2

ATLANTIS.

tore the pulsating heart. Raised aloft, the gory trophy, yet
oozing its living blood, was offered to the Sun, and a myriad
voices countenanced the murder.

A reproach entered my mind, a feeling of mortified annoyance
that I had allowed curiosity to so overcome my just interference.
I looked, marvelling, on the victim, for I had no knowledge
of death, and perceived him to be a Clay and immoveable;
and although I did not quite comprehend what had been done,
yet I knew by his former acts and the people's that all was
not well, and indeed, most improper. Yet I confess that I
did not care to fully comprehend before, being anxious to
witness what I might.

In a profound silence the crowds wended their way downwards;
the morning worship was over. Through every street they
threaded, looking like ants from Zul's stately height, as one
vast body made up of tiny units, that, studied individually,
exhibited individual characteristics, but were all alike in the
issue. The unbiassed mind of one was the unbiassed mind of
all. As the pebbles of the beach looked at in a mass form
one great plain, yet each has a different shape and no two
would fit the same hole ; but taken individually or as a mass
there is the same groundwork. Also among them may be
gems, pearls, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and the commoner
precious stones. I reflected deeply on them and considered
their ways and passions without at all understanding what I
had already seen, nor dreamed that in those evil hearts burned
the seed of the madness that would one day murder the Son
of God, their own Creator and mine.

O fools! who worshipped the work and not the Maker, and
preferred any god to the all-powerful one! In the empire
cities of Chusa, Aten, Lote, Talascan, and a hundred others
the same rites had been observed, for though bowing the knee
to many divinities, the Lord of Light was esteemed first, the
mightiest, most popular and dreaded.

All had gone, and with a desire to allow busy works to
cover that weary feeling of reproach, I looked upon the shadowy
mass of the temple, whose high front facing the sun was refulgent
above the pearly tints below. Considering it well, I entered

TriE INTERIOR.

downwards into the great cool chambers, dark after the morning
glow above, and whose thick walls kept out all heat of the
Sun, and noted the bold paintings therein. Here all was still
and silent; I was alone with those coloured portrayals that
spoke to me with an unknown tongue; but after, when 1
understood, I wondered at the daring audacit}- that conspired
to mingle Heaven and Earth in obscene confusion as there
represented. Together with the serpent, which was of that
species bearing upon its swelling neck the emblem of the Sun. ;;:
A great bird appeared to hold high place in these imaginations
— the vulture, which, preying upon the entrails of the dead,
soared to the eternal presence of the gods with the released
spirit which would otherwise lose its way. All over the land
the foul birds were worshipped as the messengers of the gods,
and temples were erected in their honour — the honour of a
created thing 1

The secondary chambers, buried in the enormous mass of
the temple, were cold and gloomy, tall columned vaults of
shade where no sound ever entered and no air stirred, and
where intricate passages led to still darker places beyontl
number. And here dwelt those priests and priestesses which
ministered to the divinity, entombed in the twilight all their
lives ; for the light, entering by scjuare apertures, or through
distant brazen doors which turned within stone pivots, here
had to traverse a great thickness of wall, and lighted the inner
vaults but feebly, and in awe I gazed around, oppressed b)-
the silence and gloom, while from around peered diabolical
faces, grim and immobile, from the colossi supporting the dark
roofs. Three on every side they stood, those giant forms of
stone, as though they had been there from the beginning of
the world, gazing on a dark altar in the central gloom, on
which, upheld by three dragons with outstretched wings, was
a stone sarcophagus. This chamber was to contain the mortal

X This may in<licate a species uf cojjfa having; a ciixnilar inarlviiiL; iiiion ii-
••liood." or may refer lo the ••hood"' iuelf. Here we may note that the (Hily
difference between the Indian cobra and th,e I-'i^yptian hitjr i- i!\e --pectacledike
maikint; upim llie back of tlie former's neck, bolh s]n'cie> liavinL; tlie >kin of ilie
neck hiose and dilatable at will.

ATLANTIS.

remains of Tekthah, whose dust, being burned to an ash, would
rest in the sarcophagus, built by him for that end, and I
wondered at the earthly idea that would wish to lie there in
the gloom watched by those stony figures until all of Earth
should cease. Ah, man, thou couldst not read the book of
fate. On the high roofs were bats that hung like little dark
devils and sometimes squeaked as their bones touched one
another's, while their evil eyes flared at times upon me.

With a strange feeling almost of fear I went downwards into
the third floor of chambers, and, as a great moth, flitted here and
there in a chamber from which led many galleries. My wings
brushed the long webs of spiders in the dark roofs, and upon the
gross bosom of a colossus I poised high up to consider the ways
stretching in dark avenues hither and thither. In those soundless
spaces was no sign of life or movement, but afar off" I perceived a
light which I believed came from one of the cave-like opening
in the outer walls, and speeding thence by an instinct that
overcame me, found myself in the chamber of the High Priest.

Buried within those walls, above the earth yet within it,
there stood the dark man, bending over a little flame on a
brazier, that showed up his clear, hollow, ghastly face and
vivid eyes and long white hair, leaving his lower figure in the
gloom of the vault, and making the shadows of the place
fearful. Methought he gazed anxiously, for he shaded his eyes
with both palms and stared with trembling intensity into the
flame, that rolled in a purple-red coil topped by the orange
brightness, and then turned swiftly towards a faint disc of light
away in the gloom. He cried aloud in a fearful voice of rage
and command, extending his long, skeleton claws over the
flame, his whole form dilated and exalted, his face transformed
and his eyes like a devil's.

Wondering that no inspiration entered my mind to address
him, I watched, heavy with the great chill and gloom. Suddenly
the faint disc brightened until a golden light flooded the vault and
struck on the opposite wall, where mystic emblems and figures
were grouped in mysterious configuration. It was the light of
the Sun which entered and was flashed back from a mirror of
obsidian, lighting the whole space and disclosing its contents.

THE INTERIOR.

The little flame struggled and coiled. Three of the symbols
on the wall moved to a certain place and stood still. Acoa,
his face vivified to a terrible degree, watched, and then cried
aloud : " Conceive, O thou pregnant one ! Bring forth that
which is in thee! "

From the flame arose a white amorphous shape, vague and
horrible. The man had ceased to breathe and was gazing
with an intensity of soul on the spectral figure, that writhed
in horrible contortions, yet so indistinct that nought could be
seen of what it was. The Thing emitted a very faint sound
and then appeared to dissolve in the shadows, and the High
Priest fell prone on the floor. The disc was darkening and
methought the life of the man was going with the brightness,
and I felt sad at the thought what the mortal part was so
frail. But, as I stood regarding him, he arose and retired to
his stone couch and laid himself thereon, murmuring many
things that I did not understand. So I left him.

The fourth chambers were around me, filled with warmth
and a deep lurid glow issuing from the centre of the floor
where yawned a square bright opening. I was filled with
mystery and awe, and the sensation that I was in unknown
depths, nor perceived any end to the other chambers stretching
right left. The one I stood in was immense, and columns
threw great shadows away from the central light that appeared
at times to flare more brightly. Pictures with bold, luminous
outlines stood out in the farther shadows, mystic representations
somewhat similar to those in the first chamber mostly, I found,
depicting the wondrous conception of Neptsis and labour with
the hermaphrodite Zul. <z Wild and horrible the phosphoric
representations stood, flickering and smoking, and at certain
times an indefinable sound echoed round the gloomy vault,
while the eyes of the colossi clustering round the columns moved

X The Sun is usually a female divinity among Turanians, in earlier religions
the moon being often considered of the male sex. The Esquimo regard the moon
as a man who visits the earth, and again as a girl whose face is spotted by ashes
thrown at her by the sun. Among the Hindu Khasias the Sun is a woman and
the moon a man, and in the Andaman Islands the Sun is the wife of the moon.
Among aboriginal Hindus the moon is the bride of the Sun.

ATLANTIS.

and glittered from on high as though the stony abortions
actually lived. No sound disturbed the awful calm where stood

THOSE WHOM GOD HATH CHAINED FOR EVER.

those giant forms, save only at times that weird sigh or moan,
or what it might have been, that seemed to come from nowhere
and return thither.

THE INTERIOR.

* A fear seized me, a new strange feeling I had never known
before, and an inclination to mount thence with speed and
seek my native skies ; and yet I longed to see and know more,
and the curiosity overcame the sudden trembling fear.

And thus in trepidation I explored the fifth central chamber,
of which I could see every part, being, as it were, a great pit
of light in which tossed a sea of molten gold. Three figures
of superior size sat around the bright wonder, with faint, half-
imagined shadows playing over them, and my spirit sank with
the dread feeling that I stood in some awful presence. Sublime
in their majestic stillness they sat, gazing with inscrutable faces
downwards, carven from the solid rock that formed the cone
of a volcano. In awe I gazed on their calm grandeur, and
methought they gazed on me; and I cried in my heart that it
was small wonder that man was so esteemed who could create
such as this. I yet deemed it might not be of human skill,
and believing myself to be beyond the World and in the
petrified presence of Those whom God hath chained for ever,
I fled upward precipitately, nor ceased my strenuous flight until
I hovered far above the city in the gleam of the sun.

CAP. III.

TEKTHAH.

Now Tekthah was the son of Lamech and brother of Noah
the Righteous, remembering also the children of Seth the son
of Adam, by his wife Lilith, (which was also his sister) cc and
the children of all the sons of Adam, spread abroad and
multiplied into nations very great and powerful. And being of
a bloody nature and of vast ambition he had conceived great
ideas, and with all the families of Lamech his father and the
families of the sons of Mathusaleh and of all the sons of Enoch
and Jared, (the beauty of whose daughters first tempted the
sons of God to stray), he had crossed the sea from his own
land to found an empire. /3

Upon the north coast landing, with all their flocks and herds,
with cruel arms and many warriors advancing, taught of Azazel
in the art of war, the inhabitants were swept before them in
ruin and downfall ; and along their path of dreadful conquest
they built great citadels where the ground was steep and high,
half hewn in the rock, half built above, terrace above terrace,
with galleries and corridors and ladders to climb upon, which,
being pulled up, rendered access impossible. These great Pallos
were as one huge fort, full of rooms and very strong, y and

a. Ilie custom was observed in Egypt of marrying sister to brother in the
royal line.

/3 An analogy, which I am not competent to discuss, appears to me to exist
between this passage of the Adamites and the legendary start of the Nahoas or
Toltecs from the unknown Iluelme or Tlapallan, which they left in consequence
of a revolution ; but which event, however, is said to have taken place shortly before
the Christian era The account states apparently that seas and countries intervened
between them and their native land before they reached America.

y These most remarkable buildings, (i. e. those built of brick or stone,) are
apijarently in later history only found among the oldest Americans and we

TEKTHAH.

the chief of them was called Surapa, which was in the province
of Astra. Nor was there anything lost by so building, for it
was by this discovered where lay the yellow gold and the
mines of gems, and where good stone was, and clay for making
bricks.

And thus with expanding minds they marched southwards
until they came to the tall volcano that looked above the waters,
whereon they built a Pallo and fought a great battle, establishing
themselves there. And for their protection they digged a wide
moat, far-reaching and deep ; in intervals of peace increasing
and multiplying greatly, for that was a very fat land.

And there being but few women, each took unto herself as
many husbands as she chose, and round the Pallo, which they
called Zul and by which they worshipped the sun, sprang up
a village, a town, a city, a great city, a city of grand buildings

generally one huge construction occupying three sides of a court, built on the
pyramidal step system, but possessing no apparent internal means of ascent, being
mounted by moveable ladders. Such structures were probably the outcome of a
vital necessity to protect a small colony of agriculturists from the depredations of
less civilized nomads, and their remains are scattered throughout central America
and Mexico, on mountain and in forest, many occ ipied now by Indians. There
are the great structures of Pueblo Pintado, the Pueblos of Taos, San Juan, Zuiii,
Hungo Pavie, and of Pecos, this last estimated by Bandelier to be the largest
aboriginal structure of stone in the United States, with a circuit of 1480 ft., 5 storeys
in height, and once including by calculation t;oo rooms. There is the wonderful
rock citadel of Acoma, whose 600 inhabitants live between earih and sky, and
Pueblo Bonilo, on the Chacos, 1716 ft. in circuit, with 641 rooms and an estimated
population of 3000 Indians.

I have seen stated an opinion that the Aztec city of Mexico was but a vast Pueblo,
but I think this is highly improbable, as the wonder of such a construction would
be certainly greater than an ordinary city of scattered buildings; and it would have
taken cleverer men than the followers of Cortez and Piznrro to have fabricated
cities and polities like those of Mexico aud Peru.

The northern Indians, the Iroquois and Nez-Perces, also followed the com-
munistic idea in their "long-house." such as one described by Lewis and Clarke
on the Columbia river; a single house 150 ft. long, built of sticks, straw, and
dried grass, containing 24 fires, about doul:)le that number of families, and num-
bering about 100 fighting men. This represents a communal household of nearly
500 people, and another building of the same race (Nechecolees) was lar{;er, being
226 ft. long. Some tribes of the Amazon and of Borneo have such houses.

It is interesting to trace the etymology of the word Pallo, in Pueblo, palace?
and the Egyptian Pharaoh, which last word is very curious as embodying the
communistic idea, representing the Egyptian words Per-aa^ "great house [in which
men live]."

TEKTHAH.

and later ornamentation, and the temple, built on the crest of
the volcano, crowned the height of progress.

Now in all this time the people were not idly resting on their
triumph, for parties continually sallied forth to farther conquests
and found new cities. Whereby the Tzantan Iztli swept the
far province of Trocoatla, and Rhadaman the son of Maroa, a
concubine of Tekthah, carried conquest afar; and many others
did likewise, Huitza adding the province of Tek-Ra to the
territories of the nation.

Until at last the whole great land of Atlantis was subservient
to Tekthah, yet only such parts as were fairest being occupied ;
and such savage races as menaced the frontiers were kept afar
by the terror of their conquerors. These latter also among
themselves caused dissensions, for there were ambitious spirits
among them who wished to follow the example of Tekthah and
form a kingdom for themselves; but as a terrible lesison to all
such rebels, the warriors of Rhadaman lay round the pallo of
Zoe, (the mother of the dead chief Tygan, who wished to seize
a Queendom for herself,) until such time as famine forced them
to surrender, and then one hundred and fifty-four of the
froward ones were carried to Zul, and died horrible deaths.
In likewise fell the pallos of Adiar, Vul and Amarek, and there
was given full allegiance to the might of Tekthah.

Then, with peace, there arose a great discussion among the
leaders of the allied families as to Tekthah's position, he resting
as a ruler over all and dictating affairs. But this with prudent
forethought perceiving, he had formed around him a very strong
confederacy, there being, besides his own giant brood, his uncle
Mehir, (sprung from Azura, daughter of Adam, x) and the Tzan-
tans Nezca, Amal, Shar-Jatal, Izta, Toloc, Ombar, Colosse and
and many more great and powerful. And especially Nezca
advised him strongly as to what poHcy he should adopt and
how he should bind the hearts of people. So the patriarchs
and chief warriors in a great council, called upon him to declare
his intent, and the issue was that Tekthah's commanding front

X This name, and that of Avan, (p. 76), are the only names we possess of
any daughters of Adam, but an old tradition says he had twenty-three daughters
and thirty-three sons.

ATLANTIS.

and gracious promises caused him to be recognized as the ruler
over all the land, he pointing out that such course were wise
as their brethren might arrive from across the seas and attempt
to take from them the fruits of all their heavy labours. But
this in the issue they never did, but lay in their forwardness
and increasing evil until the waters drowned them with the Earth.
Yet Tekthah was also compelled to agree that one chosen of
the nation should be always with him to act for the people's wel-
fare and protection.

And being thus, he took on a great pomp and circumstance,
yet with politic circumspection ; and to please the people (acting
also by the advice of Acoa) he caused grand services to be
celebrated with horrid bloodshed in the temples of Zul and
others, drenching the new altars with the blood of captives. He
built a Circus and instituted games and competitions therein,
securing powerful adherents by distributing new posts of honour
and military glory, and with the enforced labour and aid of
thousands of captives working with soaked wedges, rollers, and
levers, he constructed his great red palace with stone from the
province of Axatlan, and many more buildings of vast size, so
that the city of Zul became a wonder and an awe in the land*.
And in manner becoming to so great a ruler, he established a
great national polity, setting up around him certain of his sons
and others as judges over the people, to whom was given the
power of calling upon the officers of legions to enforce laws,
punishments being meted out for various offences. To aid him
in government he created princes, counsellors, captains, rulers
of territories, governors, treasurers, rulers of tribes and private
domestic officers and overseers ; while by word of mouth
teachers were instructed in many arts and knowledge was greatly
propagated.

And Thanaron, the celestial master of Ophie, daughter of
Jared, invented a kalendar by which seasons were divided; and
Armers showed how to prepare the smoking-herbs for enjoyment of
inhalation, many other things being invented and put forward.

All over the land cities began to grow from villages surround-
ing pallos to huge walled marvels, taking unto themselves
standards and insignia; fields of wheat sprang from the kindly

TEKTHAH.

earth, and a navy was built which could sail round the moat of
Zul and across the sea to certain islands which lay upon the
horizon. The pleasant arts of peace were opened to all to
increase, and with security ended that slaughter of female
children (which was of necessity when useless mouths but
hindered warriors' progress). Yet none might say who was his
father, for every woman had many husbands; and indeed
wherever I looked the policy of man ran contrary to all natural
creation. And by many means the proportion of the females
very greatly increased, some being stolen away and sold to a
distant master, who disposed of the male offspring as slaves,
which soon died, and thus the women were preserved to the
great increase of the nation.

And before this had there sprung up a new race x by reason
of the Last-created taking unto themselves mistresses from among
the captives, and by indiscriminate misdemeanors, which offspring,
degraded, and unowned, became servants and slaves, being also
encouraged to multiply to aid the supply.

Tekthah, Tzan of Atlantis, with a brilliant court, led the nation
afar from its upright paths, followed willingly enough, for indeed
human nature ever sins naturally. The cities of the land followed
whatsoever the capital led.

The nation halted.

The desire and instinct of progress and development, that,
formed by congregation and led by a few energetic minds,
precocious children in Life's nursery, manifested itself in the
eager restlessness, the collecting into potential communities and
the desire for civilization and its benefits, was satisfied with a
power that was able to supply itself with every need and luxury,
falling before the temptation of slothful enjoyment and turning
its vast warlike energies on the satisfaction of carnal lusts. The

X Here we have a plain statement as to the origin of a new race of mankind
which verifies the theory of Max Miiller. This distinguished scientist says, in the
course of one of his lectures — "New mixtures of mixed or mongrel offspring with
other or with pure breeds will make confusion even worse confounded, and after
hundreds and thousands of years the very possibility of pure breeds may very
justly be doubted. How then should we dare in our days to classify mankind
according to such variable peculiarities as colour, skull or hair?" Personally I do
not quite agree in toto to this, but to a very great extent I think it to be correct.

ATLANTIS.

proud bearinf^ and haughty impetuosity of conscious masters of
Earth grew into an arrogance at perceiving the works of their
hands flourish and the desire for vast effect gratified ; and by
reason of the appearance among them of celestial beings who
showed them the revelations of mysteries, they gazed entranced
with daring knowledge on the hidden things. Forsaking their
pure instinctive religion they began to worship idols, and with
that strong human feeling that belongs especially to primitive
minds, of a desire to worship something visible and tangible,
they bowed down to conceptions of their own minds, and the
wonders of the Heavens which they represented by them, x Such
were the Sun, and gems supposed to be born of sunbeams, and
the dragon which guarded them and was the emblem of the sun,
the moon and stars, the male and female ox, the cat, the frog /3
and other things, to each of which was given a legend which
was in part a fact ; yet all these were but created things. They
believed their forefather Adam to have been a god, and deified
all those hoary elders whose terrible years brought such vast
experience, magnifying the deeds which they had done until
they assumed an appearance surpassing all of Earth. And
these they also worshipped under various emblems, nor wag
there any end to their imagining.

They became more violent in their ideas, and as with luxury
their minds grew licentious and imaginative, so also did their
religion, and at length they had the most sensual and debased
mythology that the subtlety of their evil minds could conceive;
not sparing their ancestors the obscene representations of mys-
tical creation. And in every temple, in every pleasant grove
and palmy garden sat enthroned an effigy of some god, de-
graded and bestial, and each man took unto himself a divinity

X Tile Atlantean religion was in advance, perhaps we may say, of all traces
that are understood of the religion of prehistoric times, which is supposed to be
Xature-worship alone, with no representations to aid the imagination. Rut that a
people so powerful and of such perceptions should conceive physical forms of
natural objects is scarcely surprising.

/3 Prof. Friedrich Ratzel mentions the Frog, among many other animals worshipped
as gf)ds and adopted as totems by the American Indians, as being met witli in
countless typical representations, especially where Toltec civilization re.iched. Among
the Egyptians I'tah. as creator of man, is a frog.

TEKTHAH.

among manifested animals or insects, eating also food of flesh
by subtle reasoning of their minds, and after for their stom-
ach 's sake.

So falling, those early sinners who came to Atlantis with a
pure faith and knowledge of God, raised descendants who fell
still farther into idolatry and wickedness, degraded superstition,
and still more degraded practices, mingling with them a fero-
cious and dauntless prowess in war and a luxuriance of living
in later days that caused their name to be spoken of with
respect and reverence and their power to be undisputed among
the races who had been there beyond the legends of all time.
Superstitious, ferocious, and of tremendous powers, Atlantis lay
under the foot of the sons of Adam ; but the world instead of
being improved, threatened to sink in a chaos of confusion and
blood, and all by the desire of Tekthah, who wished to main-
tain his high estate.

CAP. IV.

THE PALACE.

The palace of Tekthah rose in its colossal grandeur from
vast spreading areas of steps, on every landing of which
a pair of Andro-sphinxes lay. Built of the red stone of Axat-
lan, it was as a small city to itself, with its courts and
galleries, colonnades, arches and statues and outlying pylon
towers, housing within its painted halls many of the great
officers of state with their servants, and ladies of high rank
which were in the Tizin's train, the astronomers, astrologers and
soothsayers, magicians and chemists and many which led Tek-
thah's inclmations by evil cunning to the great detriment of the
land. A structure of grand architecture and gloomy beauty,
vast and massive and plain, it never failed to fill me with a.
certain awe ; indeed a bewildering beauty lay in the spreading
fall of the stairways guarded by those stony sentinels on their
oblong, flat pedestals, that sat looking with impassive, inscrutable
faces on space, and the pairs of colossi which guarded every
doorway and were called the Guardians of the entrance; a
sense of majesty and power that aspired to great things and
could only satisfy the longing by being immense and grand and
wondrous. In certain spaces were tall columns of stone of a
carnal significance, towering obelisks of which the like were
seen all over the land, each one graven with the symbols of
genealogy. And each obelisk had a name.

There were gardens surrounding, where feathery palms grew,
and yellow sartreels spread their masses of sunny lovliness
above the elegant ferns, blended with crimson roses and various
flowers of all manners of colours and shapes and perfumes, shaded
by great spreading forest trees; and down by the fountains
the songs of birds rose from morning to night. Towers supplied

THE PALACE.

these watery jets, the water being pumped up thence by wheels
on which generations of slaves had grown up and died.

On a pylon terrace that commanded a view of the ocean
the Tzan Tekthah reclined on his couch, attended by one who
bore an inhaling-pipe, and a fan-bearer who kept off the rays
of the sun and the persecutions of flies. He was a man of
great stature, and the white hair that framed his face well
became the ruler of so great a nation. White also were his
brows and beard, but his face was sensual and cruel, and al-
though he looked a ruler, yet he appeared to have some traits
that boded ill for the welfare of his charges. From his mouth
and nostrils he blew volumes of fragrant smoke, inhaled from
the pipe, in which lay a burning herb, which enjoyment to me
appeared at first very curious, but was indulged in by all of
the land. The early beauty of the sea and sky arrested his
gaze, and I also looked wonderingly to where, within the reef,
moved a large black bulk; fine-like arms beat the water and
propelled it through the waves, and three gaily-coloured squares
of cloth, bellying to the wind, accelerated the speed. I
watched it with a lively interest, Tekthah with a listless curiosity ;
it was one of his vessels, the three-masted warship, Tacoatlanta,
bearing at the prow the enormous semblance of a human head,
large enough to hold nine hundred warriors, ot, but never ventur-
ing more than a mile from shore for fear it would get caught
in the current of the great cataract that everyone believed fell
over the edge of the world where the Sun rose and where the
great sea-animals lived that they saw occasionally — monsters of
the deep that reared like enormous serpents from the waves.

The ship entered the harbour, and still Tekthah mused; now

a It is evident that the art of shipbuilding had reached a considerable proficiency
in the old days of Atlantis, and in after times we are informed by the best
authorities that the Egyptians possessed ships nearly 3000 years B.C. By the
cargo consisting of cattle, and the number of rowers employed, these would be of
no inconsiderable size, and were not merely large boats or canoes, as, according
to the Rev. Edmond Warre, the earliest of all presents us with the peculiar mast
of two pieces, stepped apart, but joined at the top. He shows us that " the legend
of Helen in Egypt, as well as the numerous references in the Odyssey, point, not
only to the attraction that Egypt had for the maritime peoples, but also to long-
established habits of navigation and the possession of an art of shipbuilding equal

33 3

ATLANTIS.

scowling up at the temple, where the eunuch priests and their
female co-ministers held service to the hermaphrodite Zul, and
trying to distinguish some face at that distance, now again
scanning the sea. He beUeved, like most of his people, in
what Gorgia the magician said concerning the ebb and flow of
the waters: that the gods, the makers of the great animals,
who lived over there, drank it down and then threw it up again,
and the thunders were the sound of their females in labour
producing the monsters.

At the Tzan's feet lay his favorite mistress, Sumar, and on
the terrace below, that commanded every approach to the
tower, was a company of the Imperial Guards. Their captain
was Nezca, a tall prince of exalted beauty, who had as apart-
ments the whole base of that tower, for Tekthah feared what
he dared not express. For this also it was that he had caused
an arm of the sea to flow round the walls of Zul, stopped at
each outlet by rocks, that the ebbing tide might not drain it,
and had built warships to navigate it if needed.

And thus I perceived the penalty of earthly greatness, and
pondered much within my mind if that, Tekthah being over-
thrown, the land would be saved from evil. Even should T
cause myself to be the Emperor ? It was a pleasing thought, but
I knew that it might not be ; and indeed I had no knowledge
of man or his ways, nor the ordering of such.

A trumpet sounded. It was the hour for the morning meal,
called the After-worship, and Tekthah arose to enter the Hall
of Feasting, for he reclined on a couch which was on the dais
at the top of the chamber, and none durst enter until such
time as he was seated.

to the construction of sea-going craft capable of carrying a large number of men
and a considerable cargo besidts."' But in matters maritime the Phoenicians were
unsurjiassed and the order kept aboard their fine ships, together with their skill of
utilizing every inch of space, won ihe later admiration of the Greeks.

It seems strange to learn that some southern Indians ha<l sailing-boats, while the
Aztecs, who united with their predecessors the Toltecs, knew nothing of them,
notwithstanding the fact that the latter must have used large crafts to bear them
from the legendary Tlapallan to the shores of America.

The vessels of Homer were capable of carrying over too men, but the Atlantean
war-ship must have been much larger than any that we read of in ancient times.

THE PALACE.

The walls of which splendid apartment were very lofty and
of an oblong formation, enclosing a great space with their
painted barriers panelled and frescoed in gaudy colourings
representing the advent of their race and their wars. Four
tall columns supporting the central ceiling, which was painted
with scenes as upon the walls, oc But how barbarous were their
colours when viewed separately, although imposing on the whole 1
Bright vermilions clashed with ochres and crude greens in all
of them : there were sanguinary representations of the chase, in
which appeared Mastodons, /3 aurochs, and gigantic stags ; and
vile pictures of amorous designing, hideous in their beastliness
and grotesqueness, and abominable in their atrocious conceptions.
Between these panels were long mirrors of gold polished so
brightly as to reflect the minutest detail and lending a richer
colouring by its own sunny tint.

Attended by his guards the Tzan swept in with his mistress
and took his seat. At the sound of a second trumpet the
Tizin Azta entered with her guards and attendants, occupying
a seat immediately below Tekthah, with her entering Shar-Jatal
the Representative of the People; and then, at another trumpet-
call, the couches were all filled with the households and suites,
numbering three hundred males of various ages, from boys to
old men, and ladies greater in number and of the same varia-
tions of years. Behind and about them were innumerable
attendants, especially around the Tzan, at the back of whom

oe, The particular style of the architecture of this apartment is perhaps like Assyrian,
as regards the oblong shape. The Assyrian roof was of thick layers of earth on
strong beams, the pavement of sun-dried bricks, or baked bricks, or of alabaster
slabs laid in bitumen and delicately carved. We find also carved alabaster dados,
many of which show traces of having been decorated in colours, and above them
baked bricks richly coloured and glazed. A vast amount of ornament is employed,
and doors were used, a piece of furniture we do not often find mentioned here,
save the great gates of the city and doors of the temple of Zul.

In China we find also in palaces and temples coloured glazed tiles, or the bricks
themselves were coloured and glazed.

^ The range of the genus Mastodon in time was from the middle of the Miocene
period to the end of the Pliocene in the Old World, when they became extinct ;
but in America several species — especially the best-known, owing to the abundance
of its remains, which have been variously called M. Ohioticus^ M. Ainericanus and
M. Giganteus — survived quite to a late Pleistocene period. — Ency. Brit.

ATLANTIS.

stood the Imperial Guards clad in armour, young nobles all,
their breastplates of orichalcum fashioned after the emblem of
the Sun, cothurns of the same metal, and gold-overlaid shields.
For arms they bore long spears with heads of obsidian, and
heavy swords of the same ; their gleaming helmets were crowned
by the plumes of the ostrich, ix. those of the officers being dyed
red with minium, and Nezca's being of cunningly wrought
gold — a mass of beautiful filigree work. And behind each
great lord stood his shield-bearer, his cup-bearer, and his pipe-
bearer, and many others to be at his instant command ; and
the ladies also had each her cup-bearer and pipe-bearer among
the rest, and to every one there was a fan-bearer to brush
away flies.

Sumar lay at the feet of her mighty lord, and on her
Rhadaman, the firstborn by a concubine, leader of warriors,
whose name was known among all the tribes and among the
barbarian hordes afar off, cast a long stare of such a character
that, blushing, she averted her face. From her his glance
travelled to the Tzan, but as soon as he found he was in danger
of being observed he resumed his meal.

The Tzantan Huitza had observed both expressions with a-
frown, and I watched keenly, seated among the lower guests,
using my perceptions and power to understand all I saw and
gathering the meaning then and afterwards. I perceived that
he and Rhadaman were both bent upon obtaining sovereign
power, and that both as warriors were unequalled in the land,
being also greatly beloved by the populace. Yet lately Huitza,
ambitious and energetic, blotted out by strenuous works the
remembrance of his brother's past deeds, and nought but the
sire's power upheld above him the rival.

For Huitza had altered the fashion of war, making his troops
most formidable, and causing jealousy to the Tzan, and a great
unrest, (he loving not to see one too powerful).

Yet all my regards went forth to the Tizin Azta, and at that
first mingling with human beings came my first intuition of
my mission, my first trial, my first rebellion.

X I read this as "ostrich", meaning a great bird with plumes; but it may be an
earlier species.

THE PALACE.

For of all that godless land Noah was the only just man,
being also governor of the province of Tek-Ra, under Huitza,
his lord. And it was shown to me that I should uphold Huitza
and cause him to become the Tzan, whereby Noah, who was
much entrusted by him, would come into great power. Yet
being greatly entranced by the beauty of Azta, methought I
might win her regards and do also as much good by aiding
her to gain the sovereign power, knowing nought of women
or why they were not as fitted to rule as men, and repressing
the voice that told me that the more earthly mould should
greatest excel upon Earth.

In sad mood I gazed around, hesitant, not at all willing to
abjure this woman and fulfil my mission unbiassed, but looking
upon her until her beauty drowned my reason.

O Azta, dear Love, how queenly wert thou, and how my soul
regarded thee! Thou didst not know how I watched thee
then, nor conceived the great love which I bore to thee.

To me everything was wondrous and strange and impressive,
nor can I tell the peculiar emotions I experienced on perceiving
that which was eaten by these godlike forms to be flesh of
other animals. It is as a dream — those early days of my
mission to Earth, the gradual perception of the material gross-
ness of its inhabitants and faint intuition of my end and object.

For ever among the great ones of the land sat the mystics
who opened up to their mincls the hidden things. So that the
counsellors, judges, treasurers, privy officers and all rulers for-
bore to interest themselves in affairs of Earth, being greatly
captivated by strange arguments and visions of delightful things.
And especially the queens lent willing ears to such revelations,
fascinated by the magic of those evil ones and the things of
marvel and awe which they revealed ; so that at last none of
the people did aught but interest themselves in the most
exhilarating things.

The meal was over. The great joints of meat were carried
away and the huge, clumsy vesssels, and all manner ot platters
of slate, stone or more precious materials carefully lifted and
taken to the kitchens by the slaves to be cleaned. Some of
the privileged menials remained behind, their position entitling

ATLANTIS.

them to the favours extended to the ladies, and they laughed
and chattered in broken language to one another, returning
sneer for sneer with the haughty queens whenever the latter
deigned to notice them. Most of them were slim youths chosen
for their beauty, some almost children, covered with a pro-
fusion of ornaments ; with hair varying from huge frizzled
chevelures to oily, coarse masses of curls, all of a black colour ;
and in like manner their skins varying in shades from yellow
to intensest black, and physiognomies of every grade and class.

The Tzan's exodus was the signal for the dispersal, and with
noise and laughter the crowd broke up, some to hunt, or play
games of ball, others to try their fortune at casting dice, some
to transact business of state and some to review the troops.
Others went to the vast round building of the Circus that held
a semicircle of seats overlooking an arena, where once a year
games were held and mock battles took place. These went to
practice for the approaching ceremony and view the combatants
who were to take part in the display, for the purposes of laying
wagers on who should win and who should not, and to see
that the brute combatants were well cared for and savage.

I saw Azta cast a glance at the Tzantan Huitza before sh^"
retired to the gardens where she loved to sit and watch the fish
in the fountains, and I wondered at its character and that the
lord gave no sign of having perceived it. A shade of annoyance
clouded the Tizin's face as a cloud coming over the sky — a
black, furious, sullen look from which her great yellow eyes
flared like lightning, while her opening lips disclosed the flaming
rubies set in her teeth. She suffered her vivid gaze to fall on
Sumar, who yet remained, and who, frightened at their strange
beauty, stared with a terrified fascination, as a bird might stare
on a serpent; while Azta, enjoying her power, let the long
lashes fall softly over them and then averted her head.

I believed her about to kill this one by her glance, for she
could never bear that another should stand above herself; and,
after, I found that even towards Tekthah, her lord, she nourished
an impatient hauteur that the Tzan condescendingly humoured ;
yet notwithstanding he was her lord such feeling would have
been of terrible danger to him if circumstances had favoured the

3«

THE PALACE.

passion for supremacy that caused it. But as concerned Sumar
I found there was another motive for her feehng.

She passed out into her garden, attended by the slaves who
served her at meals. These, as most of the serfs of the city,
were from the dark peoples of the south-east, having black eyes
like antelopes and curly hair and great lips. Through the
cartilage of the nostrils of each one was thrust a golden skewer,
by which they were secured when they were punished for any
offence, which many frequently were, being whipped with thongs ;
and each had, cut on the breast and dyed, the emblem of the
particular thing worshipped by his or her owner. Azta's divinity
was a butterfly, and the golden emblem overshadowed her proud
head, rivers of gold appearing to flow from it as the light moved
over the thick silky coils of her hair, that was looped up on
either side of her face and confined at the temples by a jewelled
strap from which dangled golden plaques, each stamped with
the emblem, and representing, I learned, the stars ; for Azta's
head-dress of state supported the emblem of the moon. A
second's hesitation, one swift desperate struggle with my con-
science, and I had cast duty aside, preferring to follow this
wondrous beauty and feast my eyes upon her lovliness to
staying where intuition bade.

Down by the fountains, whose fern-shaded lakes were alive
with jewelled fish, was a swinging couch, and to this the Tizin
went, and suffered herself to fall upon the soft cushions. She
dismissed her retinue, keeping only old Na, a serving-woman,
versed in simples and the making of most subtle perfumes — the
envy of all the queens of Tekthah's court and an endless theme
for aspiring gallants.

Of a truth the more I watched this being the more did I love,
and half methought to appear suddenly before her in a blaze
of glory, being scarce able indeed to resist my love. And
surely here was the scene for promoting such a passion; the
blue depths above, the flecked shadows from the ferns and
magnolias, the tinkle of the waterfall and the sonus of birds
among the sartreel bushes; while afar lay entrancing vistas of
dazzling surf-lined beaches with their woods and villages, and
inland the white towns of Bab-Ala, Lasan, Dar, Bari and Ko.

ATLANTIS.

The Tacoatlanta was moving from the harbour, visible through
the trees, and suddenly Azta perceived the black bulk, that
looked, with its human head, to be like a great swimming man
progressing with a wash of foam at either side, that rolled astern
and seethed in a long wake of white, and gazed curiously on it.

Not long she looked, but turned her face to where rose the
pylons and battlements of the palace, seen at intervals, about
which flashed the armour of sentinels guarding the monarch who
lay within.

"See!" she cried to the old nurse — "This day have I lost
one of the plates from off my forehead-strap." Yet I knew she
only took this as an excuse to vent her temper, and not for
sorrow at the loss, which was to be for a great token in after
days. "Didst mark the Lady Sumar?" she continued, looking
curiously under her lashes at the woman.

"Yea," answered Na; "yet it would ill-become me to speak
aught of so exalted an one ; but methought she did favour the
Lord Mehir overmuch." This she said to soothe Azta, for she
knew her regard for Huitza, and feared the wiles of Sumar.

Then, with one of those impetuous motions I learned to love
so passionately, Azta turned her lithe body over on the couch^
addressing old Na more than any other object in the landscape
but because she could speak. Her countenance unrelieved by
aught of colour save on the full lips, framed by waves and
masses of living gold, took on, apart from its usual serene calm,
a glowing vivacity, and her great eyes, yellow as the liquid
amber and lurid as fire, flashed in their vivid beauty, her
features expressing joyousness, contempt, savagery, hauteur,
and a wild reckless menace.

"Behold me!" she said; "am I not beautiful? who can
equal me in all Atlantis ? At my feet are all the princes, whom
I scorn, even Rhadaman the Superb — ha! //>, forsooth! There
is but one other who is equal to me; who is it, thou old one?"

" There is none. The only one who approaches thee is the
Lord Huitza."

Azta's eyes flashed at the name, and to me came an un-
comfortable idea.

"It is he, the Lord Huitza! Ay, equal to me, and excelling.

THE PALACE.

He is a god and all men tremble before him. His face is as
the Sun and — hast marked his hair, woman? But I have hid
from him the love I bear him, preferring to wait until such
time when I can make him to rise yet greater in power. Dost
hear, old fool ? ' '

" Yea, mistress," answered Na meekly, for Azta's mien was

haughty and dangerous as she uttered the words, that were untrue.

Then her manner changed and she spoke almost in suppliance :

"Thinkest thou he is a god to despise all of Earth?"

" Belike he is, Lady ; who but thyself has so divine a presence? "

The Empress passed her hand across her eyes as if she would

awake from a vision. "It is enough," she said; "fan me, for

I would sleep."

CAP. V.

THE HALL OF FEASTING.

So great became my love for Azta that I yearned mightily
to embrace her, and did but await an opportunity to reveal
myself. Forgot I for what I was here, or to study after what
fashion I was to act in reforming the sons of Adam; all my
thoughts went out to this daughter of Earth and her exceeding
lovliness.

Now Mah was the priest of the temple of the Moon, whom
1 perceived to be of celestial mould, knowing all the astro-
momers, astrologers and soothsayers, all such as reckoned ana-
logously concerning man and practised sorcery. Over certain
he had a great power, and Azta oft went thither to consult
with him, pretending to worship the moon; but I perceived in"
what manner she worshipped, and how she trusted to his
knowledge concerning the means by which she might obtain
the sovereign power. Also, as being the Tizin, she had power
to enter any temple which she chose, being the High Priestess
of the land, and I marvelled that she conferred not with Acoa :
but Mah was more of the PLarth — and practical in its affairs.

Alone with the priest, Azta spoke to him on matters other
than of worship, calling him her old counsellor and bidding him
speak if he had aught to say. "Zul awaits thee," she said, with
a swift glance at him. He smiled, and I knew that evil reigned
in his heart, yet of what fashion I knew not, but it was an unplea-
sant look that he wore, and methought Azta seemed displeased as
she gazed haughtily at the mystic insignia and the dark corridors.

•'My daughter," he said, "haste will ruin all, and care must
be taken in selecting our tools, or they will wound the hand
that guides them. The Lord Shar-Jatal, whom Tekthah favours,
is in the toils of the Lady Pocatepa, who will bid him administer

THE HAI.L OF FEASTING.

a potion prepared by me to Tekthah. But thou must first take
Rhadaman to be thy right hand wherewith to gain the throne;
with him thou canst make terms, he being thy suppHant slave;
and thou, being more powerful than he, canst so secure thyself
that thou wilt reign alone and supreme. Thou understandest ? "

"But of Huitza?"

"Hal Ever Huitza ! I will charge myself also with him, or
the Lord Rhadaman can plant his foot on him."

"Peace, thou old slave!" cried Azta, furiously, her tall figure
quivering with rage ; " Rhadaman shall never trample such as
Huitza beneath his foot. Against such infamy is his own
godlike person, all the peoples of Atlantis, and mc, my old
father, me I Huitza must be absent from Zul when this comes
about, that he may be shut out and we may come to terms
with him. He and I are born of the Sun and I love him — as
a brother,"

The old man's eyes flashed at the insult, but when Azta had
ceased he was calm again.

"The words of the Tizin are full of wisdom," he said coldly.

Azta's manner changed. " Forgive my hastiness, my old
one," she said in a sweet, gracious tone: "Ever was I impe-
tuous, father, and my regard for this man is great, I am not
as the gay wantons around me, who love all and none, and
surely I may like one born as I was born."

" 'Tis nought, daughter ; the young are ever impetuous. But
I tell thee, it is for thyself to get Rhadaman into thy power.
Remember 1"

Azta bowed, somewhat icily, for she could scarce brook this
manner of speech, and retired, going out to her slaves. I,
who perceived many things, heard Mah whisper in his beard,
"Thou fool! The Priests shall rule in Zul": and in like man-
ner Azta murmured, " When the sword has struck, it shall be
broken." Whereat I wondered. And in after days I forgot
those words, for what reason I cannot tell.

There was the evening meal in the palace, when the hunters
returned with bear, ox, goat and venison, and at times brought
in one of the small horses that were so difificult to catch, with
short necks, and manes and tails like mats of vegetation : fierce

ATLANTIS.

little brutes that bit with their big yellow teeth and flung
themselves madly about, but whose flesh was very good to eat.

A clear and musical trumpet-call summoned all to the
banquet, lighted by torches after the sun had set, in order that
its pleasures might be kept up far into the night, for these
beings were unsubdued by the mystery of the darkness. Then
the flaring lights cast lurid, waving shadows over the noisy
throng, and consumed the winged moths with a horrid sound,
causing Azta and her attendants to cry out with terror. They
would catch up the tortured creatures, and, immersing them in
wine, endeavour to ease their sufferings and keep them alive;
but, although perhaps they succeeded in the former effort, they
never did in the latter, which I perceived they took for an
omen of something.

And — O human nature, how vile thou art! and how canst
thou be excused — yet who am I to say this? — On great occa-
sions, slaves, secured to crosses, were set up in the open court-
yard beyond, x and, being fed on fat for some previous time
and smeared with grease for the occasion, were set on fire,
the streaming lights doubly illuminating the feasting debauchees
within, who roared with evil laughter at the shrieking, writhing,-
living torches flinging the fire from their anguished bodies.
Others again were set upon stakes which pierced their bowels,
so that they wriggled in most fearful agony, yet their fellow-
men did but smile at their pain, and instead of being distressed
were very greatly amused thereby.

The scene in the hall was wondrous of an evening, for the
great frescoes took all manner of imaginings under the swaying
lights, the gaudy colours rushing together in masses of tone;
and, with the glitter of armour and the blending of dresses and
mantles of white, yellow, imperial purple and red, forming an
effect rivalling the kaleidoscope in colour, reflected and flashed

« This punishment of crucifixion appears to be one of the earliest. In historical
times it was, however, unknown to the Jews until introduced by the Romans, who
themselves only inflicted its degradation upon slaves and the lowest malefactors.
Hut persons were hanged on a tree as far back as the days of Joshua (VTII. 29),
and I understand that hanging was a very early Egyptian penalty.

Tlie jiunishment of liurning alive and the presence of women at feasts were
essentially Babylonian customs.

THE HALL OF FEASTING.

back dazzlingly by the long golden mirrors. Most of the ladies
wore their hair looped up like Azta's, and thickly powdered
with gold-dust and tiny gems, and wreathed with gay flowers,
so that the effect was surpassing beautiful and gave added
radiancy to the coloured scene, which was continued among the
viands by rich fruits, flowers and leaves, and gold and silver
vessels.

And what a company was there ! Warriors and princes,
gray-haired patriarchs and glittering chiefs in the various dresses
of border tribes. Tzantans of Talascan with their profusion of
heavy gold ornaments, and mighty warriors of Trocoatla in
their great silver breastplates ; tall mystics who gazed with
their dreadful eyes upon the throngs, full of dire knowledge
of hidden things and covered with symbols, and many whose
strange beauty bespoke a superhuman descent. Imposing head-
dresses of metal, horn and feathers mingled in a splendour of
warlike confusion among the gemmed tiaras of the ladies; and
the roar of voices arose, loud and confident.

There reclined the splendid Mehir, an uncle of the Tzan,
next to Huitza ; Shar-Jatal with his sinister smile showing his
teeth gemmed like a woman's; Zebra, Tzantan of the sea; Ju,
and Eto-Masse his friend; Izta, Lord of Astra, the bosom
friend of Shar-Jatal; the majestic Nezca, Lord of Axatlan, who
was one of the best-favoured figures of the court, old Nahuasco,
Adar, and the giant Amal, which last was so huge that in
after-days his bracelet of bronze served as an Amazon's co-
ronet, that would have caused him much shame. There was
also Ham, the tall son of Noah, governor of the province of
Tek-Ra, which former was kept by Tekthah secretly as an hos-
tage, and because he feared his father, being under Huitza,
Lord of Tek-Ra. Also was Ham excellent in architectural
design, and had raised some of their grandest buildings.

And among these the ladies shone fairest, — thou, my Azta, far
more than all; and next Sada and the Lady Pocatepa, who
was a priestess of Neptsis and knew much magic, wearing the
insignia of the goddess to whom she administered in daring
blasphemy, as not being a virgin she should not have ministered.

Large circular bowls held wine, distributed among the revel-

THE HALL OF FEASTING.

lers in huge horns, although some of the more intemperate
among the feasters plunged their heads into the large vessels
and swilled like the beasts, pledging their mistresses in shameful
phrases. Among whole joints of meat and masses of cakes,
fruits and vegetables, spices and strong scents made the air reek
with their heavy perfumes. Slaves walked freely among the
viands to pass them to their masters, who used knife and sword to
hew the smoking joints, or with their spears lifted out this or
that for themselves or their women, occasionally hurling a bone
at some slinking shadow passing the entrances. Here 1 per-
ceived the transient joys of Earth, the Individual feeling that
excludes all else and can think of nought but its own present
joy, heedless of the future and only regardful as to how to be
the hero of the moment.

To-night they seemed less noisy than usual. Tekthah, looking
down like a white-maned lion on his harem and household,
seemed to seek for a friendly face; Azta's thoughts were busy,
and Rhadaman's and Huitza's brows were both bent with the
same schemings. None had attended the evening ceremony at
Zul — save of the greater citizens. Which, one of the nobles,
a guest and boon companion of Rhadaman, said, was suflficient
to express the sentiment of the whole of the sacred city, and
they had the Spirits beaming on them from the torches.
Nevertheless there were a few qualms regarding it.

The feasting and heaviness pressed on the gay crowd ; they
abandoned themselves to the voluptuousness of all around, and
much foolishness and wantonness was wrought The musicians
increased the uproar, and after the feasters had eaten and drunk
their fill, which was a goodly amount, girls came in who danced
and sang, jugglers displayed many wondrous feats, and the chief
of the musicians told tales of strange mystery. This one was
named Tairu, who related weird things of monstrous creations ; of
a nation, living among the beasts, who had teeth like the great
apes and ate their own offspring; long histories that caused
Azta's eyes to glisten, of warUke women of the North and West,
who fought in battle like men and killed all their male children,
and whose husbands were captured in raids and afterwards
killed also. Whereat were many sayings, silenced sneeringly by

ATLANTIS.

Azta; and Tairu, continuing, rehearsed the amours of Neptsis,^
the female principle; of how, pregnant by Night, she brought
forth the Earth and the hermaphrodite Zul and much evil.

The land was full of these legends, and many others ; indeed,
there was no end of them; and their hunters spoke of peoples
spotted and striped, some having horns and tails, and some
species living apart and driving away the others. Abnormal
creations were the topic of every feast, and some even openly
boasted misconduct that all indulged in.

To Azta these weird tales had a great interest, and she
often questioned old Na and, later, myself concerning them, her
yellow eyes dilating with awe of the marvellous and half-
doubtful of the truth of it all ; and to-night as she watched
Tairu she bade him speak of the Amazon warriors, and listened
attentively while drunken lords snored on their couches, and
wanton women twined garlands in their hair and decorated them
with flowers and feathers.

In view of the drowsy state of the warriors, Gadema, Tek-
thah's cupbearer, a youth whose white skin and fair proportions
had raised him to the rank of favourite, murmured a compliment
to Azta as he passed her intentionally, but she impatiently
repulsed him, not wishing for conversation with any, but sitting
silent until the feast ended, and such as cared, or were able,
retired to their apartments. The moon arose and her pale light
shone down on the city, where behind coloured walls and
columns the citizens lay in wantonness and disorder working
their damnation. Shone on those mighty masses of man's
creation, silvering temple and palace and monument, lighting
up the gardens and scintillating in showers of prinkling points
on the waters that ever heaved so restlessly, and made the
forests stand out like gray masses of lava. Lighted a tall dark
figure that glided from the pylons and columns of the palace
like a shadow, and lost itself among the trees with the silence
and mystery of one.

CAP. VL

THE GARDEN.

I SHALL never forget thee, my Love, vanquisher of all those
early scruples by thy might of beauty, yet how oft have I
wished I had never beheld thee I And how often have I looked
sadly back to the days before ever this passion had possessed
me and I loved but Jehovah, loving Him with an enthusiastic
fervour of adoration for the wonder and the beauty of life
and health around. And full of my holiness and purity I yet
strayed to love one of Earth, and my love was as the breath
of a furnace that consumed me and would not let me go.
Would I had been warned by suspicions, but I would admit
none of them, pretending to believe that by indulging my pas-
sion for this fair woman I should be possessed of that know-
ledge of earth useful to the end of my mission. Judge me,
merciful Creator, that I sinned but by inviting a power too
strong to be overcome, and not for the lust of sin; nor judge
me harshly, O Thou who sinnest not, that the spirit of Heaven
in so fair a guise of Earth could cause me to embrace it.

It was Azta who stole out from the palace in the moonlight,
for I had cast my spirit over her that she should do this, and
she had wrapped about her a fine purple robe. To her couch
within the great arbour-forming vine by the fountains I drew her,
and thither she went, casting herself upon the cushions, her
full white bosom heaving under the sway of suppressed passions
and bitter thoughts heightened by wine.

O evening of my happiness 1 O night of bliss 1 Ever in my
ears shall sound the far-away thunder of the surf borne upon
the scented breeze, that ravished the soul with music, a
slumbrous background to the ripple of the fountains among
the water-lilies. And thou wert like the Queen of the night,

49 4

ATLANTIS.

my fair Love, yet woe is me I stayed after thou hadst spoken
those words.

For she cried in a low, passionate voice : " O Huitza, where
art thou now? why hast thou taken thy love from me, whom
I deemed loved me well? What is this pale girl Sumar to me?
Would now that I were a man and a warrior to fight by thy
side! But who would be master, my Lord Huitza — ha! who
would be master, thou haughty prince? Thou shalt bow to
me, I swear it ! By Zul and the Holy Mother Neptsis, by all
the fires of Heaven and the dark Hereafter I swear it! Why,

0 why," she cried, shaking her hands and throwing herself
back on the cushions, "are women as nought but playthings
for the warriors? We, who solace their restless hours, who
nurse them in sickness and bear sons and daughters to them?
Why may we not be warriors too, companions in the field as
well as in the home ? Yet will I rule supreme in Atlantis ! "
she cried, leaping up^ — "but how — how? Were I thyself, proud
chief, 'twould scarce be easy. O dreams, dreams of nigh im-
possible glory 1 If thou should'st see me great, powerful and
uncaring of thy love, then— ah Zul!"

Now I, being full of desire of her, could scarce restrain myselC
so entrancing was her glorious beauty and so subtle the curves
of her body The fine spirit showed in every gesture she made,
and stood revealed in her eyes, that were luminous in the moon-
light. As a great moth I appeared before her and chained her
attention with a flurry of wings, gazing with my eyes in hers
and holding her by my power.

With a little cry of fear she sank upon her couch, yet gazed

1 continuously, with a new passionate desire in me to be wholly
absorbed in this being. And thus I wooed her, until I stood
forth in proper shape, being of stature superior to all she had
seen and radiant with the love of God, as yet scarce
misdirected.

" Azta," I said, and then — alas, that aught but truth should have
come from such lips — " I have come from afar to thee. As
thou art the most mighty of the daughters of Man, so also
am I of the sons of Heaven,"

How did thy large eyes look on me, most beautiful ! Vet

THE GARDEN.

exclaiming, " Sir, how knowest thou aught of me if thou art
not of our race?"

" Nevertheless, I know thee and concerning thee," I answered,
loving her yet the more, " and of how Tekthah took thee as
Empress after that Atlace died, who lies in the pyramid near
to the temple of Neptsis. It is known to Us that thou bearest
no regard to him, and there are among Us those who look
lovingly on thee and marvel at a beauty more like to Heaven
than Earth. And I have come to speak with thee, Azta; is
not thy lord now too old for such as thou art, who excellest
in beauty?"

"Thy speech is fair, courteous stranger," she said; "yet
would I fain know whom thou art and whence thou comest."

My eyes never wavered from hers ; a rosy flush suffused her
features as she gazed, and I forgot all but herself and her beauty.

" My name is Asia," I said, enraptured with her exceeding
lovliness: "I am not of this Earth, being of the breath of
Heaven. Yet, Azta, I love thee as never yet a mortal man
could love." And, being full of passion towards her, bent my
head, thinking to salute her with a kiss, but she repulsed me.
At that I wondered, knowing nought of women nor of the
strong passions that drive them hither and thither, nor of the
pretended actions of them.

"Salute me not," she said, yet scarce displeased; •*! love
one with a true love; I am not as other women."

Methought she was subdued by the mystery of the night
and of such a visitation, being more fearful than pleased.

"Thou fearest me," I said, very gently, seeking to soothe
her mind and allay her uneasiness, yet not understanding her
haughty spirit and high courage.

"Forsooth, great sir," she cried, laughing, "I fear no man!"

"Thy voice trembles, fair one," I said; "it is thy bold spirit
that speaks, the heart is silent. See, my Azta, I kneel to thee,
even as in days past the winged hosts knelt to thy fair mother
Eve." And overcome by what madness I know not, I bent
the knee to her, (that should never have been bowed but
before the Throne of God,) and raising her hand to my lips,
pressed it with them.

ATLANTIS.

A certain light was around me, and I perceived how its
beauty dazzled the fair woman, and how she regarded me as
one of her divinities. She suffered the salute wonderingly,
and the mystery of it all was beginning to cast a spell
over her.

"And is this the manner of such visitations?" she murmured,
as though she thought she dreamed; for Huitza and Mehir,
two of the most powerful of the princes, boasted celestial
descent, which their splendid prowess and towering presence
gave colour to; although the latter had a worldly appearance,
having heavily black hair and a swarthy complexion. Fae, a
mistress of Huitza, and Sada boasted such a visitation, and
many others also.

How fair was this woman on that night — the night of the
beginning of my sorrow; for after then I can never forget her.
Restfully she lay back on the cushions and watched me, smiling
happily with half-opened lips that were so soft and full; and
my whole soul was lost in contemplation of her utter lovliness
as I held her hand and noted the perfect outHne of her face
and the manner of how the ruby-studded teeth shone, and how
the lashes drooped over her eyes, luminous with the light of
deep fires in a crater; and I thought of the last chamber of
the temple of Zul and the idols that were set round the lurid
pit to withdraw worship from God. Yet but for an instant, and
I dismissed the thought, and watched how those long lashes
quivered and how quickly her bosom rose and fell where the
drapery fell from it, exposing its creamy whiteness, the whiter
for the powder of pearls and the chaplets of pink roses that
were fastened in voluptuous masses beneath her breasts, rising
from their scented, crumpled fretwork like ivory domes from
seas of sunset-lighted clouds. Over her shoulders the billowy
waves of hair fell, scented and wondrous, with their curious
streams of gold that seemed to run like molten metal whenever
she moved, freed from the broad forehead-strap with its pendant
circular plates and the shadowing golden pin, and intertwined
with yellow sartreel flowers. How perfect she was, and how
tangible — O wondrous Creation !

Again and again I kissed her hand, she was so wonderful

THE GARDEN.

in that moonlit night, and around her was a sublety that was
not of Earth.

"Thou art very beautiful! " I cried in rapture, — "too beautiful
for Earth 1" and I gazed on her with a passion of love, such
a warm feeling as I had never known before. It was enough
to but look on such and drink deep draughts of the joy of
beholding perfect beauty; and, O Father of Heaven and
Keeper of the Souls, what is love created for but to revel in
reciprocal bliss?

"Azta," I said, "long have I watched thee from afar and
longed for thee. Dost thou know what it is to love truly,
sweetest one.''"

"Perhaps," she said, softly, gazing into my eyes with a
strange fixedness.

I know now that because I did not use my comprehension
for the end of my mission it was denied to me to understand
certain things, and thus I ever tried to unite my soul with Azta's
against all reason or possibility. Yet so it was, and thus I
continued to woo her.

"Thou art very young and beautiful," I said, "fairer, methinks
than Eve. Woman was made for love, and thou — surely thou
art the very lovliest of all."

She watched me dreamily, as though she would consider
after what manner I was, and as to my power, perchance.
For there were many tales of evil Spirits which had carried
away their mistresses, and others who had destroyed them
while bearing them in mid-air, or had blasted them by too
great power or in anger. And there were others which dwelt
among them and wrought great works and not a little confusion,
taking the fairest among the women to wife; which same were
much considered of.

" Ah, would that this would last," she said, " for we of
Earth know but little peace, and woe to that one who falls in
the struggle for power! For such an one has enemies, and
friends who follow close do not disdain to leave the falling
banner, and being unfatigued, fight onward thence and use
their leader as a stepping-stone to their end."

She spoke bitterly, rising up and gazing hard upon me.

ATLANTIS. #

Perchance she saw the sorrow in my eyes, for she smiled a
Httle and waved with her hand as though to put it from her.

"Fear not," I said, "thou shalt not fall an thou wiliest, if I
am with thee." Yet I said no more, wishing her to love me
not only for an award so low.

"And thou lovest me?" she said, musingly; "whilst others
scorn; and I, Tizin of Atlantis!"

She laughed a rippling, scornful laugh. "To look on thee
is to forget," she said, more to herself than to me; and throwing
herself back, gazed with halfclosed eyes and a certain smile,
as she tried to read in my face the passion she could not
wholly understand.

"Fairest, the day will soon be here," I said, "and the night
passes."

"The night passes," she repeated slowly with deep emphasis.

"Wilt thou come here again to-morrow night?" I asked,
longingly.

She nodded abstractedly. With a tumult of joy I kissed
her hand again and again and she smiled Hke the Sphinxes
on the steps — serene, inscrutable.

" How I love thee ! " I cried — " never have I loved so before ! "

" Never before? Hast never felt the power of love and sought
for that of another?" she asked softly.

" There speaks thy beauteous sex, fair Azta," I answered ;
" ask thine heart the question."

"Nay, Sir," she said, haughtily, "I came not to thee:" and
with one finger on her lips she drew back, taking her hand
from mine.

I caught it again hastily, crying, "Sweetest, be not angry I
Never have I loved before."

A black cloud passed across the moon and hid it, so that
all was dark. And in the night I heard the rush of a Seraph's
wings as the sound of a tempest, and a great fear possessed me.

My Love cried out, because of the light that encompassed
me, and my shining front. "Art thou the Archangel Satan?"
She asked in an awed voice.

"Nay, nay! Oh name me not thus!" I implored her, bowing
my head; yet recovering my madness as I felt her hand seek

0 HALLOWED MOMENTS THAT SO SWIFT SPEED TO THE GATES OF DOOM !

THE GARDEN.

mine and marked her trembling. " Nay ; I am an Archangel,
but of the hosts of Heaven, and my name I have revealed."
And moving closely to her I took her in my arms.

It became light again, although we perceived not its coming,
for we did nought but gaze into the other's eyes. She sighed
very softly, and still gazing upon me with that fixedness as
though she sought for something, said as speaking to herself,
"Methinks thou art my Ideal." I felt the warmth of her body
and cried in ecstacy, "How beautiful thou art!"

She lay still and offered no resistance to my embrace,
and emboldened by her sweet acquiescence I drew her
closer to me and pressed her to my bosom, feeling her
heart beat faster and faster with a wild joy as she yielded
to my love and lay peacefully in my arms with a happy
smile on her lips.

I looked straight into her eyes, and she returned the look.
Ah, the electricity of souls I The leaping fire that springs from
one to the other and wraps both in a mad whirl, melting two
into one with its hot embrace and ever burning more furious
with its own increasing passion. Brighter and brighter it grows,
and faster and more fast rush the streams of frenzy, mingling
and whirling and uniting in one great irresistible torrent of
ecstatic Life that leaves the body and soars to the skies. Our
lips met, and with the hot contact and with her arms about
me she closed her eyes.

O hallowed moments that so swift speed to the gates of
Doom ! O wondrous fire of Paradise that lights the Earthly
gloom! O Life that blasts the soul it leaves to dream upon
its bliss — the soul that gives up everything for one sweet
woman's kiss! O God, if all our Heaven's life might be that
holy joy when souls in purest unity are free from Earth's alloy,
give us that moment of delight and then let all things cease —
one moment in the living Fire, and then eternal peace.

Small wonder that the Angels need Eternity from which to
make a day, yet — ah, this was sweeter than all the days of
Eternity !

ATI.ANTIS.

A distant rolHnij^ uproar, swelling and increasing — the crashing,
roaring echoes of a huge drum, shattering and reverberating
and thundering, dispelled the Dream.

Azta's face was ghastly white, but the smile on her lips was
divine. She opened her eyes and laughed very softly, and I
gazed into her glorious eyes with a depth of ineffable love, and
smoothed her hair. Ah, those moments of damnable delight 1

CAP. VI I.

THE MARKET-PLACE.

Arriving with that first taste of the joy of Earthly love
came the longing for more, and in the guise of a Magician I
claimed admittance to the palace, nor dared one refused me.
And mingling with the crowd I entered and seated myself, yet
away from the dais, for I wished to observe as yet the full
manners of man, and there were ever vacant couches there
on account of absentees.

Azta's late appearance was not noticed. It was usual, though
not with her, truly, and there were many there who gazed
curiously upon myself. I felt a new joy leap within me, yet
terribly tainted with misgivings which caused me to ignore the
feeling that certain power had been removed from me, where-
by clearness of intellect was obscured and unreasoning rebellion
felt. The knowledge that should have grasped in an open
understanding all the economy of Earth was obscured, and I
found myself thinking painfully of how to compass my desires,
yet not finding any solution or perceiving certain results.

The worshippers had returned from Zul, edified by the sacrifice
of a savage chief recently captured on the frontier, whose death
was presumed to be very acceptable to the devastating spirits
that dwelt in the mountain ranges, as I learned.

At times I caught a glimpse of the glory of Azta, and saw
my Love as she reclined at the meal, with averted eyes and
a happy smile on her face, attended by old Na and many more.

Rhadaman, who reclined next below her, by reason, not of
birth, but of favouritism and older standing of rank to Huitza,
complained aloud to the Tzan of the aggressive prowess of the
savage tribes, who from the south and west began to encroach
back, destroying the crops and spoiling the farther hunting

ATLANTIS.

grounds. And afterwards I knew he was prompted by the
power of the Priest Mah to speak.

I, intent upon his utterances, heard that which the roar of
conversation denied to the others, and did mark how Azta
gazed upon the prince and anon averted her eyes, hke a captain
that steers the course of a ship ; he also covertly watching her,
as he made damaging insinuations regarding Huitza, playing a
deep game to obtain both herself and the throne and endeavouring
to supplant his brother. Which one sat with Fae, his mistress,
by whom also w^as Mehir.

Azta looked furious, yet she cared not to show it; and I
pondered deeply as to what was transpiring, as the prince
declared that it was Fae who kept the Lord Huitza supplied
with secret information for wrongful purposes, and held seditious
meetings with others. Whereat I perceived Azta to bite
her lip.

A look of alarm passed across Tekthah's face. He shook
his head furiously, like an enraged lion, and growled deeply
in his beard.

Rhadaman smiled diabolically and turned his large, full eyes
down the hall. Like thunder the voice of the sire rang above
the wanton laughter and lewd conversation, commanding the
woman Fae to appear before him.

Mehir, the Lord of Chalac, who was dallying with her and
playfully seeking to make an appointment, looked up as the
roaring tones fell on his ear, and then glanced hastily at Huitza.
A flush spread over that prince's face and his dark eyes rolled
round on his sire, while his mighty arm was outstretched towards
the spear that lay behind him.

The girl, startled, looked up like a frightened deer, wondering
what had caused the summons and guiltily conscious of numberless
wrong-doings. She arose and went tremblingly up to the
dread monarch, making a deep obeisance to Azta and before
him, her face ashen with terror.

A tiny gleam of triumph showed on Azta's face, and her
eyes flared with a yellow fire as she watched, like a lioness
watching the quarry she is driving to her lord.

1 wondered at her savage nature and at the deep play that

THE MARKET-PLACE.

was being acted before my eyes, which disturbed my mind by
its incomprehensibility, but that was unmistakable.

A gradual hush fell over the riotous assembly, until there
was a stillness of death. The women, observant of what was
transpiring, and trembling for themselves, caught their breath
and paled; the warriors gazed curiously, some with hands
clutching a joint that they abstained from gnawing, some with
poised wine-bowls and horns; the slaves trembled, even the
favourites. All watched with flung-back hair to see what
would come.

This was a mistress of their favourite warrior ; and all knew
his furious and impetuous nature ; that morning he had killed two
slaves for quarrelling in his presence, hewing them in sunder
from the crown down with his sword. I, too, wondered what
would come of it, perceiving that as yet the prince made no
demonstration, not understanding what was to come, and not
wishing to cause open enmity between himself and the sire.

The woman ascended to the dais and made another deep
obeisance before it. Sumar trembled with white lips, noting
every movement of the unfortunate one; the queen Axazaya
buried her face in her robe and gave a shuddering cry of
terror, and all the women paled.

"And who art thou?" cried Tekthah to the guilty woman,
in a thundrous voice, half rising and bending his ferocious eyes
on her ; thus exerting himself more for the purpose of impressing
the lesson he intended to teach on the assembly than for
aweing this frail being; "who art thou to dare our wrath? To
bestow thine harlot favours on our subjects? Is not thine own
lord good enough for thee ? "

A startled glance crossed Huitza's countenance, as, clutching
his spear, he leaned forward on his elbow. The woman, in
guilty terror, averted her eyes, and implored him with her gaze.

Tekthah's countenance grew livid with rage as he perceived
the rebellion in Huitza's heart, and the mute appeal of Fae
to him.

" A report has reached us that our secrets are betrayed," he
hotly said; "that thou hast deserted thy chief lord the Tzan to
favour a subject, and may lead him to act to his detriment.

ATLANTIS.

Before our son shall do this accursed thing to his gods and
his sire we will remove all temptations from his path."

A stifled cry burst from the woman's lips as she glared
wildly at Tekthah and strove to articu'ate ; yet could I perceive
nought of pity in that stern heart. Before him he saw, not a
frail woman, but rebellious warriors and a son whom he feared
and envied. A long, bright shaft flashed in his hand as he
threw his arm up and backwards and then cast it forward, and
next instant the luckless woman, pierced through by the great
spear, fell with a gasping shriek and lay pinned to the steps
of the dais, the shaft quivering upright above her blood-
sprinkled bosom.

Her poor hands convulsively beat the air ; a low muttering
sound arose, and faint shrieks. Huitza leaped to his feet with
a shout of rage, and his spear was poised threateningly towards
the Tzan. There was a moment of thriUing stillness. A slave
clutched his arm : the chief felled him to the earth, and then,
swinging him up, dashed him down among the viands, glaring
defiantly towards the dais.

A low murmur followed the act, a challenge to the sire's
wrath. Rhadaman uttered a surprised ejaculation intended to
encourage the monarch to protest.

The incensed chief turned on him furiously, correctly believing
him to be the instigator of it all.

" Thou spawn of a foreigner I " he roared ; for Rhadaman's
mother, Maroa, was from among the slave peoples of the west :
" There is thine enemy, Tekthah; there is the traitor!"

" How ! " shouted the attacked warrior, grasping his spear and
rising in wrath : " dost thou, rebellious one, dare to taunt me
who led the armies of warriors before thy whipling arm could
twirl a sling! By Zul, thou shalt not so dare again!"

Tekthah made a sign to the Guards, and the ominous clang of
arms sounded fearfully above the angry voice. Yet he Hked not to
deal too severely with the princes, preferring to calm them himself.

"Silence!" he commanded in a great shout, as the more
timid began to seek the exits ; " may we not administer justice
in our own palace? A pretty pass, by the gods, such rude
brawling in our very presence!"

THE MARKET-PLACE.

Huitza, with a deep and dreadful oath, seated himself, and
Rhadaman, glaring round and encountering Azta's fiery glance,
did likewise. Both remembered the fate of the last brace of
quarrellers in the Imperial presence ; both marked the preparations
for the onrush of the Guards, the seizure, the death of the
reckless ones. Tekthah never permitted his supremacy to be
questioned ; but, as becomes the wisdom of one who would
rule, never set his power against anything that could have a
chance of being successfully opposed, keeping down such as only
a display of exhausting power could combat by hints that such
was objected to, so that his authority was never obtrusively
displayed for mere effect.

All this withdrew attention from me, for each one was too
engrossed to notice a stranger, and I had time to consider how
to remain unobserved.

Slaves carried out the dead woman, whose pouring blood,
running from the spear-point that came through her back, made
a long, horrid track. Mostly such of the Imperial household,
dead, were lowered into the arms of one of those awful idols
that ever looked upon the majesty of the crater of Zul, and
were consumed so by the fires; the ashes being placed in the
temple whose Divinity they worshipped ; all but the heart,
which, before cremation, was thrown to the vultures.

But the slave that Huitza had cast amid the viands, lay there
with his back broken on a great wine-bowl that was smashed
beneath him, from which the red flood ran in rivers in all
directions.

I watched the chief and saw that his fierce eyes were blazing
with wrath, and he moved his fingers as one who thinks deeply.
All feared a momentary outburst, as the broken slave, who yet
lived, moaned shudderingly and writhed occasionally. I mar-
velled that man might so shed man's blood, and wondered at
the long whiles that must ensue before any order could be
brought to man and his violence, in the ordering of Earthly
affairs. There was that just man, Noah, governor of Tek-Ra,
whom I knew beforetimes was beloved of God and of Us;
but what was one among so many? and what use therefore to
aid his power?

ATLANTIS.

I could perceive the electricity of defiance and aroused devilry
in the air. Every man's weapon lay ready to his hand, and
none might know what would happen next. The giant Mehir
wore a truculent air, and even ventured to stare defiantly at
Rhadaman ; but the meal passed with no further interruption,
and sullenly the throng passed forth, steeped in reverie, and
moving with steady, defiant steps.

The Tizin looked at Huitza as though she longed to speak
to him, yet the desire manifested itself no farther than the eager
forward leaning of her gracious body.

Rhadaman remained behind, and a message bade the warrior
Shar-Jatal remain also. Which last was, I have said, the Repre-
sentative of the People at the Court, a post held for seven
years, and now with this one being perpetual by reason of
exceeding popularity. For, being also beloved of Tekthah, who
wished for no irksome person to dispute aught, he advised such
things for the people as satisfied them and pleased the Emperor,
and also himself, for he loved to be at Court.

Tekthah waved his hand against the Tizin, who questioned
him with her eyes as to whether she also might remain, and.
retired with the Tzantans to the Council-Chamber. I debated
yet again in my mind as to whether I would present myself
thither, yet would I not leave my Love, so mad was I, For,
superb in my powers, I deemed that I could easily combat
aught of hearth, and forgot that my mission was diplomatic and
that my Creator Himself could not force the ways of Man.

Thus I followed in the train of Azta, as she went in her
coach, carried by slaves, to the temple of the Moon.

Eight tall slaves bore the golden carriage, and her body-guard
of twenty warriors surrounded it, whose captain was Nahuasco.
These men wore for head-dress the skin-covered skulls of bison,
whose great horns gave them an imposing appearance, breast-
plates of orichalcum, heavy shields and cothurns of leather
with metal ornaments; and were armed with spears and swords
of obsidian.

h>om the hill of Zul the city lay on a downward slope in
all its mighty grandeur, the tree-shaded streets running in all
directions among the clustering houses. Without the walls and

THE MARKET-PLACE.

down by the Waterway were the round-topped huts of the
fishermen, among which were continual conflagrations, who
crowded the beach and harbour with their little boats and
worshipped the Fish-god in the harbour. This was a monstrous
image, of which half was in the likeness of a man and half of
a fish, and in whose frightful lineaments the artist had endeav-
oured to express the fear of the mysterious waves. One hand
held a model of the Tacoatlanta, and its great goggle eyes,
set on stems, were like those of a crab, the reeking odour of
fish rising from it with an overpowering stench from the nu-
merous rotting oblations on an altar.

Closely within the walls was the great Market-place, where
savage hunters, leading in leashes large spotted and striped
felines and huge dogs, and occasionally exhibiting monsters
that they had captured and exacted a toll to view, mingled
with the vendors of fruits and rare flowers, water-sellers who
brought water from the reservoirs, that were situated on the
hill in order that their contents might flow down all over the
city, and were filled from the river without the walls, being
pumped up by slaves on the great wheels and conveyed across
the sea-moat in an aqueduct. There were many auctioneers
of wine also, for the grape was abundant in the land, and
was much cultivated.

In the centre of the Market-place was the sarcophagus of
Maroa, mother of Rhadaman ; which building was of the shape
of a pyramid, upon whose top lay coiled the semblance of a
serpent overlooking all the lower places : around the open
spaces of the square were set up images of gods, among
which the cow, cat, serpent and the hideous and obscene god
of Flies were the most prominent, a priest of the temple re-
presented by each standing near to receive offerings. All over
the land were these temples, and, in places, colossal statues
hewn from the living rock in well-chosen situations that added
to their silent majesty, startled the beholder. The larger tem-
ples disdained such patronage, their munitions being more than
sufficient.

Also there were magicians, which held audiences spell-bound
by marvels of awe; whom priests and priestesses of various

65 5

ATLANTIS.

ALL OVER THE LAND WERE THESE TEMPLES, AND, IN PLACES, COLOSSAL
STATUES HEWN FROM JHE LIVING ROCK.

Orders from the Museum of which the name signified the Secret
of God, where they were trained and instructed by the graven
tablets and oral teaching in dark mysteries of fire and the
cloven flame, x watched intently to learn what they might of
the arts exhibited to be used for their own ends. There were
those who prophesied of things to come, eating the leaves and
roots of plants to increase their perceptions, /3 and dentists and
such as sold medicinal plants and wondrous nostrums were
always surrounded by thronging crowds, who hoped to find in
their remedies some relief for disorders and pain, or increase
of beauty to stimulate their vanity. Poor human creatures !

X This undoubtedly refers to electricity. I understand that the natural electric
flame is cloven in shape. See Acts II. 3.

^ The berry of the laurel is said to greatly stimulate sleep-walking and prevision.

THE MARKET-PLACE.

My heart bled for sorrow at some of the things I perceived,
the anguish and tears and fear.

Yet so much the more my soul became filled with the mys-
tery of Earth and the wonder of the mighty city. Rising beyond
the Market-place was the Circus, whose annual fetes supplied
an equal number of imposing sacrifices to the near temple of
Neptsis; for while Zul engaged himself in the arduous care and
tutelage of the soul, the holy mother dedicated herself to the
welfare and " amusement of the body on Earth ; and the rem-
nant of the combatants and candidates of foreign nations cap-
tured and compelled to contribute to their masters' amusement
were offered up to her in gratitude.

Around the Market-place was the Bazaar, where all manufac-
tures were carried on, and where crowds, dressed in the uni-
versal yellow, IX. bowed low before our procession, gazing very
curiously upon me, for my countenance was awful and my
stature superior to all others. And lying by one of the aqueducts
a woman held forth an infant towards me, beseeching that I
would heal it of a curved back; and gazing thereon, so great
a pity lay in my heart to see the misfortune of the little mite
that I stretched forth my hands over it and cried for mercy
on this one, sinless but by the sin of others, and it was healed
because of my sorrow. And the guards swept back the crowd
by reason of pressure on our march.

The houses, some of two storeys high, but most only one
from the ground, built of blocks of stone and not a few of
brick cemented with bitumen, /3 were painted in many wondrous
colours, and many had square columns in the front, leaning in-
ward from their bases, y and some sculptured with skill. On
either side of every doorway were the two images called the
Guardians of the entrance, and there was a goodly space

u. This colour, as highly esteemed in China, was limited there to the privileged
use of the Emperor. In all structures belonging to the throne the colour was
yellow, it being a capital offence for any other person to use it.

/3 This form is found in the buildings of Assyria.

y This follows the pleasing pyramidal idea, and was a form of portal used
among the Incas. But we learn that the Peruvian Aymaras, whose monuments
show a civilization more advanced than Palenque, have them perpendicular.

ATLANTIS.

around every house because of the fear of flames spreading
when a roof caught fire.

Here, to the factories of the merchants were brought immense
quantities of gold from Talascan, where it was greatly abundant,
and silver from the mines of Trocoatla to be manufactured into
fancy things in the shops, and beaten into coverings for war
and made into large vessels in the armoury where shields, helmets,
swords, spears, bows and arrows, slings and cuirasses were made.

How greatly the children of Earth excelled in comforts for
their short existence ! There were manufacturers of musical
instruments and woven goods, paints and dyes, — particularly
yellow and the royal purple which was only used in the garments
of the court, — knives and spear-heads of obsidian and metal,
ornaments in brilliant pebbles, onyx, jasper and orichalcum;
leather war-trappings, breast- and back-plates, shields and cothurns,
the former of which were also formed from shells of turtle and
tortoise. There were factories for breads of wheat and maize
and bark, torches and other combustibles, open shops of butchers
and makers of sweetmeats and preparers of the smoking-herbs,
large factories of pottery and of coach-builders, carpenters, worker^
in stone and images, and cabinet-makers ; shaded stalls where dairy
produce was sold, brought in from farms without the walls, where
large flocks and herds roamed and fattened on the fine herbage,
and where all kinds of fruits, vegetables, meats and drinks were
exchanged for other commodities. And indeed, everything was
obtained by barter, save all things for the Emperor and lords,
which were given to them in proportions. There were the
offices of marble-merchants, stone-masons, builders and timber-
merchants, and beautiful open stalls where furriers and mantle-
makers exhibited their goods ; wine-merchants, drinking-palaces
and glittering emporiums of gems and precious stones, feathers
and cosmetics, gold-dust and pearl-dust and the tiny gems for
the hair

Everything that man could wish could be obtained there, and
from morning until night there was one long roar of crowds
and voices, buying, selling, crying their goods or auctioneering;
and verily there is a pleasure in not being able to subsist
without such, for the joy of obtaining that which is required.

THE MARKET-PLACE.

On the roofs sat the great carrion-birds, who acted as
scavengers in the city together with troops of dogs; and in an
angle by a pyramid stood a fearfully-maimed man, a hunter,
who told, for the alms of hearers, stories of mastodons, whose
giant tusks were at times exhibited in the market; describing
the vast bulks and earth-shaking terror of them, and reciting
hunts and hardships endured.

Yet larger and more wondrous than mastodons had I seen
in the long, dark ages before man came on earth, terrible forms
of land and flood that caused wonder among Us.

The Bazaar extended to the fortifications, on whose top rows
effigies of gods, most of atrocious conception, were placed
to bid defiance to all but the lords of the land, and methinks
frightened even them. Within the walls were the great ports
whose valves of stone and bronze turned within pivots of diorite
what times the greased drawbridges were thrown across the
moat, their tall pylons rising above the walls and crowned with
figures of serpents, which were also the emblem of Zul. x The
military guards, who were ever kept along the wall, slept, played
games of chance and held nightly debaucheries ; and this part
of the city was full of dreadful women who laughed insanely
and tossed their dishevelled hair, dancing and shrieking.

One of these unhappy beings flung herself down before Azta's
cortege, imploring an audience of the Tizin, but a guard roughly
spurned her, and on her wild persistence ran her through with
his spear and cast her aside. And at this I was very sad, yet
methought to prevent such I must ever forbid it before it was
dreamed of, for mankind appeared to slay without thought or
hindrance.

Yet Azta frowned, and beckoned her fan-bearers to shut out
the blaze of the sun and the insolence of the people who stared
upon her.

a It may be interesting to note here tliat the fortifications of ancient Egypt
appear to bear a strong resemblance to mediaeval works, the ramparts of the walls
and towers havine battlements. We find this also in Hindoo architecture.

CAP. VIII.

THE MARCH OF IIUITZA.

AzTA and I alone entered within the mighty shadows of the
pylon of the great Temple of the Moon. She wished me to
accompany her, believing that in my power I could aid her;
and of a truth I wished nothing better.

New, strange feelings were beginning to make themselves felt
within me, and the oppression of Interiors lay heavy on my
thoughts, whose mystic Genius was greatly worshipped in Zul
with awe and obscenity. The heaviness and wonder of inward
places was very peculiar, and all souls recognized their spell.
The dark wombs of unknown things yet. uncreated, hollow places
where one was hidden from another, vaults and caverns wherein,
dwelt evil creatures and such as should not be, nor cared to
look upon expanse.

My soul was uneasy, I say. Problems assailed me, and new
anxieties, and the wish to feel again at perfect ease, yet intang-
ible and unexplainable ; and I, which had dwelt ever in Space
where the glories of immensity swept in waves of luminous
beauty to horizons beyond conception, felt the chains of Earth
press upon me and in a measure bind me.

The priest Mah knew of what fashion I was, but concerned
himself not. He bowed low before Azta, yet with a certain
mockery in it, which stirred her haughty spirit. Within the
.shadow of his grim walls he stalked like that evil Genius I
have named, and methought he was in truth a Spirit of
darkness.

The Tizin returned his salute coldly. " Zul still awaits thee,"
she said tauntingly.

"Zul still awaits," he replied. Ikit while Azta meant the
great Temple, Mah meant the city and Atlantis,

THE MARCH OF HUITZA.

"Now give heed unto me, my old father, for it is of a great
matter I would speak," said Azta; and to him she told all the
affairs of the morning, what had happened at the after-worship.

With thoughtful eyes he Hstened, and for long after her words
had ceased there was silence.

"All is well," he said at length. "The power leans to thee,
Azta; and it is but for thee now to be resolved."

"But Huitza? What of Huitza?"

A shade of fury crossed Mah's countenance.

" Fear not for thy lover ! " he said, words that caused the
fire to leap from Azta's stormy eyes. " He is safe. Even now,
with his troops, he leaves the city. Rhadaman is thy slave
and Shar-Jatal thy tool. For his advancement by Rhadaman
he will destroy his master and thou shalt reign with thy
propitious lord whom thy tool will remove in season, leaving
thee Tizin of Atlantis in very truth."

And thus I heard. For Mah, deeming me of the fallen Ones,
scrupled not to voice his plans with an admirable ruffianism
that caused me to stare. Alone, for the most part, in the great
Temple, surrounded by the mystic shadows of the hierophantic
walls and the dark vaults of unknown sin and corruption, he
lived a life more of the spirit, yet dark and terrible, and as
yet I knew not how the throne of the land could please him.
In a thronging maze of new understandings and wonderings I
stood, forgetting my high mission in the interest of weighing
why this was and why that, and possessed of a great passion
for the lovely woman before me, who should work my ruin.

"Hearest thou these things?" she asked of me.

^'Yea, I hear," I answered; loving her that she did appeal
to my soul to commune with hers, and unheeding the sharp
command in her voice.

She looked upon me very thoughtfully, and the dreadful
priest watched us both. I was minded to chide him, yet me-
thought not yet. He knew more of the ways of Earth than I,
and the time was not ripe for interference; neither did I know
by what reason to chide, save of evil of design.

"Dost approve the plan?" he asked of Azta.

" Yea," she answered, somewhat abstractedly.

ATLANTIS.

"Art thou ready?" he asked, striking with his staff on the
ground. "Behold thine handmaid, the Lady Pocatepa!"

A symbol on the dark wall sparkled with light and life, and
what was a picture stood forth in carnal form, one of the dark-
eyed queens of Tekthah's household, and priestess of Neptsis.

Azta frowned, and her sullen glance fell on the priest.
"Thine arts are deep," she said, in a slow, menacing voice,
"yet forget not mine."

^-^1

HUITZA'S TROOPS WERE COMING.

"Nay, great Lady, 'twas but for thy convenience that this
was done," he said deprecatingly.

Yet she still frowned, and looking on the woman, addressed
her with scant courtesy:

"Soh! Hast heard of what we conversed?"

"Nay, O Queen."

Mah looked disturbed, yet I perceived he cared not to interfere
with Azta's humour. But I liked not the look in Pocatepa's eyes.

" 'Tis well. Return where thou camest until such time as I
shall send for thee," commanded Azta.

She stretched forth her hand. The figure of the woman faded,

THE MARCH OF HUITZA.

and vanished, and from the floor where she had stood rose a
great moth that sped swiftly into the shadows.

"Peace, my old father," she said to the priest. "Thou
seest she is in truth my handmaiden, even as thou didst say.
I go to consider this thing.'

We went, and as we traversed the streets there was a sudden
halt and a dispersion of the yellow robed crowds, Huitza's
troops were coming through the Bazaar to the fortifications, and
the Tzantan himself marched at their head.

Over his towering stature the golden vulture-wings rose from
his helmet, for as a son of Tekthah he wore the emblem to
signify that he might soar near the glory of Zul and still yet
not attain to it, the people of Earth delighting in such figures.

The Prince's expression was stern and terrible, and his great
red-brown beard fell over his breastplate in waves, nearly
hiding it.

At sight of this popular chief the enthusiasm of the people
manifested itself in shouts of applause and wavings of spears,
mantles and bare hands.

"Huitza! Huitzal" they roared; "it is the god! Victory!
Huitzal Zul! Zul!"

Azta's cortege gave way with the rest, her guards sullenly
making way for the advance of the on-coming legions and
roughly pushing back the citizens. The Chief came, followed
closely by his warriors : the sandals thudded in the dust and
nearly obstructed all sight of the marching thousands, among
which I perceived the vermilion plumes that topped the helmets
of some ofificers of the Imperial Body-guard.

The legion marched with a long, swinging trot ; arms clashed
and clanged and spear-points flashed above the thick dust, as
first the troops of spearmen, then of slingers, passed rapidly.
The archers, a formidable body of men, belonged all to Huitza's
troops, and they passed by, led by Mico, last of all; and the
clouds of dust, rolling behind them, began to settle down.

People stared and shouted, believing there was going to be
a grand attack made on the savages and a consequent supply
of victims ; but I wondered for the reason of that march.

Back we went, through the Bazaar with its thronging crowds.

ATLANTIS.

now eagerly discussing the passage of the troops and the pro-
spects of captives and women But I pondered how that, if
Azta became ruler of the land, I might fulfil my mission through
her; and was pleased by the thought that excused the love of
this woman to my soul.

The Tzan was disturbed in mind and bade Shar-Jatal attend
him by his favourite seat on the colonnade, to play chess with
him. Azta had left me, and on the two men I centered my
attention to learn what I might.

Tekthah's ferocious eyes, shaded by the fans of the attendants,
gazed steadily over the landscape, resting long on the great
temple, while beneath his idle fingers the pieces lay untouched.
The courtier-like myrmidon sat silent, watching hke a cat; and
1 knew that his great hooked nose bespoke a strong will to
back his wickedness. Swinging from a massive armlet was
the emblem of a certain beetle, that was Pocatepa's divinity,
and I bethought me of the evil ways of that twain, and wondered
why every man and woman appeared to choose another's mate ;
for Pocatepa was wife to the Tzantan Ju, notwithstanding that,
being a prieste.ss of Neptsis, it was wrongful that she should,
be aught but a virgin, yet being upheld by Mah.

The Tzan began to discuss the exodus of Huitza, already
known, and which he was powerless to prevent, for with him
had gone most of the army.

At which Shar-Jatal considered deeply, and afar off I perceived
Nezca ; nor could I ever behold him unmoved, for I knew him
to be one of Us.

The Representative of the People perceived a crisis. He
himself might not seize the throne at once, being restrained
by the priest Mah ; but if Azta became ruler the voice of the
nation would aid him to supplant her.

" Rhadaman is with us," he said, but Tektiiah's furious gesture
stopped him.

" Rhadaman is among his women," he said, with a sneer,
and conveying also one to Shar-Jatal, whom he despised because
of his effeminacy, beginning to fear treachery which could scarce
be defined; "he has given up the slaying for the production
of warriors."

THE MARCH OF HUITZA.

Shar-Jatal bowed. He advised the chief power of all being
given to himself, as being the most competent person to oversee
everything, and hinted in no hidden phrase his popularity.
His friends were strong in the land ; one of them, Azco, being
Governor of his province of Trocoatla, whence came much
silver, and whose populous cities of Lote, Karbandu, Katalaria,
Bar-Asan, Muzran, and Azod contained many mighty men, great
warriors and skilled in war. Also that Azco, notwithstanding
that he was a son of Sumar, was more friendly to himself.

In silence I watched the game of those two mortals. Tekthah's
face betrayed nought, but in his eyes I read as in a book,
hatred, outraged pride, sudden perception of friendlessness and
deadly peril, and fear. Ay, fear. That great, strong heart that
had marched to the throne of Atlantis through tears and blood
saw itself alone and deserted. Jehovah forgotten, the lazily-
accepted dreams of Zul too vague and unsatisfactory now that
they had to be faced, and all around the hungry eyes of men
and women who coveted his place. He beckoned to his
pipe-bearer to approach.

" It is a weighty matter of which thou speakest," he said
slowly, gazing on his courtier as though he would crush him
by the vigour of his glance. " Go now. I will tell thee soon."

CAP. IX.

AZTA.

There was no news heard concerning Huitza. The Chief
of the Navy — which was that Tzantan Ju, the husband of Poca-
tepa — cruising in the Tacoatlanta, had seen the hghts of many
fires among the hills, and Tekthah had secretly sent messen-
gers to treat with the recalcitrant. These had not returned,
and none knew for certain if it were Huitza's forces.

A careful watch was kept over Ham, the son of Noah, to
hold in check Tek-Ra, but Huitza went not thither, and this
was a certain relief to Tekthah, for there still stood at Chuza,
which was the chiefest of the cities there, the great pallo that
was built there first, which of itself was impregnable even should"
the stout walls of the city fall ; and the sallies of such troops
as Huitza's from such a position would render an entrenchment
around impossible. All the cities of Tek-Ra were threatened
with annihilation if they received the rebel.

From there and the distant city of Talascan came rumours that
large nomadic tribes of their own race which bore for insignia
the symbols of the Owl, Unicorn, and Dragon, the fish-gods of
Astra, and the herdsmen of Alorus, Emok, Het and Assa, who
were very truculent men and ever ready for war, sprung from
Avan, daughter of Adam, had gone to join him, and people
wondered what might come of it all. And continually Shar-
Jatal pressed the fzan for his consent to his scheme, but Tek-
thah was apathetic.

Azta, likewise remained passive. Yet she was restless and
imperious, and forbore to converse with me, nor visited the
temple of the Moon. And in piteous mood I found her in
her garden, conversing with herself aloud, and sighing often
with the name of Huitza upon her lips.

AZTA.

A strong feeling entered into me, a protest against her love
for this man that I had never felt before ; and strong impulses
were upon me as I watched her. Ah, how lovely she was as she
looked about with her large yellow eyes in a deep thought, and
the molten gold ran in streams in her hair as her white fingers
ran through it. Ah, God, pardon for the earthly love that
fired my melting soul as I gazed upon her! There I saw a
Spirit clad in flesh of far more subtle mould than that of man,
and more lovely than any other woman; for at times one stands
preeminently above the rest. Yet still in my love was a great
fear and a knowledge that it was not right.

With heart on fire I watched her, yet sternly, for I liked not
the mention of Huitza's name. And suddenly looking up, she
beheld me, and dropped her eyes before my glance.

"And has my Love forgotten?" I asked.

" I have not forgotten," she said softly, in a very sad mood
for her, the red blood rushing to her face; "how may one
forget these things? But perchance they of Earth love better
their own kind."

"What can woman ask more than love?" I demanded, half-
amazed. " On woman did Heaven pour its choicest gifts of love,
and for love would she do anything, even sin to the peril of
her soul, to share a loved one's fate. And for no reward,
perchance : whilst I offer — nay, give thee, whether thou accept-
est it or leavest it to die — a love greater than thou couldst
dream of? Dost hear me, Azta?"

"I hear, my lord: yet can love be forced?"

" Forced ! " I cried, in tortured amaze, for verily here was a
barrier I could not understand. " Does not thy soul leap forth
to mine which loves it? Did not that bright flame spring in
full quivering beauty when first we met, when thou didst lie in
my arms and vow thou hadst never loved as then? Dost thou
forget, O Azta? Dost thou forget?"

She moved up her round, fair shoulders, while beneath her
fingers the vine-tendrils fell in broken fragments.

A sudden fear overcame me, a feeling of horror and despair.

"O Azta!" I cried, "thou dost not know what love is!"

She looked up fearfully, her lips parted, and I saw her shrink

ATLANTIS.

before my gaze. The light went from her eyes, and left them
dark and sombre.

" Oh, speak not in such a voice," she faltered. " How can I
stand before the majesty of Heaven ? Wilt thou blast me in
thy wrath ? Who am I that thou shouldst love me, who loves
another? Asia, thou art not of the fallen ones, thy mission on
Earth is not the comfort of women. Leave me, oh leave me I
for behold, I die, and thou wilt live forever."

For a while I stood regarding her. Why did I not go?

In a passion I cast myself before her. " Love me, oh love
me ! " I cried in agony.

From the blue sky rolled a burst of thunder, and from me fell a
shadow upon the earth ; yet never before had I cast a shade.
And gazing thereon I received a shock whereby it appeared as
if a voice from God had spoken to an inharmonious sensation
within me.

And then a wild rebellion entered my soul, and throwing
my arms over the couch, I bowed my head upon them
and wept.

Azta uttered a cry of distress and astonishment and laid her'
hand on my head.

"Poor Angel!" she said: "can such suffer?"

I caught her in my arms. "Yea!" I cried passionately,
"and suffer more than mortals. The finer the soul, the more
capable of feeling, deep and terrible. Not mere emotion, for
that is but the spasmodic index to what may be hidden far
beneath, and the coarsest souls may be stirred by fleeting
ecstacies. The gay insect that rejoices in the beauty of one
flower and is equally satisfied with another can never know
the aching remembrance of a joy that is gone, the wild, agonized
yearning for what will never be again."

Azta's bosom heaved.

"O love me, I implore thee!" I cried in my evil passion.
What could I do ! Heaven suddenly seemed too pure. Earth
immeasurably too gross and vile for me ; yet why I loved this
woman I could not tell. I had known others who passed
from my fleeting remembrance like the fading of the sun; yet
to her my whole soul went out.

AZTA.

"Poor Asia," murmured she, with a sob, caressing me;
whereat I took a little hope.

" O Azta," I implored, " if thou canst not love me, at least
let me come and gaze in thine eyes and see thee smile on
me. Thou dost not know the torment of the love of Heaven
unsatisfied! It is as a fire that scorches and sears the source
which no magic word comes to unseal."

I groaned in my agony, and like burning lava the tears fell
from my eyes.

Azta wept also. "What wouldst thou have?" she sobbed —
"I do love thee, also." And nestling close to me, she kissed
my lips, twining her fair arms around me.

I held her closely to me, and marked how she trembled.

"Thou art not the only one who has ever loved me," she
whispered; "but methinks thou givest more than is thine
to give."

I had: and I trembled also at her words. Yet there was
joy in her possession and I did but hold her closer to me.

I slowly pressed back her hair, exposing the broad, white
forehead, and fixed my eyes on hers so that my soul entered
into her.

" Did I not love thee so well, thou couldst not choose but
follow me," I said.

She did not shrink, but regarded me fixedly with fascinated
eyes, smiling and without fear.

"Wouldst thou force me?" she whispered; "wouldst thou
take me in a whirlwind into unknown regions and leave me
to perish in mid-air and return to Earth but in such fearful
form as I have heard of, but never seen ? ' '

"Nay, my love!" I vowed, with passion; "never! Trust
in my love and thou shalt do well."

How beautiful she was, as, sitting straight up in front of me,
she looked into my eyes. A brilliant butterfly lighted on her
hair, waving his painted wings to and fro on the topmost curl
that circled her brow.

"I do love thee!" she cried rapturously; "yet have I told
thee, I also love another. Canst thou not of thy mighty power
know what shall be done?" she asked, throwing herself into

ATLANTIS.

my arms, and sighing. Then suddenly she rose up, and placing
her hands upon my breast and forehead, said : " Hast thou ever
yearned, as though thy soul wandered alone searching its breath
of life for that which shall satisfy it.' For the Ideal that at
times thou thinkest to have found, yet doubting oft? And
having believed to have found it, perceiving to thy torment
yet others, but unwiUing to release thy soul's first love ? Wouldst
thou cast me from thee — and ah, at times I dare not think of
what might befall if thou didst!" She shuddered and stopped.
"O Asia, what is love?" she cried, piteously.

" My Azta, my Love, I know not. Love is the Life of God,
and none can fathom it."

She threw her arms impetuously round my neck and kissed
me again.

How I loved her ! and yet was I unhappy.

"Fill thy soul with my love," I implored; "fill thy heart
and brain, that thou mayest be faithful and remember."

" I have prayed," she whispered, " yet nought but vague
ideas come to me ; bold and unscrupulous, but useless. I see
a plan, a beginning, but what will the end be?"

"Cast ambition from thee, my Love," I said; "ambition
is a cruel mistress, a Syren that oft lures to destruction.
Remember this, my Azta, for a woman's spirit can sink as low
as an Angel's, and a love that is unworthy of her may
drag her down to Hell, its own coarser materials floating in
the worldly matter."

"And what wouldst thou have?" she asked.

"Thy love!" I cried, passionately.

She disengaged herself from my arms and gazed into my
eyes, and through the amber flames her soul looked upon
me. There was no need for words in that drama, where Earth
challenged Heaven. Weakened by my evil desires, my gaze
was mastered by hers, and her dumb voice seemed to cry to
me — Wouldst thou, Asia, give up the pure joys of Heaven for
an earthly woman's arms, a being whom thou believest to be
fickle, and which belief may be proven in Hell's fires? Even
now who is the dominant Spirit — the Archangel or the Woman ? —
and what if she prove false? Consider and pause, thou who

AZTA.

hast looked upon the face of God ; and think now that thou
art subservient to a created being of Clay 1

I looked upon her, half-hesitant, yet before my eyes her
beauty appeared to increase. Her face became glorious, her
skin as soft petals of lilies as it lay over the curves of her
body,— her living, breathing, warm body that was so lissom and
soft. And around her face the waves of molten gold fell and
lay so wondrously on her fair shoulders and the swelling beauty
of her bosom.

I held forth my arms, and slowly she moved into their
embrace, yet with her wonderful eyes full on mine. Her soft
arms encircled my neck and she pressed her lips to mine, while
there came, borne upon the breeze, a laugh, sarcastic, icy,
bitter and low, yet with a note of triumph in it. As the winds
that sweep over the yEolian harps of Angels came that sound
between Earth and Sky, and died away into a sigh over all
around. And the Sun set and there was nought for us two
but our love, that must die, being of Earth.

CAP. X.

THE THRONE.

The Throne of Atlantis, the Seat of the King of the Earth,
was in a hall in the centre of the palace, from which could be
seen a portion of the red terraces of steps, showing through
the entrance, and the openings in the long shadowy courts and
colonnades that spread in mazy vistas all around. The temple
of Zul, above and to the left, was invisible from the hall, but
the same entrance that exposed the stairway showed the sea
in the distance and the nearer tops of buildings and trees.

And before the throne lay the sceptre, symbol of Royalty and
conquest, shaped like the National Standard, four-armed and
cruciform, but surmounted by an orb of solid gold signifying,
the Sun.

The floor of the hall, of blocks of green marble with yellow
markings, lay smooth and reflecting as a lake, from whose depths,
in a square formation of great area, rose black marble columns
rooted in pediments overlaid with gold, supporting a ceiling
painted blue, in the midst of which was a rayed sun of gold,
overspreading the throne.

The great seat itself was a solid block of dark green marble,
and two immense curved tusks of the mastodon, bedded in it,
formed the arms. The platform on which it rested, of black
marble like the columns, was surrounded on each of its four
sides by four flights of steps with broad landings of the same
sable hue and material, signifying the quarterly periods of life
to be attained before the glory of the summit was reached,
the first step from the floor overlaid with gold, a tall column
rising from each corner for a support to the central ceiling and
the golden symbol which hung upon it. A cushion, covered
with leopard-skin, lay on the seat, and the whole aspect of the

THE THRONE.

hall was gloomy and magnificent, beyond all that had been
before or will be again.

Between the columns stood massive iron braziers, to hold
the kindled fires ; on each side of the entrance lay a lion of
large size and most formidable aspect, chained and odorous.
At times the palace resounded with the roar of the majestic
brutes, and their deep, muttering grumble made the ladies
tremble on their couches of a night.

Where are now the splendid beings who gathered in those
past days in such bravery of majestic persons and glittering
gems? Never before or since have such been known as those
when Angels mingled their spirits with men ; a mystic wonder of
sin without equal : and never again will such sight be seen as
that great annual obeisance of the Lords of the Provinces before
the might of Tekthah upon his throne of marble and ivory.

I looked upon the hall, and on a large company gathered
therein. The two grim watchers at the entrance lay prone on
their lean flanks with heads erect; the Sun, setting over the
western mountains, showing up in dark relief the two great
shadowy forms, terrific in their vague suggestiveness.

I saw Shar-Jatal and Izta, Nezca and Acoa the priest of Zul,
and many more, conspicuous among them being the giant Amal,
who had seven toes on each foot. I looked towards the tall
figure that sat upon the throne, holding the sceptre, and per-
ceived it to be Rhadaman; yet uneasy he was, doing a daring
thing in thus raising himself to that seat on the square plinth,
one step high, that had never been mounted before save by
the Tzan and the Keeper of the Throne. But too often had
he rehearsed this scene in his mind to hesitate now; and now
must he strike a blow, or wait and be perchance supplanted.

With a flushed face he rose to his towering height, and of
a truth he was very pleasant to look upon. Yet his heart was
evil and his ambition overcame all else, for now that man had
gone astray from God it was each one's aim to be lord of all
the rest. A Httle energy, he cried aloud, a little bloodshed,
and the throne would be his by right of descent, and his friends
should not be forgotten. This he said very graciously and with
much meaning in his voice, and reminded all there that, should

ATLANTIS.

Huitza return and the throne go to him, there would be the
punishment of the stake and of the burning crucifix for many
of Zul. To bestir themselves, to do a few desperate deeds —
and then 1

A murmur of applause greeted his words, and the clangour
of metal as the chiefs beat their shields with the pummels of
their swords ; but a panic overcame my mind.

The prince smiled grimly. He reminded them of promised
favours, and, turning to Acoa, bade him stir up the land against
Huitza, who had vowed to hurl the gods of the Lower Fires
into their crater for the destruction of his mistress, and recalled
to certain individuals the chieftain's animosity. Having by cun-
ning eloquence gained the ears and hearts of all, he showed a
scheme whereby the end they were convened to discuss should
be consummated. On the first day of the annual Circus games
there would be a great feasting in the palace, and Gadema,
Tekthah 's cup-bearer, should hand his sovereign a bowl of
poison, while Targul, his pipe-bearer, should prepare a fatal
herb for the pipe ; and after, the Tzan being dead, the gates
of the city should be closed on all the gathered crowds, and*
himself be proclaimed Tzan, concessions being granted to all
assembled, and great rejoicings instituted. To Shar-Jatal should
be given the territory of Tek-Ra, Huitza's dependency, and
a great part of the success of the undertaking could depend
upon him and his popularity. Let Gadema and Targul also
see that they failed not in their work, and great reward should
be theirs.

The youths arose from where they sat, whom I had not at
once perceived, and swore by Zul not to fail ; and then Acoa
arose, with a deep plan in his face.

Now I mistrusted the dark priest greatly, and was vexed in
my mind to hear this consultation ; I believed my love for Azta
and the fulfilment of my mission would have wished otherwise ;
for I clave unto the latter by the pretended help of the former :
yet forgot that which was being discussed was that planned by
Mah. Therefore I caused to sound the tramp of many armed
feet and the rattle of war-trappings, and a silence fell on all.
Louder it came, and the chiefs, great men and valiant, fled by

, ■ . \ •

,>v^r*"" '■ ' '^^'' '•^ *

''•--■»"*'*''''-*->--'«^ ■"^■••■'-■r-rt ••■ vilggUl^.

/ ■> :«««iwninnnHAilMMK!^il'^^^"^ L.*^ *

■ ■- .'v-,'0

THE THRONE.

a little exit, all save Rhadaman. Alone he stood, yet trembling,
and laid down the sceptre in its place.

A growl from one of the lions startled him, and he gazed
at the huge brute as it stood, a vague form against the bright-
ness of the sky showing between the outer columns of the

1 ' ^-:'N-i>

^^^H

^w >»*-

mm-

AZTA CAST HERSELF NEGLIGENTLY ONTO THE SEAT.

palace, with mane bristling and tail slowly waving from side
to side. The other one growled too, and suddenly, as the
knowledge of his sacrilege overcame the Tzantan, he hastened
to the rear of the throne and crouched down, as the pat-pat
of sandalled feet was heard on the very threshold.

One glance he gave over his shoulder to perceive if there

ATLANTIS.

was yet time to fly, but there was none. A figure entered
with a little, ghding step, casting a piece of raw flesh to each
guardian of the entrance, who made no great demonstrations,
and Azta, summoned by my power, mounted straightly to the
throne, and stepping up to it, cast herself neghgently onto the
seat with a sigh. How lissom were her movements and how
splendid her form I

Amazement held the chieftain still, but he glared at the back
of the throne as though by his eyes he would pierce it, and I
knew he was hurriedly weighing in his mind the policy of making
his presence known, but ere a resolve could shape itself the
Tizin arose, and, stretching out both hands and advancing to
the edge of the plinth, cried in a clear, ringing voice, " Welcome,
my lord! "

The prince started as he believed the Tzan to be approaching,
and he knew that the only thing to do was to keep still and
hope for the best that might come.

With a musical laugh Azta clasped both hands to her breast
and appeared to be in a species of ecstacy, while my heart*
yearned to her so greatly that I longed to embrace her, be.
lieving her to be addressing myself in thought; while in the
silence of the vast apartment, unbroken by aught for a w^hile,
Rhadaman waited for the recurrence of that sound of marching
hundreds, with a mind too full of fears to marvel at such
an unusual session and the novel manner of its initial procedure.
He believed the throne would be surrounded by the Guards,
and he would have to rise and take his place among them
trusting to their silence.

Yet no sound came, and then the Tizin spoke again.

" And so, farewell for a space," she said, bowing to the
marble seat and patting the leopard-skin smooth where she had
pressed it; then, turning, she descended to the pavement and
glided out through the entrance, undisturbed by the lion guards
or the relieved chieftain.

He uttered a blasphemous oath as she disappeared. Then,
after waiting until she should be out of hearing, he, too, passed
the lions, who growled ominously, and with a sigh of relief
hastened after her.

THE THRONE.

A feeling of annoyance towards the prince had entered my
heart. From his exclamations I perceived him to believe that
Azta intended her salutation to apply to himself, and I remem-
bered that he also had a passion for her.

The Tizin had retired to her apartments, and to his chagrin,
she refused to receive him on his prayer for an audience being
presented. Nevertheless I wished to see in how much his
passion for her ran, and how she received him ; and she was
minded to relent, so that he entered and made a deep obeisance
to her, kneeling and pressing her hand to his lips, the golden
vulture-wings bending low before the Glory of Atlantis. I per-
ceived that he hastily noted the surroundings and looked very
curiously on the lady. And, by my faith, she was a queenly
beauty as she lay on a gorgeous green couch, the upholstery
of which blazed with golden butterflies and precious gems,
half hidden by her imperial robes of purple and yellow covering
a white gauze vestment that allowed her creamy body to be
seen beneath it; and surrounding her were slaves with the
golden skewers through their nostrils, the fan-bearers and those
who always kept the apartment furnished with flowers, so that
it was a wonder of scented colour and enravishing beauty. Old
Na sat at the foot of the couch, and lying at her immense flat
feet was a panther, held by a thin golden chain.

At Azta's command all these retired and she was left alone
with the prince, who still knelt, and leaned his great sword
against a settee, looking the while amazed as though he sought
to fathom the mystery of the armed tramp that had dispersed
the assembly. On the ground he placed his helmet, casting
his mantle beside it, and then awkwardly surveyed the beauty
before him, who permitted him to gaze, enjoying his embar-
rassment.

" And so," she said at length, eyeing him through half closed
eyes with an intensity that appeared to fascinate him, " my
lord is happy; his rival has gone."

He regarded her fixedly, suspicion and love struggling in his gazes.

"And what of it?" he asked scornfully.

"He was your enemy, and consequently — "she paused

" Yours ! "

ATLANTIS.

She bowed with a flattering smile, and her mood aroused him.

He surveyed her from head to foot with blazing eyes. His
manners were rough and impatient, and he suddenly caught her
in his arms, his feelings not allowing time for tardy speeches
to lead up diplomatically to such an act.

"Dost know I love thee?" he said, kissing her Hps with
burning fervour in spite of her remonstrances ; and scarce could
I restrain my wrath at witnessing this.

"Thou art in truth a rude suitor, by Zull " she cried angrily.
"Of old I knew it; thinkest I am such a fool as thou?"

The look of her yellow eyes made him uneasy, and the
pointed speech cooled his sudden ardour.

"Fool?" he said, with an awkward smile, relaxing his
embrace.

" Nay, take me not so seriously, it is not thy wont," she said,
still with that ring of sarcasm in her voice.

" I would wish to take thee seriously," he said hotly.

" Pshaw ! a serious woman is but a sorry thing," she laughed,
with ringing musical scorn. ■■

" Azta, thou tormentest me!" he cried, as, half-encouraged
by her manner, he again caught her in an enraptured embrace.

She looked on him and laughed, a silvery, ripphng, mocking
laugh, that stung his ardour, but checked his purpose.

"/torment thee!" she cried. "It is thy country that should
torment. Thou, a Chief of armies; /, a mere helpless — "

"Say it not!" he cried passionately, kissing her with rude
rapture: "one moment of thee were worth all Atlantis!"

" Shame, shame ! What when the lord Huitza shall come
and lay siege to Zul, which has no defender? Tekthah is old
and his house is divided."

The prince stared at her, lost in a sudden thought. The
lady knew not what had prompted her to say what she had,
and half-fearfully she gazed on him ; and so they .stared the one
at the other, each startled by their thoughts.

"Dost thou know aught of this?" asked the chief, suspi-
ciously.

" Nay, by my faith," she said, laughing merrily and shaking
her head.

THE THRONE.

"The Tzan is old, as thou sayest," he said, drawing her
towards him.

" But until he dies, he is my lord," she responded, believing
him to wish to press his suit, whereas he wished to fathom her
feehngs with the end of supplanting Tekthah. And again he
lost all interest in such and only wished to possess this splendid
being.

He gazed at her in rapture, excited by the wish and her
apparent hesitancy.

"Thou knowest how I love thee," he said earnestly, drawing
her close to him; "thou knowest that thy title is an empty
glory : wouldst thou not wish to have the name of Azta revered
from one end of Atlantis to the other?"

I trembled 1 The wife of this man 1 The knowledge rushed
upon me overpoweringly and held me in such mute horror that
I waited powerless, watching the struggle going on in Azta's
mind and wishing I had revealed my presence at first.

Now I became as a human man, with such an one's heart,
and tasted to the full the torments of jealousy, which I had
never perceived before. Oh, horror of that fall to Earth and
Earth's woe I Never can I forget all I felt as I gazed on the
features of my Love and read there the temptation of glory
and power with the chance of an almost immediate fulfilment.
And yet I did not know all.

Suddenly I perceived Acoa, and then he was gone. On
Azta's face all traces of mental struggle had vanished and an
inspired look came into her eyes. She looked beyond the chief,
and in a dreamy voice, as though she watched a scene, spoke.

"Listen," she said; "before me is the Circus, and the crowds
watch the arena. The trumpet sounds for the single combat
on the third day, when the Champion of Atlantis steps forth
and dares one to face him This time one appears. The
Champion, Sir Chief," she said, suddenly gazing straight at him
and changing her voice until it rang, " is thyself. If thou
conquerest I will be the Queen of Atlantis."

"And the other, O Love, the other.-" he whispered hoarsely.

"Nay, I know not," she said, trembHng; "I could not see."

"I will conquer!" he cried, with a great oath, raising his

ATLANTIS.

arm and clenching his fist till the great muscles cracked, while
his eyes flamed with the deadly purpose of his mind ; " Thou
shall't be my Queen! Let me embrace thee, my Love!"

"After — after!" she said, throwing out her hands.

"Nay, but thou triflest with me!" he cried, enfrenzied,
seizing her with rapture, and smothering her efforts to escape
with a power far superior to her own.

I cried his name in a voice of thumder, standing forth in the
person of the Magician. He leaped to his feet, with his hand
towards his sword that leaned against the settee. My stature
o'ertopped his own, and my eyes blazed, yet so furious was he
that he raised his sword to smite me to the earth, his teeth
showing in a savage grin in his great black beard.

As he leaped forward a wavering flash of fire laved the
weapon and paralysed his arm. The sword fell ringing to the
floor, and the would-be ravisher, with a shout of terror, fled,
dazzled and half-stunned.

CAP. XL

NOAH.

Seeing me, Azta uttered a glad cry and threw herself into
my arms, so that my heart was glad, and I kissed her again
and again, perceiving her to be still under the influence of the
vision, and not accountable for her former words.

"Yet thou hast not done well," I cried. "Bad estate will it
be to thee, the toy of such an one as yon debauched chieftain,
and soon will he cast thee by as a flower that has ceased to
bloom. Hast thou not learned that the love of Heaven is better
than aught the Earth can offer?"

She answered not, but hiding her face in my bosom, burst
into a flood of tears and sobbed violently. I was distressed
and amazed, not yet comprehending her nature, and believing
that I was the lord of her heart, and none besides. I com-
forted her, and my mind being in sore bewilderment and dwelling
chiefly on what she had said concerning the vision, I required
of her to tell me why she had promised to be the wife of such
as Rhadaman when that he had overcome his opponent.

" He will not overcome him," she answered, trembling ; " neither
did I promise to be his Queen. And in truth it would have
mattered nought had I so done."

"Thou didst vow to be Queen of Atlantis?" I said, .still
feeling sore.

"And so will I; and of thy might could'st thou not make
thyself Tzan of all the land?" she demanded desperately and
imploringly; "thou, powerful, invincible? What could stand
before thee?"

I raised her up and looked into her eyes, that were as two
lakes overbrimming with fire.

"Not but in love may Heaven and Earth mingle, the adapt-

ATLANTIS.

able life of all Spirits," I said, "else, if this might be so, there
would be no mortal man."

"How so?" she asked, wishing that I should expound the
mysteries of Spirits unto her. Yet would I not do this thing.

"Azta," I said, "the failing of thy beauteous sex is the
failing of the angels and of every pure, fearless Spirit, longing
to see hidden things, and things more gross than itself, and
that only the Master-mind of great Jehovah can bear without
defilement. The only thing that lasts, my Azta, is love, which,
missed, we ever vainly grieve for. Man has less curiosity than
woman, for that his more material mind, imagining more of
PLarth than there is to be ever seen, is satiated with its own
excesses. Dear one, the angels themselves, methinks, know
not for why he was created, save that the likes of thine own
fair self might be born to him."

Her flaming hair lay over my arm, and streamed through
my fingers as I caressed it. With an impetuous gesture she
sat up and looked me full in the eyes.

"Yet thyself, thou art a man." Her eyes, deprecatory and
half-indignant, spoke the words ; her full hps moved not.

" Dear Love, thou could'st not understand what I could tell
thee now. I' faith of Heaven, I do not understand it quite
myself. But Adam was formed of the atoms of Earth, and sex
as thou knovvest it is not of Spirits."

We sat in silence, and I tried to fathom the varying emotions
that swept across her face. How subtle were these Earthly
beings, and what great emotions they possessed ! and how cun-
ning in contrivances they were ! For it was also known in
Heaven that those of Earth were wiser in their generation
than the Sons of Light, and I pondered deeply on this thing.
yVlready I perceived in this fair being a nature of intense
emotional characteristics; to triends steadfast and true, to
enemies dangerous, waiting in apparent friendship until a proper
time should come to strike a deadly blow. Brave to reck-
lessness, yet cautious ; and as the supple reed, bowing to storms
that could not be withstood, and, rising behind them, gaining
the ends of an invincible determination by circumventing barriers
that could not be broken down. Yet how far I knew not, nor

NOAH.

was I to know at present; and although I saw many things
clearly, yet others I perceived not, so that I should work my
own punishment.

For a while after that I was happy; and ever mindful of my
mission, that I would not believe I was endeavouring to con-
summate in sin by attempting to clean a polluted temple with
the impure mediums of Earth, set my mind on Azta becoming
the ruler of the land.

Rhadaman, waiting for the Circus games, sank himself deeper
in the pursuits of pleasure; mistrusting Azta because of her
words regarding Huitza, and dismayed by her power that he
believed had caused me to appear. He said nought concerning
it, ashamed of his flight, but was busied in ingratiating himself
with the Tzantans.

Neither did Tekthah bestir himself, being overcome by an
unaccountable lethargy which was shared by the rest of his
household. The temple services, carried on with bloody pre-
cision, and the near approach of the annual games, kept the
minds of the pleasure-loving populace from all considerations
of country or state. As long as they had plenty of amusements
it mattered little if Tekthah were ruler or anyone else, and
perchance they would prefer a little excitement to culminate in
extraordinary rejoicings. Their lives were immoral to a degree,
and passions growing with the ease of their satisfactions took
the most extravagant lusts and cried for new pleasures. Also
those who were more sober would wish for Huitza to rule
them and raise the glory of Atlantis still higher, and thus the
capital wavered in imbecile helplessness.

But all were debased and evil. Obscene gods were wor-
shipped, Hbations being poured over their hideous and grotesque
forms, and tortured victims offered to them. In the market
slaves were sold, and crowds gathered round and gazed lewdly
on the blushing charms of kidnapped girls taken from among
their own people, and prostitutes who voluntarily sold themselves
to rich masters. Izta, the Lord of Astra, sold many young
girls there, torn from the coast-villages and valued for their
flaxen hair and their large bodies. Everything was violent and
unnatural, and I, instead of elevating those who might purge

ATLANTIS.

the land of its folly and reinstate the nation in integrity, sought
to raise an Earthly Love to the throne and through her to do
this. I say, I knew not Woman then, but dare I say what I
should have done if I had !

Now in all the land there was but one man whose name
was well spoken of in Heaven, with the names of his family.
It was that Noah, the governor of Tek-Ra under Huitza, who
with his wife Talasse, and his sons, great men and godly, and
their wives and families, lived in holiness and rectitude, each
man cherishing but one wife, and each woman owning but one
lord. Neither did they at all yearn after the unnatural vanities
of the land, in the inserting of gems in teeth or the abuse of
strong wine or smoking-herbs or the eating of flesh ; keeping
holy every seventh day, as was of very old legend. And Noah,
who was a judge over the people, was just and upright in his
judgments, not striving by the quarrels of others to seize things
for himself, nor treating his servants harshly or improperly,
striving to live in honourable relations and preventing his sons
from inquiring into the hidden things which Kasyade the Angel,
taught concerning demons. But Ham was kept at Zul as a
secret hostage for the behaviour of his father.

To Tek-Ra I conveyed myself, wishing to see this man, and
thinking to behold a very godlike being. I chanced upon him
as he sat in the shade under a portico of his palace, and, per-
ceiving him to be small of stature, began to consider him of
less account than I had heretofore. Yet I saw that no weight
of years had quenched the fire of his bold, bright eye, and
after, when I knew him better, I perceived that he had a
sensitive spirit which by reason of its bent had been through
the furnace of criticism harsh and galling to it, and through
ridicule that toughened in bitterness what it failed in checking ;
that by the failure of heart- wrought effort and bright and
sanguine hopes his nature was crushed, but not annihilated,
rising, Phoenix-like, to fight again, fiercely and bravely, and
win at last.

Methinks now that ofttimes smallness of bodily stature conduces
to largeness of spiritual, for, perhaps, that when these smaller
beings have overcome difficulties made doubly arduous by this

NOAH.

defect, they are able, when powerful and free, to work
with the hard energy of veterans who have striven desperately
against circumstances that would have overpowered characters
less tough, and with such tempered weapons to win a way
to fame.

Thus it was with the Patriarch. Now no sarcasm could
instil its blasting poison into his soul, no wrath make tremble.
In his communion with Heaven he was comforted, and for the
lost sweets of Earthly life possessed the joy of impregnability
from sorrow. So ever at last the waves of Time's ocean beat
harmless on the iron-bound shores of Life, from which all the
sand and that which was soft is washed away.

"Ever thinking!" said a voice of the sweetest beauty, and
a lady appeared, stepping out on to the portico. Save Azta's
self, never had I beheld so fair a being, so like unto the holy
Spirits of God ! Simple in mien and attire she was, with an
etherial beauty that lighted her sweet face and gave to her
carriage an unearthly majesty of which her innocent smile gave
proof of no knowledge. This was Susi, the wife of Shem,
firstborn of the Patriarch, she being of Edna, the master of
Methusaleh through Lamech and Danaos the son of Lamech.

Stepping up to her father-in-law, she laid her hand caress-
ingly on his shoulder, looking into his face with a beaming
smile of love.

'•Thinking why there is no reward for sorrow, dear father,
when thou sayest aloud, 'Trust in Jehovah and He will
recompense thee an hundred-fold'?"

She stood before him with her hands clasped on her bosom,
white as most pure marble, and gazed on him with her lus-
trous eyes. She seemed an Angel, and the old man looked
on her for a while without movement or speech, and with an
adoration that was almost worship.

"Ay," he said slowly; "yet at times the soul is vexed.
The countenance of Jehovah is turned from His servants and
darkness falls upon their hearts."

"O father, it is for a proof of thee," she said softly; "the
servant who is faithful when his master's face is turned is most
dearly loved of his lord."

97 7

ATLANTIS.

The Patriarch looked on her in astonishment, and then he
sunk his head. " I am a sinful man," he muttered, in a
vexed voice.

She seated herself at his feet and looked up into his
stern face.

"Nay, father," she said, " methinks thou art the best man
that I have ever known."

He placed his hand on her curls, brown and lustrous in their
thick glory, and said sadly :

" There are times when the soul is vexed sore and the things
of this world seem to work together for evil. Then begins
faith to wax unfaithful and our hearts put questions hard to
answer. Behold the sin of the Earth and the wickedness of
those in high places ! And now Huitza is fled from Zul with
his army, and it fears me for my son Ham, who is in the
midst of danger and temptations in the very palace of Tekthah
and his wicked women. Why should it be made that sin is
so pleasant and duty so hard, and that the sinner shall answer
for what he is caused to do, and the good man reaps nought*
but vexation and misery?"

He spoke as to a superior, or as though he communed in
truth with an Angel.

" Father, this mood becomes thee not," cried the fair lady,
distressed ; " was it not thyself who taught me that all shall
be well in the next life?"

"Ay," answered the sire, gazing into the blue sky; "and
yet it seemed as though I led an Angel's footsteps."

"Oh, father!" she cried, hiding her face, more distressed by
the praise.

"Hide not thy face, daughter," said the old man, very ten-
derly; "'tis the candour of a graybeard and not the gallant
speech of a youth. Look yonder to where the towers of Zul
rise in daring wantonness to Heaven, look around at our own
tall battlements, and tell me, is not Sin hid under a fair dis-
guise. Yet it is there!"

He spoke very bitterly and his words sank into my
soul.

"It is beautiful," said Susi, her blue eyes filling with tears;

NOAH.

" but it is like the wasp's nest and those bright beings like
the wasps."

Each was in perfect sympathy with the other; the fair
lady's soft, white hand resting on the old man's hard,
knotted one.

He sighed. "I make thee sad," he said more cheer-
fully.

"Nay, but to see thee doubt, father," she said, "thou, my
teacher 1 How oft hast thou chided my doubts, telling me they
were but trials of faith, and truly it makes me sad to see thee
doubt. I, what can / do, then? Yet now can I think alone,
and oft have fair visions dispelled my sorrow."

A holy rapture shone in her face, and the old man caught
the enthusiasm. With a movement of joyfulness he drew her
towards him and kissed her forehead.

" Out of thy sweet lips speaks the Lord Jehovah to his old
servant," he said, bowing his head.

She blushed with a daring joy, that, however, was instantly
suppressed by a meeker feeling, and then sprang to her feet
as Shem approached from within, and ran to him.

The firstborn of Noah was a great man, as tall as Ham,
which was among the goodliest men of Zul, and his hair was
long and black. He kissed Susi and bade her retire ; and made
complaint to his sire concerning how the Tzan's tax-collectors
had descended on the flocks and herds. There followed him
Gomer, the son of Japheth, which was the third son of Noah,
bearing a tool for hewing wood ; for he and Misraim, the son
of Ham, with their workmen were building an engine of wood
on the bank of a river that ran before the walls. He shook
back his long hair to hear what his elders might say, and little
methought then that he should be one of the first progenitors
of a new race of man when that all save he and his families
were dead — eheu, 0 eheul my Love among them!

The economy of the State was thus : Each of the greater
nobles had a portion of land with a great city on it assigned
to him, and from all on the land and in the cities at the time
of tax-collecting toll was exacted. The Tzan drew from every
territory and every city, less in proportion from each. Thus

ATLANTIS.

the Lord of each territory drew a yearly tithe, and all over
the land the Tzan drew one-twentieth.

The season had been bad and the tax-collectors were over-
bearing and insolent. Bad feeling was aroused and in places
resistance was offered, but Noah advised submission when his
son angrily stated the grievance. Their family was not popular
by reason of their religious opinions and intolerance of bloodshed,
and the people would not aid any measures fully. He reminded
liim of Mehir's raid on Aten, and Rhadaman's on Talascan,
which was the chief city of Atala, of which he was lord, to
avenge a furious resistance to their collectors; how the latter
had hanged the Governor and sacked the city, thereby
impoverishing himself and having to make certain grants to
induce people to go and live there again; which, however, would
not keep Tekthah from taking an excuse to destroy all Tek-Ra
to avenge himself on her rebellious lord, his son ; which would
also cause great danger to Ham.

•'It shall not be for long!" cried the old man; "the sins of
this godless people cry to Heaven for vengeance on them.*
The ways of God are perverted, and the Sons of God aid the
ruin of the Sons of Earth. A day shall come when the sins
of this people shall recoil in horror and destruction on their
heads, and they shall be destroyed to make way for a race
who shall carry out the end for which we are appointed!"

His words stung me keenly, yet without amaze I felt the
sting. The vision of Susi was fresh before me, and her sweet,
innocent beauty ; and in a turmoil of emotions I groaned in
horror and in terror. Kven now, even now could I have saved
my .soul !

And turning away in sorrow, I wandered by a lake full of
lotus flowers and feathery rushes, shaded by willows and elegant
palms ; and thereby sat two lovers. The man was Alam, and
he was of the family of Pharno the son of Lamech, and his
beloved's name was Myra. And long he strove with her, all
unavailingly, for she was very young and foolish, perceiving
not how great his love for her was in so ungodly a land that
he did entreat her so gently. And from them I took more
comfort to myself, seeing that all the love of Earth was not

lOO

NOAH.

withholden only from me; yet the thought of my selfishness
tormented me in other days, for the youth grew from a gay,
ardent boy to a man whose sternness was very great and cruel.
And it was not until long after that I saw how things went
with them, and marvelled at the going.

Concerning the meaning of the names of the sons of Noah there is much
controversy. One division, (the Elohistic, or priestly,) appears to assign to them
a significance relating to the geographical distribution of nations, and another
ethnographical. We see in Oen. X. 7 Sheba and Havilah as grandsons of Ham,
and in ver. 28, 29 as descendants of Shem. But in these old histories there are
many circumstances which alter apparent meanings; similarity of names, polyandrous
descent, supplanting of one by another, and other things that we do not know of
nor find mentioned.

Of Shem, Wellhausen thinks, taking the Hebrew meaning of the word — "Name"
— that "sons of name" as opposed to ''sons of no name," (Job XXX. 8, A. V,
"sons of base men") would denote the pure-blooded Hebrews in antithesis to the
subject Canaanites.

Of Ham, the Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us that, "on the assumption that
these early genealogies are geographical rather than personal or even ethnological,
the name, which in Hebrew radically signifies "hot," would seem to indicate the
torrid zone; and this inference, though not supported, so far as has hitherto been
discovered, by any corresponding explanation of the names of Shem and Japheth,
at least harmonizes well with the fact that on the whole Shem seems intended to
denote the intermediate and Japheth the northern regions of the world as known
to the compiler of the book of Genesis."

With regard to the statement concerning the corresponding significance of the
names of Shem and Japheth to Ham, this appears to be modified by what Mr.
Gladstone tells us of the latter. He says^the Japhetites are those, (Japhah = fair,)
of fair complexion — which I take to possess an ethnological and geographical
significance equal to that of Ham, " hot," and would probably indicate the Aryan
races, which in perfect keeping with the words of Gen. IX. 27, "God shall enlarge
Japheth", are to-day the dominant power of the world.

Yet, taking this supposition as correct, we find Japhetites subject to Gog, a
Scythian prince, in Ezek. XXXVIII., where Meshech, Tubal and Gomer are cited
as belonging to his great army which issues from the north. (V. v. 2. 6.) Now
Magog signifies the Scythians, who were a Mongoloid race. But there need be
no hesitation in saying that they were of a different race, for in V. 5 we find
Aryan Persians and the Hamitic Ethiopians and Libyans in the same army.

lOI

CAP. XII.

A MAN AND A NATION,

That scene in Tek-Ra haunted me for ever by its silent
index to what I should do, that nevertheless I impatiently
dismissed, being foolishly and wickedly in love with Azta. For
here Huitza could rule and make it the chief city of the land,
counselled by Noah, whom he loved, and convertible to the old
faith. And ever before me arises the form of Susi, beautiful
and holy as an Angel and pure as a flower of Heaven.

Yet back in haste I went to Zul, and to quiet my soul entered
the great temple, for long sitting with those three awful images^
that ever looked upon the burning fires below, gazing into the
lurid spaces where forms of evil sat.

But a great shuddering seized me and a wish for human
companionship, so. that I went up through the square aperture
above to the vast chambers, and the weird sound that dwelt
there swept round like a moaning sigh. The eyes of the colossi
moved upon me and the bright pictures on the walls flared and
smoked, the enormous representations of Neptsis with her lunar
crown and the vast embryo of Zul flashed into vivid brilliance
in all their mistic imagining, wondrous in the amorphous dark-
ness that rolled so gradually from the lurid glow of the pit,
and lost itself in the darkness.

And above, sat Acoa before the brazier, on which slowly
revolved a globe of lambent fire, clear as crystal, with a self-
contained light that cast no shadow on the dark priest gazing
upon it so earnestly. Above in the air tremulated Something,
that lived and moved and breathed, but what it was I knew not.

In the bright globe events were taking place and figures
moved. Forms and faces appeared and vani.shed and certain
things haj^pened with a sugge.stion of weird horror in them. I

1 02

A MAN AND A NATION.

thought I perceived a great, throbbing current boiling and
flowing, now flashing bright and falling in tumultuous descent,
and anon a great purple flow with dark red spots in it that
progressed slowly and choked the whirl of wonder. Great
waves of gold, mighty billows of blood and horror, with waving,
spectral hands that rose therefrom and clutched and quivered ;
and awful, ghastly faces that seemed of terrestrial mould, but
of so dreadful appearance as might not be seen but on the
front of a Gorgon. These sank back and appeared to be stifled
in the whirlpool, where there were dreadful despairing fiends
that devoured their own flesh, and awful shapes not of Earth
gnashing their serrated teeth in bloody foam and burning
with fire, wriggling and writhing, disappearing under the
boiling flood.

I gazed in horror on the dark man, who watched with eyes
dilated hideously. He appeared not to breathe, and his coun-
tenance was as that of one long dead.

A flash of light fell from the Shape that hovered above, and
in place of the globe of fire came a bright scene that compelled
the attention to its little space until it appeared to occupy all
the Earth. From the Sun came a figure of flame, and the god
.Zul ot stood upon the Earth ; and before him bowed a figure
that was Acoa's. And to him was given a sword of lightning;
but a dark, indistinguishable Thing flew across the scene and
blotted it out, as the obsidian mirror flashed the rays of the
Sun, with swift graduation to a blaze of light, over the great hall.

"What is It?" whispered the High Priest, in a fierce, de-
sperate whisper, gazing fearfully on the brazier, with the dilated
pupils of his eyes shrivelling under the bright sunHght, his
hands trembling with an ague and his chest heaving as
though he laboured terribly for the panting breath that moved
the froth on his lips. His long yellow robe shook from his
shoulders to the folds about his feet, and I perceived that here
the Spirit laboured greatly with a weak Clay.

"Might I but seek Thee 1 " he groaned, clasping his temples
with his hands; "could I but arrest this drain of Earth!"

X Uriel ?

103

ATLANTIS.

With a wonder and a purpose in his eyes he walked slowly
to his couch and cried aloud a thing I understood not as he
laid himself down and composed his limbs, invoking the demon
known to man as Asmodeus by powerful enchantment. Gra-
dually the light faded and a vacuum formed, and then an icy
atmosphere filled the chamber as with a wind from the intense
cold of those spaces of uttermost depths where the starry
worlds revolve, and a featureless shadow flitted before my eyes,
from which two orbs of great penetration fixed themselves
with a fatal intensity upon Acoa. He appeared to fall into a
deep slumber, and I watched curiously as the flesh of his hands
and face seemed to wither and fall in onto the bones. His jaw
dropped and his large eyes, opening, rolled upwards in a horrid
stare. From his body, as a mist rising, issued a Shape, and I
knew that no mortal eye could perceive it, forming slowly and
with labour into an outlined figure, tall and comely, in the
form of a youth like unto one of Us, and the face was as
Acoa's would have been in lesser years. Yet, gazing around,,
he looked as one astonished and bewildered and as seeking to
hear a voice or recover some great thought that had escaped
the memory, nor looked nor stirred when the dreadful Shadow
with the fatal orbs took his hand. Then suddenly with a joyous
look he vanished, instantly with the shadow.

I stood astounded that such could be done by one of Earth !
what master-power limited the resources of such as himself — and
myself? Perchance but the lack of the knowledge of a tiny
germ stood between us and a power as mighty and comprehensive
as great Jehovah's; perchance unknown oceans of differences
separated us from it. Who could fathom these Earthly Things
that looked as intelligently forth from an unfathomable mask!
Godlike creatures that crawled from the teeming womb of Earth
and overcame their Spirits by the overpowering might of
tremendous evil, to die and with their foul corruption to breed
more Life. Horrible! Horrible and awful!

I considered the wonder of the individual man, and how that
each one acted apart from the body of which each one was a
part, and plotted for this end or that, striving in the dark to
check another's plot, yet not understanding it at all, and causing

104

A MAN AT^D A NATION.

endless confusion ; and with a sudden thrill of fear knew that
I was in such case by my own volition.

With a pang I looked on the children of Light, yet with a
knowledge that I looked as Man might look, not caring to. leave
his Clay, yet wistful of good at intervals. Over my heart swept
the sound of the harps of countless spheres, whose strings are
swept by the fingers of Time in such grand, celestial harmony,
and I wept. In deepest adoration my soul knelt before Heaven,
yet it was not all holy, for I shut out from my conscience all
regarding Azta, determining to myself to do that which was right.

And thus thinking I sped forth, careless of the daring mystery
before me, and wishful of seeing my Love ; as a rudderless ship
running with the current upon the rocks.

Her I found by the fountains, perturbed in spirit because of
the vision of the near-approaching Tournament, and uneasy,
with all the people, at certain sights in the mountains, where
the gods of fire dwelt. These with violence convulsed the earth,
in thunder and smoke they leaped from the high points, and
molten streams of lava, flowing over the valleys, drove the
people away. From the mountain Axatlan a tall column of
flame waved, like a larger sister to that on Zul, but wreathed
in sulphureous smoke, from which were cast ashes over the land
when the wind blew from the north-west.

Perplexed and terrified, the populace immolated victims and
offered up sacrifices to their abominable idols, deluging them
with blood and wine. A hundred slaves fed the flames of Zul,
and Tekthah with his whole household attended the sacrifices.
The Magicians, free from vulgar superstitions, terrified the people
by drawing lightning from the clouds and playing with huge
serpents, some women being especially celebrated for their
diabolical witch-craft and sorceries. These in gloomy clouds
caused spirits to appear, and monstrous shapes, larvce of fearful
aspect, that made audiences cry out with terror.

The populace believed the gods were angry on account of
the disappearance of Huitza, (which thing Acoa preached in
secret,) and clamoured for his return, meeting in threatening
mobs and howling furiously. All in the palace were alarmed,
even Azta was terrified, yet still Rhadaman waited in lethargic

105

ATLANTIS.

indolence for the Circus, when he beHeved all would come well.
And this was eagerly wished for by all in authority to distract
the attention of the populace, and give them competitions to
fill their hands and thoughts with.

The wrath of the gods was intermittent, the victims from the
Circus might calm it altogether. So preached the various priests,
wishful of their prizes, and the people hoped they were correct
in their views, for they were fearful of the fire-demons.

As the day for the Tournament approached, runners were
sent all over the land to proclaim the great event and to pray
rich offerings. The gates of Zul were thrown open, the retractile
bridges propelled across the sea- moat, and from near and far
the people crowded in over them to participate in the games
and the dreadful temple rites. From all the villages of the
Ilavan coast they came, from the Astran cities, Surapa, Hanat,
Sagara, Mutasara, Sham and En-Ra, from far Bitaranu and
Hitsar, from Bar-Asan, Katalaria, Muzran and all the cities of
1 rocoatla, and all the cities of Tek-Ra and Chalac, from Reb, ^
Ilir, Anduku, and Talascan in Atala. Yet by reason of the
fear of Huitza the governors of the larger cities were commanded
to stay within their walls, and but half the citizens of each were
permitted to come to the capital, toll being taken of each by
special officers appointed ; for that it was feared that the Chief
might seize such cities, if undefended, and fortify himself therein.
And it was also argued that if, despite, he seized upon such,
they would have but half the number of inhabitants therein, and
he might be besieged and crushed; for great concessions were
about to be made to the people assembled in Zul to cause
them to forsake their love of the rebellious prince. Also Ham
and his family were securely guarded, lest in the great crowds
they might seek to escape to Tek-Ra and carry information
of value thereto.

I perceived the fear of Huitza to be very great, he being
esteemed the ablest general of the land; and most would
have wished to see him Tzan notwithstanding they yet revered
Tekthah.

rVom such tribesmen as were from the frontiers came alarming
reports of the prowess of the savage tribes, which were becoming

1 06

A MAN AND A NATION.

a great menace, driving back the hunters from the farther
hunting-grounds and even approaching outlying cities and pallos,
of which there were very many. The warriors who should
keep them in check caroused within walls, and all complained
bitterly of the apathy of their Patriarchs. Many of these border
tribesmen spoke with vile and barbarous tongues, half of their
own people and half of the savages, with whom they to an
extent intermingled so that their offspring were degraded and
often unowned.

Crowds listened to their stories, but their grievances were
forgotten for the moment in wonderment at all they saw ; for
the grandeur and immensity of Zul greatly surpassed all other
cities, even the larger ones ; and the wonder of the sea and
the shipping within the harbour held them speechless. They
gazed on the great warships Tacoatlanta, Mexteo and others,
and the crowd of smaller boats in wonderment, and frowned
with awe on the enormous pile of Zul and the battlements and
terraces of the grand palace of Tekthah.

Sauntering through the streets, tall hunters and herdsmen,
clad in skins, looked curiously on the yellow-robed citizens of
Zul and other cities, and gaped at the legionaries, shaking
the large pendants of gold, metal or pebbles in their ears and
nostrils with wonder at all they saw. The steps, pillars, columns,
arches, paintings and sculpture, the vast temples and palaces of
the great, were marvels to them. Sowers of grain, fishermen,
miners and collectors of dyes, stones and feathers, walked
shoulder to shoulder with hoary astronomers and astrologers
and overbearing troop-leaders ; gaunt, unkempt savages ex-
changed stares with exquisite, effeminate myrmidons of the
palace, and haughty queens looked with invincible curiosity on
wild-eyed daughters of the frontiers. Here and there the
crowds scattered before the palanquin of some great lady, or
gathered round an agile and marvellous juggler or an awe-
inspiring Magician, terrified by his arts, breathless at his daring
and blasphemous audacity. Long-haired barbarians traded
valuable furs and shells for trifles of civilization with which to
adorn their persons, or for foods and drinks which they never
tasted the like of elsewhere.

107

ATLANTIS.

There was a vast encampment outside the walls, a city of
tents and simple wind-breaks, full at night, but deserted in
the day by reason of all the occupiers having gone into the
wonderful city. After each of these annual festivals many
women, attracted by the splendour, stayed behind and swelled
the ranks of the wretched beings who plied their evil trade
round the walls and barracks of the troops; and many were
kept back by force.

Most of these simple people had brought offerings for the
various gods, and had with them numbers of captives, taken
in raids, which were handed over to barbarous deaths. Also
the)- brought numbers of captured women and young girls to
be sold into the harems, some worthy of the Imperial protec-
tion, but most sold or bartered to the first bidder; and one of
the first things among the nobles of Zul on any visit of the
tribes or other townspeople was to either go themselves to
obtain the captives they were sure to bring, or obtain them
through well-known agents. '

All the land appeared to have surrendered itself to the pleasures
of the body, and merely lived to appease bestial lusts and
indulge in obscene excitement ; the common peoples openly,
the higher classes in stealth, and with a deadly insidiousness
that sapped the virtues of husbands, wives and families, im-
pregnated with the poison of every sin of Earth. Lust, Suspi-
cion, Intrigue, Violence and Corruption sat in the high places
and dared the wrath of the Almighty, and I trembled as I
thought upon it, which, alas, I seldom did, and then but in
rebellion that only certain courses could alter it.

1 08

CAP. XIII.

THE CIRCUS.

There were fearful scenes in the city, and of a night torches
were used broadcast to illuminate the places ; the Market S(|uare
was ablaze with the lurid glare of bonfires, by the light of
which, and the torches, drunken revelries were carried far into
the night, the day being devoted to sight-seeing. The strains
of music from the palace and the roar of the lions that guarded
the Hall of the Throne of Atlantis excited those who were
within reach of the sounds, and they howled and roared as
though wild beasts themselves, drunk with wine and full of
mischief, revelling in the unwonted luxuries of the city, and
particularly the herbs burnt in pipes and inhaled.

A legion from Trocoatla under the Governor Azco, passing
through them, dealt blows right and left, cleaving its way by
force of arms and moving onwards leaving a wake of stunned
and wounded wretches in its rear, whose shrieks and moans,
added to the pandemonium of wild minstrelsy, clang of armour,
and heavy, measured tramp of feet, stilled for a brief while the
noises of the revellers. Lewd songs were shouted and wanton
scenes enacted, and here a furious brawl progressed where
two men fought for the possession of some woman, who was
usually abducted by a third. Nude wretches danced in bac-
chanalian wantonness in circles with joined hands, the women
more fiendlike and abandoned than the men, and overpowered
debauchees lay like corpses at the mercy of a myriad trampling
feet. Wild shrieks rose above the uproar, Licence fed on fruits
that dropped into its open mouth, agape with drunkenness; the
populace was madder and more abandoned than ever before.

x^bove the glare of the fires, high above in the darkness,
the cold, bright stars shone, but those in the palaces, and even

109

ATLANTIS.

the priestesses in the temples, trembled at the roaring saturnalia,
and forgot all but the danger of some mad outburst, indulging
in resolves of clearing the streets at sunset when the next
annual celebrations arrived.

So two or three nights passed, each more boisterous than
the last, by reason of increasing multitudes, and then the first
day of the Tournament arrived.

The Circus was thrown open a few hours after sunrise. The
rows of seats, tier above tier, were crowded to overflowing,
and when every one was seated a blaze of trumpets proclaimed
the arrival of the Tzan and his household, and the High Priest
of the temple of the Sun.

Conspicuous among all his towering guards and giant sons
stood the old warrior, the founder of the Empire, who had
consolidated the tribes and extended the sway of their conquering
race afar. Before him was carried the National Standard and
the Imperial Sceptre ; behind him strode his private magicians
and astrologers, those tall dark men clad in flowing robes who-
advised him confidentially; and behind them were led in chains
four large lions, two slaves leading each. These men were
immense, as tall as the Tzan and of enormous development,
and from ear to ear their white teeth showed in dazzling contra.st
to their heavy, black features.

Then came the princes of Atlantis : Rhadaman with his great
winged helmet, Mehir, Nezca, Amal, Colosse and a hundred
other well-known figures ; conspicuously Shar-Jatal, the People's
Representative, smiling in order that the jewels in his teeth
might gleam ; the Chief Adar, covered from head to foot in
glittering scales of bronze, beautiful and dreadful to look upon ;
all walking slowly and haughtily, their armour flashing as they
moved, their cothurns clanking to their heavy tread. There
strode Patriarchs and Tzantans in glittering armour, crested
with plumes of ostrich, eagle and scarlet flamingo, horns of
various animals and metal symbols, the sons of Tekthah with
the vulture-wings, in all the glory of warlike panoply and
magnificence, with flashing arms and ornaments and splendid
mantles bright in the dazzling sunlight. All were there save
Huitza, concerning whom a great murmur arose as those which

I lo

THE CIRCUS.

knew of his setting forth told those nearest, and those who
were ignorant of it loudly demanded to be enlightened.

In the rear of this procession of the warriors came the
palanquins of the ladies, rich with yellow metal and gems, and
green, purple and yellow housings. On these the eyes of the
populace blazed with a daring wish to possess their lovely
occupants radiant with powder and jewels.

There rode my Love, the haughty Azta, her hair falling in
two great waves either side of her face, the returning ends
brought up under the jewelled strap above which reposed in
queenly majesty the Lunar crown of State, the headdress of
the Tizin of Atlantis. From the crown, representing an egg,
emerged on high the similitude of a serpent, which a great
plaited coil of hair appeared to continue at the back, and either
side of the shining crystal moon a great serpent upheld the
structure, whose scaly body, resting upon the shoulders, supported
the weight. Tekthah's crown was the same, save that in place
of the crystal moon was the Solar disc of gold, and the topmost
serpent carried outspread wings. Selfpossessed and with a
slight sneer on her pale face, Azta's disdainful eyes languidly
hovered in their yellow fires over the waving myriads in the
vast amphitheatre, whose various dresses formed a kaleidoscopic
and wondrous effect.

There, also, rode Sada, whose great dark eyes and voluptuous
charms won that admiration of the people that for the Tizin
was lost in wonder and astonishment at her strange, unearthly
beauty ; Tua, with the softest of blue eyes, a daughter of Tekthah ;
Teta, with the magnificence of brown hair and the prettiest of
lips, and Semaia, a rival to Azta in form. Pocatepa, in the
full insignia of Neptsis came at the head of all the priestesses,
who were there to claim the victims for the altars of the goddess ;
and all these, and many more, came in for open-mouthed
regards. One popular favourite was missing — it was Fae.

Attendant upon each person was the peculiar suite ; the
shield-bearer, pipe-bearer, fan-bearer, and, of the ladies, scent-
bearers, and large retinues besides, so that there was a very
great multitude altogether, very splendid and magnificent, moving
onward in an endless stream of coloured magnificence.

1 1 1

ATLANTIS.

The roar of triumph that had greeted the mighty Tzan
continued unbrokenly as each popular personage came in sight;
and, by the truth of God, it was a stirring sound and thrilling.
What triumph for man, this applause of a nation!

And how brightly spread that myriad-eyed array I The gleam
of gold and silver among the soft tints of mantles and feathers,
the waving of coloured fans as a meadow of flowers swayed by
the breeze, the sparkle of gems as some languid beauty moved
a rounded arm on which golden ceintures held the wealth of
empires, the glittering armlets of warriors, some formed as
serpents, and plates fastened to bands confining the hirsute
glories of some princess. Above some chevelures flashed gemmed
tiaras of fabulous worth, and necklaces of priceless pearls from
Astra enhanced the soft beauty of many a round, white throat.
It was a gorgeous array of splendour and magnificence 1

When these were seated, a trumpet-sound broke the expectant
stillness. This was the first day of the Circus, when Rhadaman
had said that in the night Tekthah should die, and I looked to '
where the Tzantan sat, and wondered would he wait until the
prophetic third day before he took any steps.

A trap was opened beneath the seats and from it a horse
bounded into the vast arena, surveying the scene with startled
eyes and pricked ears, suddenly transferring his attention to a
great, lithe, catlike creature that leaped from another trap, and,
belly to the earth, crept swiftly towards him. As, with a snort,
he turned, the spotted leopard leaped towards him with three
lightning bounds, but the shying little savage of the plains
avoided the fate, and with a swing of his heels rolling the
leopard over, fled like the wind. He eluded another in like
manner that was sent in to aid the first, and when the two
were aided al.so by a third and caught him, he killed one and
fought the remaining two with teeth and hoofs, but succumbed
at length.

Then the victors had to fight a lion, who vanquished them
and then killed a horse and a buffalo and was finally impaled
on the spear-like horns of a large antelope.

There were many more such combats, and some where numbers
of animals took part, all of which the crowds applauded or

I 12

THE CIRCUS.

disapproved, exchanging bets on the results, oc They licked their
lips at the sight of blood, showing their large white teeth and red .
gums, at times uttering their formidable cries of approval Or
disapproval and calling on their gods to aid the combatant of
their choice.

Among them promenaded vendors of water, wine and solid
food-stuffs, long-handled fans to ward off the hot sun-rays, and
small images of all the various gods. Musicians added discord
to uproar, and from the Imperial quarter the odours of perfumes
floated, sprinkled by slaves upon the air to ward off the odour
of the multitude.

The combatants fought on down there, watched by the
myriads of pitiless eyes, which began to perceive in them a
sameness, so that there were roars of joy when human beings
appeared to compete with the brutes.

The first was him I recognised as Gadema ; and, startled, I
looked to where Azta sat. Unflinchingly she gazed at him, and
afterwards she told me that she had prevailed upon Tekthah
to consign him thither for an act of insolence to herself; and
now, as his pallid face sought her out, she drew a slave before
her that he might not see where she sat. And his competition
was this; that he should race the length of the arena against
an auroch, and if he reached a little trap at the other side he
could escape, but if not he must do what he might with
a knife which he wore in a belt, which was also his only
clothing.

Poor boy! There he stood, a figure of faultless symmetry,
trembling with fear as the roar of his handicapped pursuer fell
on his ear. for he had a start of one-tenth of the arena. Yet
not alone he trembled, for Rhadaman and Shar-Jatal and
others of the conspirators, perceiving him, and totally unaware
of such an entry, were filled with the direst forebodings, believing
all to be known and this the first victim of a wrath they feared.
In mute dismay they sat, therefore, revolving in their minds

X It is not stated how many animals were in the arena at one time. But in
the Roman amphitheatre, Scylla exhibited a combat in which lOO lions took part,
Cnesar 400, and Pompey 600. This is on the authority of Pliny, who informs us
that Quintus Curtius started the savage pastime.

113 8

ATLANTIS.

this thing, and I perceived how their eyes looked more inwardly
than on the arena.

The great bull leaped from the trap and Gadema sped ofif
like the wind to race for his life ; and so still was the multitude
that the flying patter of feet could be heard. With death rn
his eye the bold auroch bounded after the white racer in front,
who.se only hope was in his speed, for he could not fight such
an opponent with his hands, like it was remembered of the
prince Azco, who, unaided and alone, had fought with and slain
such another opponent.

Shar-Jatal, who ever kept a calm head, made an imperious
signal to some one at the goal-end of the arena ; and Gadema,
perceiving the door of safety close, faltered in his stride and
shouted aloud with a great despairing cry. For the merciless
Tzantan was minded that he should not escape, being within
the clutch of Tekthah, to whom, if he had not already confided
ought, he never should.

It was no good racing. The youth desperately faced the
beast; yet accustomed to be petted and pampered he was no
fit combatant in such a contest, and his failing heart would not
support the half-formed resolve. To the disappointment of the
audience he again turned, in the very moment of time, and as
the thundering auroch halted with a bound and raised his head,
astonished at meeting no opposition, he beheld his victim
skimming over the arena like a bird at right angles to his
former course.

Most of the people, not understanding the reason for this,
were astonished ; for although they had heard the victim's cry
and seen him falter, the glare of the sun prevented them from
seeing the reason ; for the door by which he might have escaped,
sunk deeply, presented the same gray .square whether open or
shut.

How brutal was the mind of the crowd! For, with a futile
hope in their pity, the youth, reaching the wall, endeavoured to
climb up into .safety. Rut handfuls of dust were cast on him
and vengeful epithets .shouted on his luckless head; clubs beat
his poor fingers to pulp, and falling back on the horns of his
pursuer he was cast into the arena.

114

THE CIRCUS.

Dazed and trembling with terror and pain the youth again
fled, and the people roared to encourage him, various war-cries
and the shrill whistles of certain warriors of Atala rising high
above the din. Blinded and bruised he staggered on, and only
by falling escaped the auroch's charge. He clutched for his
knife, but it was gone; but as in that was his only hope he
rose up and, running with incredible swiftness, found it.

The baffled and enraged bull was on him again, and with a
shuddering cry the boy plunged the blade into his own heart,
preferring to die thus ; and the body that, hurled by those cruel
horns, went with the rush of a missile into the crowd, was a
lifeless one.

Ill would it have been for Shar-Jatal had Azta known of his
treachery to the hapless boy, for methought her eyes flashed
furiously now that he was dead and that she repented of such
scene having transpired. Yet other events followed so rapidly
that there was not much time for thought, and I perceived
Rhadaman and the other conspirators to be more at ease as the
time went on. And that night Targul the pipe-bearer died by
violence, being secretly put away by Shar-Jatal's orders lest he
might be terrified into confiding any secret to Tekthah.

There followed terrible fights between men and beasts, in
which sometimes the men had arms, sometimes not; and occa-
sionally some godlike man would rend the beasts single-handed
by a wondrous exhibition of giant strength. A few, like Gadema,
ended an unequal combat by an easier death than any they
could receive from their brute antagonists; and at such a
culmination the multitudes cried out with rage and gnashed
their teeth.

Night came, ending the sports for the day and starting its
own diabolical saturnalia, and in the sheer movements of crowds
many were killed. The next day was the same as the first, on
a grander and still larger scale; the third day was for human
combats only, to finish with that foretold scene when the
Champion of Atlantis should fight with an unknown person,
and —

And what! What would follow? I knew not.

115

CAP. XIV.

THE THIRD DAY,

The morning of the third clay broke, the day of great events
and great expectations. For this day was proclamation of con-
cessions to be made to all the people by Tekthah to bind their
hearts to him and keep them from following after Huitza; and
it was to be of great moment to Rhadaman and a turning-
point of many things. For this day had many hearts waited,
and it had come— and now is it gone, gone by afar and for ever.

Mow eager they were in their strength and wickedness, those
lusty ones who watched the arena, where men wrestled in oiled
nakedness, armed or weaponless ! Huge spears, hurled by Ti-
tannic arms with the force of thunderbolts, smote through four-
fold shield and softer body, and stood smoking out behind, to
the delight of the populace. Troops of warriors joined furious
battle, and slings sent stones flying unseen, that sent horrid
splashes of blood and brains spattering about. A few noted
champions engaged many or fought one another, and the war-
cries of various tribes arose shrill and long from the excited
audience. Slaves and captives were butchered wholesale; smashed,
stabbed, gashed, thrust through, strangled and broken by their
.savage and horrible opponents, who were of the race of their
conquerors.

My heart sickens now to think of that carnival of horror
which I perceived for the first time ; but what power could
have stopped so great a deed ? And I also hoped for something,
I knew not what, to happen after this dreadful fete.

At length came the concluding ceremony of the games, which
sadden me to think of, and I looked to see now what I should
see. This was the challenge of the Champion of Atlantis to
di.spute his right by single combat to the title.

Ii6

THE THIRD DAY.

I understood this was, as a rule, an empty ceremony. A
captain advanced to the centre of the arena and in a stento-

A GREAT SENSATION PASSED THROUGH THE IMPERIAL THRONG.

rian voice announced that the Lord Rhadaman, first-born of the
King of the Earth, and Tzantan of the armies of Atlantis, desired
to be known as Champion, and challenged all or anybody to

117

ATLANTIS.

dispute the title by trial of single combat Then, after a silence,
the prince took the stand of the retired herald and was blessed
by Acoa, and that ended it.

But this time, as Azta had said, a man entered from an
opposite direction to that from which the herald had come,
dressed in equal style; and, in the dead silence that followed
the pompous speech, declared, in a voice that could be heard
by all the astonished multitude, that there was one who would
do battle in dispute of such title.

Tekthah started, and a great sensation passed through the
Imperial throng, while all the conspirators believed themselves
to be discovered, and this to be the commencement of their
doom. I perceived Azta to pale and catch her breath, and a
vast bewilderment seized all, who marvelled what manner of
man it might be who dared defy the mighty Chieftain, son of
great Tekthah !

1 saw a dark frown gather on the Tzantan's brows, and the
thought that this was the end before the beginning of an
evil and bloody march to the throne, lay heavy on him as
he rose up and shook his great body, looking steadily round
on the warriors and princes about him. For a moment I per-
ceived it was in their minds to do instantly some desperate
deed ; yet nought had transpired to show that the conspiracy
against the sire was suspected, save the sacrifice of Gadema;
and Rhadaman believed that if the plot was known and he had
to die, this fashion would be as well as another, and if not, all
would come as he believed ; and no good could come of a wild
uprising. As he passed Azta he said in a voice of menace and
angry despair, yet withal breathing a savage pride: "Thou
wilt remember! Thou .shalt be Tizin of Atlantis!"

She nodded. The eyes of all were directed to a spot in
the Circus, whence came, through that door that doomed
Gadema to death, a tall figure. Completely hidden by his
armour from any recognition, he carried spear, sword and shield,
and stalked to the centre of the arena, casting a long, slow
stare round the sea of faces.

A dense silence reigned, broken only by whispered guesses
as to whom this might be. Now, facing him, Rhadaman ap-

Il8

THE THIRD DAY.

peared, and immediate comparisons and notes were made and
bets exchanged.

The combatants appeared to be equally matched, and the gaping
crowds noted it the while they joyfully prepared to watch the
unexpected treat. Both of towering and goodly proportions,
splendidly limbed and of tremendous power, they were clad
completely in armour, and the helmets had visors that hid the
features, — Rhadaman's overshadowed by the golden vulture-wings,
the stranger's topped by the horns of the buffalo. Over their
shoulders hung the enormous round shields, ponderous and
weighty, but on the stranger's was no token to disclose who he
might be, and none could guess save at hazard. The visor of
his helmet was but the leathern shield of the common soldier,
but his manner and bearing proclaimed a high birthright.

At a flourish of trumpets the heralds withdrew and left the
arena clear for the rival Champions ; and looking at Azta, I saw
her gaze on the stranger with her yellow eyes afire, her lips
drawn tight over her teeth, and her hands clenched to her bosom
as though to still the heart whose beatings I could almost
perceive.

In a deathlike silence the duellists faced one another. Then,
both turning, strode fifty paces apart and struck their spears
into the earth; and again facing, drew their swords and advanced
with uplifted shields.

At the display of knowledge as to the etiquette of the duel
on the part of the stranger a murmur arose. The Imperial
party leaned forward on their couches, watching anxiously, Azta
with the look on her face that she wore while she read the
vision. The combatants slowly circled the one round the other,
watching for the sHghtest opportunity to direct a blow, yet
Rhadaman seemed overbearing and confident, knowing the eyes
of his fondly-imagined mistress were upon him.

He suddenly leaped towards his opponent, and quick as
lightning his great blade circled and cut upward; with equal
rapidity it was arrested on the opposing shield, and he sank down
to escape a deadly sweep that flashed in an arc of light over
his own buckler. With a shout he leaped up and swung his
sword, it hovering in its mortal dartings right, left and in light-

119

ATLANTIS.

nm^ circles; and rapid strokes were given and parried, the
swords looking like lightning flashes; and the thud and clang
rose fast and loud in the intense silence.

I saw wagers being given and taken quickly as the stranger's
prowess became greatly apparent to all, but over the crowd a
vast silence lay for the most part. So great a display of swords-
manshii) had never before been witnessed, and all trembled to
perceive an unknown champion in their midst who could thus
stand up against Rhadaman.

An upward cut from the unknown warrior was followed
instantaneously by a manceuvre so rapid that scarce an eye
perceived the masterly stroke that lopped one of the high wings
from his opponent's helm and crushed down the other one. At
the sight a subdued shout arose and rolled like thunder through
Ihe crowds ; half of interest, half of involuntary dismay. The
populace remembered the legends of gods fighting on Earth,
and although they worshipped such with much joyfulness and
sacrifice of the blood of men, they did not profess any wish
to risk such an experiment as having one as a ruler, now that
such contingency appeared possible. But their interest was
c[uickly absorbed in the rapid play of blade and shield as the
giants fought with labouring breath.

Presently blood flew into the air in a red flying circle from
a whirling blade, and a murmur burst forth like the sound of
a stormy wind as every man bared his teeth and drew his
breath over them with a hiss. With anxiety they watched,
hoi)ing their champion would finally win, for no one knew what
the other portended, nor indeed did they care to know. And
the greater the prowess of the stranger became apparent, the
less the people loved to perceive it, and the wildest guesses
were made as to whom it might be who thus dared their best
warrior to single combat in their very midst. Would that
Huitza were here to engage the mighty champion!

Untiringly the combatants fought, their dreadful blows falling
with a might that caused wonderment at their being withstood.
The Tzantan retreated back to where his spear was standing,
and suddenly reaching round, plucked the huge staff from the
earth, changing his sword to the hand behind the shield. Before

120

THE THir<D DAY.

his opponent could move to avoid the dreadful weapon it fell
on him like a thunderbolt, driving him to the earth under his
transfixed shield.

A deafening roar of relief broke from the vast concourse.
Tekthah rose to his fqet with a great pride in his first-born,
but a cry broke from Azta, a sound of indescribable emotion.

The triumphant chieftain rushed on his fallen foe, and the
shouts gave sudden place to hysterical silence. If this were a
god, now let him show his ^owerl And it was so that before
the vengeful sword of Rhadaman could fall, a mighty sword-
sweep from the prostrate unknown one shore off a foot at the
ankle and bit into his other leg, so that he fell on the other's shield.

Triumph was turned to dismay, victory to direst uncertainty,
as the transfixed warrior rose up, and shaking off shield and
spear .stood erect and apparently unhurt.

Rhadaman swept out at him in like fashion with his blade,
but this the stranger avoided by an upward spring; yet not
altogether, for a sandal flew off and a red .stream of blood
gushed from the wounded foot.

The fallen Tzantan crouched behind his shield, and the Im-
perial party groaned ; yet not so did Azta, but gazed in marble
silence A hush as of death fell over the vast crowds, as with
suspended breath they crouched in nearly uncontrollable excite-
ment, craning their necks and exposing their teeth.

There was a stir in the Imperial party, hasty consultations
and violent gestures. Over the crowds swayed a sound like
the sound of a storm in the great forests, as they watched and
speculated while Tekthah hastily discussed if the usual law of
fight to a finish should be permitted. Whereat a smile passed
across the Tizin's fateful countenance, serene and deadly.

The stranger allowed no time for such argument. In turn
wielding his spear, the dreadful weapon transfixed the Tzantan's
shield through the centre of the solar ornament and bored the
sevenfold mighty buckler with irresistible force. Pierced through,
Rhadaman leaped up and fell back with a groan, and the noise
of his fall was as of a tower falling. Yet did he struggle up
with the blood bursting from his mouth and deluging him from
his beard, but it was his last move.

121

ATLANTIS.

Quick as the vivid lightning smote the sword, and the head
with its battered golden helmet leaped from his shoulders and
fell, rolling and jumping, and spouting blood among the masses
of released hair that flew with its circling like a veil about it-
The giant body fell heavily, and the gushing blood rushed from
the arteries in red rivers.

Not a sound was heard. Curiosity, intense and terrific, over-
came all other considerations, and now it would be for the
mighty conqueror to disclose himself. So intense was the silence
that it became oppressive, and several women fainted. Tekthah
watched with a terrible light in his eyes, the veins swelling on
his temples and his hair seeming to bristle as he looked on
that tall warrior who had slain his first-born, the only pillar
between himself and Shar-Jatal, whom he began to fear.

With foot on his opponent's chest, the conqueror leaned on
his red blade, as though enjoying the tension of the waiting
hosts ; and, not sufiering himself to notice his wounded foot,
repeated the long stare with which he had entered into their
presence. To some it appeared to be menacing, to others
arrogant, and all nearly cried out with the torment of waiting
his disclosure.

Slowly he loosened the visor, and, allowing his weapon to
fall on his antagonist's corpse, with both hands he lifted the
horned helmet. And now, as, according to the fashion of the
Atlantean warriors, he had wrapped his mane and beard about
his neck for an additional protection, these masses fell loose;
and as he raised his face to the vast assemblages the light
glinted redly on his tresses, and a shout that rent the skies and
shook the earth arose, a roar of joy and relief and enthusiasm :

"Huitza! Huitza! The '^od has returned!"

122

CAP. XV.

THE CHILD OF DOOM.

Coming in such manner the hero returned, supported by the
love and strengthened enthusiasm of the people ; and without
the walls lay his army, a great part of which, disguised, was
among the crowding thousands in the Circus.

Acoa blessed the prince with impassioned fervour, proclaiming
him Champion ; and now indeed the fires in the mountains ceased,
so that every one beheved the Tzantan to be a God in truth.

The games and sacrifices were over and the crowds returned
to their own lands and cities, confident that now their savage
enemies would be swept from their frontiers and the land
resume its proud status again under the general command of
the popular warrior. There were many who declared that the
Tzan should abdicate in his favour, for his supremacy had only
been by the voice of the nation, enthusiastic over a warrior
who had made the Empire and founded cities. Yet many again
loved Tekthah for the sake of the old days ; and although the
Chieftain had sunk into the luxurious and overbearing Emperor,
he was still the grand old warrior who had made Atlantis what
it was.

In Tek-Ra Noah and his family rejoiced greatly that things
were thus, for Huitza was a friend to Ham, who was held as
hostage in Tekthah's palace. Yet would not the governor
permit such outrageous doings in celebration as the people
wished to indulge in, and they hated him and discussed a way
to rid themselves of the entire family who forsook not the
worship of Jehovah nor leaned to lewdness and unholy conduct.
For as much as possible Noah prevented their evil doings, by
which he raised against him a bitter annoyance.

Now Tekthah was greatly disturbed at the success and popu-

123

ATLANTIS.

larity of Huit/.a, for he believed him to be a plotter at the
sovereign power, and disquieting rumours regarding many wishes
for his abdication reached his ears. The jealonsy of his son
and the wrath at his conquest over Rhadaman lingered with a
bitter feeling; a vast annoyance that the daring warrior had
had the audacity to present himself — a renegade — before a justly
incensed sire, and in that presence to slay the firstborn of the
Empire, which he believed to be the only bar to his rebel ambition.

The old warrior began to perceive his position insecure to
an excess, and a feeling of furious contempt for the nation and
rage against this man seized him, the more so that he believed
Azta to greatly favour him, for which also he hated her.

Nor was Shar-Jatal less annoyed, for he believed this man
would, with sovereign power, seize the hearts of the people so
that any attempt to remove him would be dangerous. There-
fore while Tekthah yet held power he pressed him for an
answer concerning his post of power next to himself. And it
came that Tekthah likewise looked to him as his tool, for l^e
knew him to be unscrupulous, and ready to undertake any
underhand work to his own advancement ; and notwithstanding
that Huitza was his son first-born by the Tizin Atlace (as he
believed), he hated and feared him, and preferred that Shar-Jatal
should hold power before him.

So to this bad man he confided his fears, reminding him that
the Tzantan had many and influential friends ; the Tizin, Mehir,
Mico, Acoa, some of his brothers, and many others, among
whom was Ham ; which one, as concerned one of their larger
cities, was very powerful in such a case.

And to him Shar-Jatal propounded a plan, speaking in ques-
tioning metaphor until he perceived that the Tzan fully understood
the grave campaign ; when he placed before him a horrid scheme
that should strike terror to the hearts of all who dare cross
the path of Tekthah, and seat him more firmly on the threatened
throne.

Now to my Love had been born a little son, for whom she
claimed the Tzan as sire, he being ignorant to a great degree
of myself, nor imagining the love I had for Azta, and forgetting
in the number of his mistresses that she never suffered him.

124

THE CHILD OF DOOM.

Vet was this offspring of our love a wonder to both of us,
being hermaphrodite and larger than ordinary babes, growing
also prodigiously and of a strange beauty, giving promise of a
brilliant career and raising fresh fears also in Tekthah's breast.
For knowing (and fearing far more than he knew) of the Tizin's
regards for Huitza, he dreaded him the sire, and greatly feared
so powerful a combination. And in truth the child certainly
bore a great resemblance to the Tzantan, having ruddy hair,
which was an unusual thing; but Tekthah dared not openly
interfere with the mother, knowing by many rumours of
her strange powers. So to Shar-Jatal he intrusted all the
carriage of the wishes of his heart; and the evil man, who
had long wished in secret to possess so rare a beauty as
the Tizin, vowed to also remove her and the child from the
Imperial path.

Therefore, in pleasing expectation Tekthah walked in his
gardens, and I perceived how bloody a man he was and by
what unscrupulous means he would secure his position. Through
his expanded nostrils he inhaled the air in large draughts, and
felt with pride the still vast muscles of his arms, the while he
laughed in his throat and anon cursed Shar-Jatal in no measured
terms, vowing to raise his own son Tala to the chief power.
Which one hated the People's Representative, who was a rival
to the affections of his half-sister Semaia, among many others.

Azta, walking with her little child and old Na, perceived him
in such mood and would have turned away, but the old lion
motioned her to him.

" Ha ! " he said in a great voice, " a brave whelp ! a worthy
offspring of our union, O Love. After what style is he named?"

" He is called Toltiah," said Azta, her curious and terrible
eyes rivetted on her lord's with half a menace in them ; so that
even in his present mood he felt uneasy.

"Another strengthener to our hands, fair mistress; in these
days of many rumours the Throne hath need of support ; what
thinkest thou?"

He tried to terrify her with his presence and bearing, and
the pointedness of his remark ; but her expression faltered not.

"Does Tekthah hearken to rumours?" she asked sneeringly.

125

ATLANTIS.

"Keep thy tongue more governed, woman!" cried the Tzan,
with roused ire, "else remember Fae 1 "

She gave him one long scathing glance of deadly challenge
and strode away with the child Toltiah and the old slave. To
her arbour she went, where now I lay involved in a purple cluster
of fruit, and reclined on her couch, playing with the plump
creature as a tigress would play with her kitten, and decorating
his hair with sartreel flowers with a vast weird pride.

"How like thou art to him!'' she laughed, yet with a tone
of savagery; "yet why is he returned, and to conquer thus?
O heaven-born whelp, what will come to thee? Is thy path a
long march of blood, my baby, to reign after me o'er all the
Earth? Little one, little one, would it have been better hadst
thou never been born at all?"

Entranced with her beauty I appeared before her, and rising
up, she held forth the child towards me, her eyes full of a
great pride and joy. I took it in my arms and gazed with delight
into its features that were framed with beautiful curls like untcr
Azta's, its eyes being also like hers, while the large, full limbs
gave promise of a great stature beyond the common.

"Truly has our love been blessed," I said; and putting an
arm round Azta, I drew her down beside me into the couch,
seating the child on my knee.

" How greatly I love thee, my Love 1 " I cried with joy, " and
for thy love to me shall come power on earth. Before the
child lies a great future, when he stands the King of men, leader
of warriors and maker of Empires when Tekthah is dead ; and
thou and I, Love, will ever live together and I will show thee
more than ever thou dreamest of or ever could imagine. Yet,
Azta, troubles will come, and woe is me that I love thee so
well, for I fear greatly. Nay, gaze not so on me with those
eyes of fire, for perchance my might can prevail ; and much
have I been thinking of late, and great distances have I travelled,
such as thou wouldst estimate. Leagues to the North, where
lands are that thou knowest nought of; lands where the ever-
lasting ice covers vegetation that once bloomed tropical before
the hand of Jehovah turned the World of P^arth, pivotted on its
axis, and covered the poles with Death; where the bones of

126

THE CHILD OF DOOM.

unknown fearful animals are buried forgotten, the embryo forms
of living creatures that lived before Man was."

She lay on my breast and looked up at me in wonder, holding
one of Toltiah's Httle hands in hers; and in the background
old Na hovered uneasily, as she ever did when I was near,
not comprehending my nature and the manner of my appearances.

And my mind being troubled concerning the council between
Tekthah and the People's Representative, I told to Azta all I
had heard concerning her and the child; whereat she looked
now troubled and now scornful by turns. For concerning
herself she feared not, yet knew that Tekthah feared the child
because of the mystery of his birth and the reason that she
was his mother and bore no regard to himself. She resolved
to send away the child Toltiah, but herself refused to shun the
impending doom, yet why I did not guess, beHeving it to be
but her recklessness. And distressed by such determination I
unfolded to her the manner of arresting an assault by the
power of volition appHed in opposition, that no mortal might
lay a hand on her if she willed it not ; for already she possessed
great power of her eyes. To this end I bade her look upon
me, and gazed into her eyes so that her spirit came forth, and
in an intense concentration of feeHngs showed her wonders
that caused a cessation of carnal Hfe with a lightning increase
of perception, seeing the new power rushing in her veins,
potential and fearful.

She gave a little laugh and stretched herself. "Now am I
powerful indeed I " she cried arrogantly.

" Nay, my dear Love, boast not thyself," I implored her :
" I have not done well to show thee this thing, yet of my
great love for thee I did it. But beware how thou usest thy
power, for toleration is the art of God."

And that night was a great feast proclaimed, and all the
army within Zul was to be feted. But Azta, with all a mother's
love, anxious for her baby, determined to send away Toltiah
to Tek-Ra, and place him under the protection of Noah until
such time as she should send for him, yet in sorrow, for she
loved not such parting. Nevertheless she sent him with Na,
and a strong escort under Nahuasco went with them, which one

127

ATLANTIS.

was well entrusted of the Tizin, being chief of her guards.
Him she gave many gifts to, and on his sword the warrior
vowed to stay by the young prince and devote his life to him ;
and also to deliver the message to the governor that this
charge placed within his walls was born of Heaven and would
one day become an avenger on the nation for their sins and
again raise the altars of Jehovah.

And such 1 also fondly dreamed, yet forgot that no good
could be begotten of sin. And in after days Na returned to
Azta with comforting assurances, for she could not live apart
from her mistress whom she had nursed from her infancy.

128

CAP. XVI.

THE FEAST OF DEATH.

Immensely grand was the scene that night in the Hall of
Feasting. How bright the flaring torches supplied the last light
of Earth that so many eyes of the assembled nobles would
ever see again! For on that night the bloody plan of Tekthah
and Shar-Jatal would be consummated, but none save themselves
and their ministers knew that it was as yet the appointed
occasion; not I myself even. For myself, I was blinded to
affairs of Earth that I would not undertake save for my own
pleasure, and perceived nought unusual in such a proceeding.

Below Azta reclined the one in whose honour the feast was
given — the Tzantan Huitza, who, in full panoply of war, compelled
the admiration of all eyes by his majestic figure and princely
bearing. Yet among his brothers was not wanting jealousy,
and I knew that Tekthah and ' Shar-Jatal hated him. And,
although lost in contemplation of the coloured throngs and
diverted by the subdued roar of conversation and music and
the myriad odours of the flower-decked board, gradually over
my mind spread a presentiment of impending doom, so strong
and terrible that I nearly cried out for fear, yet could not, for
my speech was taken from me. I noticed that many of Tekthah's
mistresses and sons were absent, and I knew that I was to
watch a fearful deed of sin that need not have been ; and to
look upon a direful wrong of Earth that my vacillating policies
permitted, unchecked by aught of Heaven ; and yet, ah God 1
to write it ... . a great thrill of triumph ran through me at
the thought of my great rival's death. But for an instant lasted
that awful jubilation that branded me a murderer and brought
such punishment, and then, with a wondrous horror I looked
around over the torch-hghted scene, wild, barbaric, immense, and

129 9

ATLANTIS.

noted sadly how the Tizin's eyes did feast themselves on the
great man below her, yet with a weird unrest, and that Shar-Jatal
ate with haste next to him. With a great perception I knew
that I looked upon a feast where black Death sat by Tekthah
with sword uplifted to fall, and in the dancing shadows I saw
forms of horror that brooded over the company; and among
them stood the dread Accuser. My soul cried on Acoa, trusting
to him with a great longing to appear; and then in mute
agony, abashed at my position, to Heaven.

Yet all those mortals appeared happy and at ease, and I
knew that in the market-place the troops were carousing.
Mehir reclined in happy enjoyment of the plenteous fare,
slashing with his sword a huge joint on which to regale him-
self; Sada, talking earnestly to the abstracted Shar-Jatal, seemed
absorbed but in him, on whom Semaia flashed evil glances :
Amal, Colosse, Nezca, Mico — all looked indifferent. Yet me-
thought the weird features of the sorceress Pocatepa were alive
with interest, and her black eyes looked deviHshly to where,
through the lurid mist behind the Tzan, gleamed arm and'
buckler and flashing helm.

The conversation grew louder, as was its wont, while the
slaves distributed the contents of the immense bowls of wine
round the board, drunken bursts of laughter and occasional
shouts proclaiming the usual results of its progress. The red
mist gathered in the roof until to me the hall seemed hung
with a horrid cloud of human blood, and beneath swayed the
coloured mantles with the gems and armour gleaming among
them, like sparkles of light in a sea of autumn leaves through
which peered white faces with their strange spiritual eyes.

I felt as though but two people hved in full enjoyment of
intellect to watch the throng— myself and Tekthah, looking as
in a dream on the mass of living colour — and I glanced up to
where the Tzan sat, grim, terrible and without movement,
beneath the Solar crown of State.

Suddenly he clapped his hands, and instantaneously with the
sound a huge spear whizzed and buried itself in Huitza's broad
back, coming with a rush of blood through his chest.

With an agonized roar he staggered up ; and save but for a

130

THE FEAST OF DEATH.

piercing scream from Azta a horrid silence fell, as with startled
eyes all gazed at the stricken hero risen to his godlike height
with the murderous weapon balanced through his body, his
own spear in his hand.

"Thou old traitor!" he gasped, turning on the sire; and
raising his own mighty weapon hurled it towards the Tzan.
But the bolt drave through a Captain of the guard who came
toward him, and rolled him, spouting blood, on to Tekthah;
while the hero sank in death at Azta's feet.

Simultaneously with this attack Shar-Jatal had thought to do
similarly with Mehir, but, whether warned by instinct or impelled
by fate, the imagined victim rolled over in time to avoid the
spear-thrust, that, dashed upon the floor, shattered the weapon
at the binding of the metal and sent the shaft whizzing and
spinning among the viands.

The murderer uttered a curse and turned to fly, fearful of
the wrath of the giant; but Mehir was too quick for him, and
bounding to his feet with a shout, as cries and shrieks rent the
air from all quarters, he caught the treacherous man by the
knees and hurled him at an advancing rush of spearmen, who
were swept off their feet by this tremendous missile.

The hall was in instant uproar. The slaves cried out and
shrieked with terror, the fan-bearers casting down their heavy
fans and running in all directions, and those which bore the
shields covering their bodies with them as they ran. At that
moment the High Priest of Zul rushed in, dishevelled, with his
long while locks streaming and his yellow robe flying around
him like a cloud. He appeared to see nothing as he hastened
through the shouting crowd, but pressed to where Huitza lay
with his head on Azta's lap, and with a terrible cry, sank on
his knees beside him.

Screams of wild terror arose, and vengeful shouts, as through
the heavy odorous atmosphere flew hurled joints and great
amphoras, spears and human bodies, blood, bones, limbs, brains.
From peace the scene had changed with terrible suddenness to
war and murder ; and as warriors, fully armed and harnessed,
rushed in from all sides, the torches were swept from their
metal buckets either purposely or accidentally, and huge forms

131

ATLANTIS.

plunged and wrestled in semi-gloom in lakes of wine and hot
blood and heaps of smashed bowls and mingled viands.

Piercing shrieks of women rose above the din, and the
echoing roar of the lions, who were excited by the noise, added
its thunder to the storm of sounds. By the light of one or two
torches left burning, fearful scenes were enacted ; spears transfixed
the swaying bodies, and great stone and metal axes crashed
through skulls and smashed bones, witnessed in terrific pantomime
through the awful twilight. As many as could find the exits,
fled ; and many, lying down, pulled the dead or dying bodies
of others over themselves, hoping so to obtain immunity from
the sweeping butchers.

Upon Azta, sitting terrified but calm, a huge slave rushed ;
but with half the leg of an ox she felled him to the ground
at her feet. Acoa, his head buried in his mantle, sat regardless
of the terrors around him, as one himself dead, and to my
mind came a great consolation at the thought of Toltiah being
safe and far from this dreadful seat of sin.

The sounds were atrocious, and a rush of combatants swept
Azta and Acoa violently apart from one another and the corpse
of Huitza. I took my Love by the hand, more clearly now
perceiving what to do, and we went thence into the gardens,
among a terrified collection of women and slaves, huddled
together, most of them trembling and sobbing, their clothes gone
and their bodies wounded.

Some among these latter, however, unmoved by the murderous
horrors of the past few moments, were abominable in their
conduct : carrying off, as the darkness allowed, some among the
women whom they had long in secret regarded, seizing their
tender victims with violence and smothering their cries with
their hands. And that nought should come of it afterwards, and
having sufficiently satisfied their lust, they stabbed them to the
heart, and carrying them into the dark hall left them, cast among
the dead warriors ; first breaking their teeth to obtain their gems.

So, among many others, perished Teta and Semaia : so would
have died proud Azta but that I stood by her, and ofttimes
warded off a death that hovered nigh. Yet her wild agony of
grief smote bitterly on my soul with a message I would not

132

THE FEAST OF DEATH.

hear, but that nevertheless poured burning adamant slowly into
my heart with unowned pain and scathing.

And now bright lights began to flare again, as the scattered
torches seized with their flaming fat upon all inflammable things.
In the hall men still fought, but the soldiery had silenced most
of them overcome by wine, yet nevertheless the armour they
wore, protecting them from many a ghastly wound, greatly
prolonged the struggle. The thick, yellow smoke from fallen
torches yet unextinguished, and the pungent smell of roasting
flesh where human beings burned within their fur mantles, rose
above the reek of blood. The sputtering crackle and explosive
sounds of bursting skulls that the flames cracked, the sharp
crick of the heated pots and bowls, the crackling of burning
bones and sizzle of flames that came in contact with moisture
rose sharp above the soft moans of dying men and women too
terribly hurt to cry aloud. Yet now and then some wretch
hidden beneath a pile of corpses, licked by fire, would rise from
the scattering heap and rush for an exit, leaping and crying out.

In a short time all human sounds ceased in the hall, for
everyone there was dead ; and in pools of blood, among burning
rugs and broken crockery and bones and weapons they lay,
the corpses of nearly four hundred human beings ; and the lions,
scenting the blood, roared all night long. All that could burn
flared redly, and now that the need for light had gone the
bright flames began to throw their tongues of fire over the
scene of that carnival of Death. Running upwards upon a
hanging curtain they laid hold upon the rafters of the roof,
which fell crashing down and covered all with a dusty coverlet
of charred wood, clay, and tiles. But by reason of its sudden
fall, and being isolated, it caused no ignition to other roofs of
the palace.

It was a fitting floor-piece to the horrible paintings on the
walls, now more horrible by reason of gory patches and smudges
and the delineations being in places destroyed by Hnes of
smoking soot and the purifying flames ; and all night long unclean
dogs fought and fed and chased each other through the smoking
dust, disturbed by the roar of the lions, and flung red splashes
about.

133

ATLANTIS.

The Tzan and Shar-Jatal and many other influential ones had
bribed over a great part of the army to their side; and next
morning a herald was sent to the legions in the Market-Place,
yet heavy with great debauchery and surrounded by those bribed
ones, and demanded of them a fresh oath of allegiance to
Tekthah, new officers being appointed to them. For the old
ones of any importanee had been especially marked for slaughter,
and among these was Mico, the chief of the archers. And
many also of the old officers who survived were, seen no more,
being secretly put away. Vet the Imperial Guards, all young
nobles, though serving under a captain, were in their hearts
furious at the murder of many friends in that massacre; and
many also, perceiving that Shar-Jatal recovered, hated him as
representing in upstart guise the mass of the people, and being
now appointed next in power to Tekthah. Likewise a vast
feeling of insecurity was now engendered, for no one felt safe.
Azta being removed to a great tower by the Representative's
orders and there hidden, the rumour being spread that she was
dead. Alone, with but old Na to comfort her, she remained in
wild anguish, nor would permit me to approach her; so that
my soul fainted within me at the thought that she believed me
to be the murderer of her Love.

There was a time of danger from the enraged population, who,
shocked in their luxurious habits by the news of the massacre
(that was felt all over the land), gathered in crowds and had to
be dispersed by force of arms, and at times even the majestic
presence of Tekthah could scarce calm them. By degrees the
news spread to the farthest boundaries, and then a strong rumour
gained ground that their great chief would appear again, and
all Atlantis grew to believe in it and look for it. Which rumour
Acoa instituted and spread with furious zeal, yet in secret;
and I was bewildered at the mazes of results, of plot and
counterplot, vaguely perceived, yet not understood. Also I
became possessed of a sad apathy, a dull heavy sorrow that
dragged down my spirit, and I could not leaVe Azta, yet longed
in vain for herself to invite me to approach her.

Tekthah was startled and appalled at the prophecy of his
son's reappearance, which overcame his joy at the news of

134

THE FEAST OF DEATH.

Azta's death and the death of Toltiah, for those detailed for
this bloody deed dared not confess their errand unsuccessful.
And to farther increase his uneasiness, the body of Ham, the
son of Noah, could not be found, nor was any member of his
family to be discovered ; for they had fled under cover of the
murderous attack and had gone to Chuza with the evil tidings.
Which, hearing, and knowing that now Huitza was dead the
people, who hated him, would rise against him, Noah fled with
speed, taking all his family and the boy Toltiah ; and no man
knew whither he had gone.

And now Tekthah became furious and apathetic by turns, so
that none cared to approach him, and lands of dead nobles and
princes were suffered to remain with no master but the tribe-
leaders. And in such wise had he believed he could make
himself safe and unmenaced, and deal out a dire lesson to all
who might cross his will and power ; yet in place of living
enemies arose armies of larvai and horrid Dreams, and those
days of Tekthah were terrible.

135

CAP. XVIL

THE PASSING OF TEKTHAH.

The days passed slowly and in sorrow. Superstitious and
impulsive, Tekthah had repented bitterly of his fury, and now
like a living presence the shade of Huitza stood above his
mind and he appeared to believe more than anyone else in the
legend of his reappearance; for he feared the power of Azta
even in death.

But to me was the greater sadness, for a horror I could
scarcely explain lay on my soul, the knowledge that I was
voluntarily giving up all for what I nearly perceived to be a *
shadow, yet dared not dream of such. And in sad perplexity
and sorrow I did but hover near my Love, to whom the
Tzantan Shar-Jatal, madly desirous of possessing her, went at
times and importuned, using all his courtly arts to that end.
1 le prostrated him before her, threatened, prayed, but all in
vain. To the same argument as dead Rhadaman's — "Thou
shalt be Queen of Atlantis when I am Emperor " — she had
answered, "Thou wilt never be the Tzan." And when, maddened
by her taunts, he had rushed on her, she smote him by my
arts so that he staggered back and lost all his courage.

And so she lived quietly with old Na to wait upon her, and
grieved sadly ; yet would make no attempt to escape because
she would thereby lose all chance of power that was very dear
to her, and the wild hope of vengeance.

And then I looked upon another phase. It was night on
Atlantis, a dark, troubled night, where voices seemed to cry in
the air and spirits floated like horrid larvai in the atmosphere.
Clouds were over the face of all the sky, and the long, flamy
streamers waved like fanciful human figures from high temples,
flung by the wind. The moan of the sea rose unceasing as

136

THE PASSING OF TEKTHAH.

long billows dashed in masses of foam up the yellow beach,
and the wind howled in the trees and shrieked with fearful
sounds through the ghostly sartreels and swinging vines.

In the palace all was still save but for the sound of the wind
that fluttered the coloured hangings in the entrances, scaring
prowling dogs that had escaped the sentries' notice ; which ones
walked fearfully, terrified by rumours of horrid appearances
within those walls where lay the Hall of Feasting in disorder
and darkness, uncovered to Heaven. Therein appeared to brood
the spirits of dead warriors and murdered women, and broad
splashes of blood on the walls remained to speak of violence
and treachery that hurried victims to hasty death, and burial
scant of rites or decency. None dared feast there now, nor,
unaccompanied, pass through it. Time would never cover
those memories.

The palace was full of soldiers, and in the gardens the
legions thronged, secretly gathered by command of Shar-Jatal
and officers who were his myrmidons, great men and very
influential. All were silent and stern, casting glances around
as huge moths flew by or the high wind rolled the tapestry
in bellying shapes. There was much trouble in those days,
with promise of more to come; and as I flew, disguised in
the shape of a moth, I wondered where it would all cease.
Besides disquieting rumours concerning savage tribes, dangerous
by reason of many of their leaders being of the Last-created
race by intermarriage or the result of raids, there was the
unrest of their own peoples; and such cities as had been
relieved of a tyrannical lord slain in Tekthah's horrid massacre
seemed to resent the idea of another being appointed,
the governors of such cities secretly encouraging the feeling
for their own advantage. And especially Talascan grew
averse to such, and being a very powerful city, caused much
uneasiness to those who considered upon it. Indeed, I perceived
that now Tekthah had lost his high authority the whole land
was falling to pieces in its evil, and all that was in danger of
falling before now broke ofl* and divided up into many factions.
The chance I had neglected to take was gone with Huitza, and
I looked in fear on a land of unchecked passions guided by a

^Z7

ATLANTIS.

thousand rulers whose authority was measured by their power
of evil.

And I perceived that Shar-Jatal was not displeased at Noah's
flight, for he had ever been a menace to such as worked evil,
and under the power of Huitza would have risen in great might ;
and so it puzzled me that Huitza had not therefore by the
grace of Heaven come to power without my aid. But I knew
not the human heart, neither indeed could it well be known,
and therefore I misunderstood and worked out vain imaginings.
And concerning Shar-Jatal's fear of Noah, it was spread abroad
that the patriarch had worshipped demons, for outside the walls
of Tek-Ra lay a great machine, complete to what extent they
did not know, with vast beams and cross-beams, bound with
ropes of twisted gut. On which, when he was gone, the people
had cast curious eyes, marvelling at its quaint construction.
One man, more venturesome than his fellows, climbed into the
end of the greatest beam, while six others, sweating at cross-
bars secured in a rope twisting beneath their efforts, pulled the
beam, with him on that end, downward, until it bent from its
opposite fastenings like a great bow. And that end, where they
were, giving way, the cross-bars were flung all apart, cracking
skulls and backbones and flinging mangled bodies about, while
the great beam shot up with a tremendous recoil, and, striking
a cross-beam with a concussion that sent it hurtling among the
jieople, hurled the wretched man upon its end with tremendous
velocity nearly across the river upon whose banks it stood,
killing him thereby. This was the Catapult, but as yet not
recognised.

Thinking upon such things, I watched, and in the dark night
heard the voices of Shades that cried out. How the Sun-spirits
were fighting with the demons! Acoa on Zul's highest tower
stood there with his Divinity, his body undulating and quivering
like the column of flame before which he stood, his eyes flashing
with mad excitement as the bright Thing swayed and leaned
far out before impetuous winds, appearing as though about to
leap from its pedestal and fly.

The Tzantan Ju, Chief of the Navy, was on shore to-night,
against whom Shar-Jatal cherished hate and sought an evil

138

THE PASSING OF TEKTHAH.

pretext to destroy him, on account of his being the lawful
husband of Pocatepa. He held beneath his command the crews
of the Tacoatlanta and Mexteo, who were ordered to remain
by their ships in the harbour. These men were more supersti-
tious and fearful than all the rest, and wondered if any monsters,
born of the storm, would terrify them with their huge bulks
when they embarked again. They invoked the Spirits of Waves,
whose white figures they saw of a night vanishing in smoke
and spray before the wind, and the goddesses with the fishes'
tails.

The archers, now under Arioch, Mico being dead, were in
the gardens, and beneath the shade of one of the man-headed
lions stood Shar-Jatal and Izta cohversing earnestly, with their
cloaks wrapped closely around them, Izta's of red, his leader's
of the purple of the Imperial household to which he now
aspired.

Over beyond the trees waved Zul's columnar flame, and by
the fitful light of it they could petceive the High Priest. Then
the howling wind ceased for an instant and a weird stillness
settled down over all, causing an unknown terror, as above the
palace the black sky opened and a Figure fell from it. Wan,
nebulous, vast and grizzly, it moved through the air, and as,
in the semblance of a human form, it sped across the great red
building a sword of Hghtning flashed from the outstretched hand
and the vision passed in the portentious majesty of WAEF, the
Accuser.

The chiefs, staring at Zul, started as the blaze of light fell
on their dazzled eyes, and I perceived them to be talking
earnestly, nor had I unmoved seen that wondrous sight, which
was observed in different quarters of the city and over all the
land, causing much great terror.

Now these two evil men ceased their .consultation, and orders
were passed round to Tzantans and Polemarchs and sub-chiefs.
Certain movements were undertaken by the troops, and the
slingers and spearmen came up and lay round the palace, alert
and ready for aught.

The Imperial Guards were within the buildings, and all of
them were newly chosen by Tekthah for fidelity to himself,

J39

ATLANTIS.

being sons or favourites, and I perceived it was for their
suppression that this great gathering was assembled.

There commenced a silent entry by many, and there was in
the dark, disappearing figures a dire suggestion of horrid deeds
that made me tremble. How terribly I perceived myself to be
involved in all Earth's evil! Powerless to stem, unable to flee
from it, I groaned. All sounds of human presences were hushed,
and at times when the moon appeared (to be almost instantly
hidden again), the vast dark fagade of the palace seemed to
give a deserted appearance to all around as it rose majestic
and immobile among the swaying trees, with its great stone
statues looking like mammoths in the faint Hght.

As in bewildered unrest I entered the building, suddenly the
lions roared. The Hall of the Throne of Atlantis leaped into
light as fires flared from torch and brazier all around, swiftly
ignited by the twtrling-sticks turned by a bow that all used to
produce flames. Then all was silent again, save but the moan
of the wind and the murmur of the great cat-like beasts that-
blinked their gleaming eyes and sighed, nor noted with any
demonstrations half a score of warriors who stood on the platform
below the throne, under the golden Sun that flashed back the
red lights from the braziers in splendour on the marbles. These
stood mute in the lurid glow of the torches that sent black
shadows and bright wavering lights flitting over the floor as
gusts of wind rushed through and swayed their flames. They
were waiting for their leader to appear with red hands and
reeking weapon, and in the silence they listened and started at
every noise caused by the tempest.

A sound — another — rather felt or imagined than heard — a clash
of arms — a formidable shout, "Ho, Guards!" — and the black
group by the throne buried their faces in their large mantles
and each man raised one hand entreatingly to the golden Sun as
the lions at the doors leaped to their feet and thundered in wrath.

There was a rapid rush of feet, heavy breathings and sounds
of sickening blows, the more horrid for being unseen, and as
the warriors looked up, dismayed, a giant form rushed towards
them between the lions, leaping towards the throne with great
bounds, closely followed by other forms.

140

THE PASSING OF TEKTHAH.

The light flared on the streaming white hairs and the awful
front of Tekthah, horribly encrimsoned ; who, scattering the
terrified warriors, mounted the steps and fell at the foot of the
throne, where he perceived me, seated as a great moth, with
a grievous look of terror and despair, for I was the Divinity
of Azta.

But rising with a curse, he smote at me with his sword and
then turned to face his ferocious pursuers like a lion at bay,
looking eagerly to where he could hear the clash of arms and
the shouts of the Guards without. In a few moments these
ceased and men began to pour into the hall, while a bitter
groan fell from the Tzan on perceiving such conduct. The lions
roared aloud, and as though the sound were a war-cry of
encouragement to himself the old warrior raised his towering
form proudly and glowered over the crowd, that began to move
uneasily ; but the blood that fell from gaps in his head and
trickled through his teeth to the platform told how sorely he
had been wounded. His vast chest heaved convulsively: fury,
indignation, reproachful scorn and challenge flashed from his
glazing eye. His hand still held his mighty sword, crimson
from hilt to point; and a dreadful sight was that godlike man,
more grand in his robe of blood than ever in golden armour,
a king and a warrior to the last.

Awestruck stood the silent traitrous crowd, appalled by what
their word had caused, shrinking before the silent majesty that
seemed to breathe a curse from Heaven on them.

Shar-Jatal, white with terror and frantic with his baffled success,
yet perceived with quick diplomacy the spreading emotion, and
greatly feared lest triumph should be turned into disgust in its
infancy. So he raised his sword and leaped up the steps with
a shout, whirling the mighty blade in circles round his head.
An echoing shout answered, a roar of encouragement from
those evil ones who now wished to see such horror ended, and
fearing what would befall should Tekthah live.

The old warrior felt the hand of death on his heart, and
perceiving he could not cope with this unwounded antagonist,
he heaved up his great sword in noble wrath and hurled it
towards him, crying out that he loved not to fight with a

141

ATLANTIS.

woman ; and Shar-Jatal, raising hand and blade to save himself,
so turned the whirling bolt that it smote off his left hand, which
fell with a spatter of blood; while the avenging sword trans-
fixed a guard's helmet and fell with it clashing to the floor.

The maimed chief, with a great oath, swept off the head
that sank in death before him, which, spinning and bounding,
fell down the steps, the horrified warriors scattering before its
progress.

Shar-Jatal raised his sword. In the silence that should have
been broken by shouts of victory a loud clang was heard, as
something that resembled a gleaming meteor fell from the ceiling.

It was the golden Sun, and a long, dismayed, shuddering
sound broke from the vast assemblage now gathered, as its
clanging circle hid the throne from sight, and the lions con-
tinued the reverberations with a prolonged thundrous moan.

There were many who attempted to raise it, but it resisted
all their strength, and therefore the murderer, reckless with
pain and annoyance, commanded them to set him upon th^
sacred symbol ; and being raised by them, seated himself upon
one of the wavy rays, lifting his blade in signal of triumph.

Yet but an angry silence ensued. Even to me it seemed
a pitiful spectacle, more partaking of sacrilegious bufibonery
than aught of majesty, and stood in chilling contrast to the
sublime scene of the dying old hero facing their thousands so
unflinchingly; and when, raised on the point of a sateUite's
spear to him, he held aloft the grand grim head of the man
who had made their nation what it was, no sycophants' shouts
could drown the long, menacing hiss that broke forth almost
involuntarily, and spread over all the crowd, signifying the
wrath of the Divinity of Zul.

And thus died Tekthah, Tzan of Atlantis.

142

CAP. XVIII.

THE HALT OF TRIUMPH.

The land heard the news of Tekthah's death with mingled
feelings of dismay, sorrow and hope. Shar-Jatal, as the Repre-
sentative of the nation, was expected to do many things, but
none could define their wishes.

In the Hall of the Throne, beneath the restored Sun and.
surrounded by his warriors, the new Tzan had been consecrated
by Acoa as King of the Earth, the Solar helmet of State being
placed upon his head and the orbed sceptre handed to him by
the Keeper of the Throne ; while, preparations being made for
the same ceremony to be performed on the highest platform of
the temple of Zul, the people were summoned from all over the
land to attend and swear allegiance, by messengers sent by the
High Priest.

Yet these messengers returned not, neither did others who
were sent after them, being especially instructed by Acoa. For
these preached the return of Huitza and exhorted the nation to
stand from Zul, which was accursed of the gods, and warning
them against the new Tzan who would vex the land. And
thus from all the provinces came the murmur of rebellion,
causing no small uneasiness, particularly as concerned the very
strong city of Talascan in Atala, which lay upon the river
Hilen and could prevent any access if the warriors of Astra on
the one hand by the coast, and those of Axatlan, upon the other,
were agreed in aiding them, which it seemed they were.

Dismayed and furious, the half-crowned chieftain called a
council of war, and from the throne gazed over as goodly an
assemblage as ever met a leader's eye, for there were all the
Princes and Tzantans of Zul and the great men of the city.
And also were most of the Imperial Guards attendant on him,

ATLANTIS.

•for such as would swear allegiance he very gladly took, yet
several were secretly done away with, among whom were Taia,
and Dodanim a son of Huitza, and many of the privy officers
of Tekthah's household.

Stern and grim they sat, those giant warriors, formidable beings
of irresistible prowess, their large, sullen eyes gazing steadily
around. On the first platform next to the throne sat Acoa,
which was much trusted of Shar-Jatal, and Izta, to whom was
given a winged helm and the title of Chief of Armies, being
also Lord of Astra aforetimes.

Without being as superstitious as Tekthah (which one was
consumed in the crater of Zul by night to cause no commotion,
and his ashes swept into the pit), Shar-Jatal nevertheless was
afraid of many things. The falling of the golden Sun ; the
rumours of the passage of the nebulous Form across the palace,
and the return of Huitza, beloved of the gods ; the disaffection
of Azco, Governor of Trocoatla and a son of Sumar, whom he
nevertheless counted on, besides the uneasy feeling that he
himself was unsafe, — all these things made him fear; and the'
loss of his hand was very grievous to him. But most he feared
that rumour as to Huitza, believing it and thinking that it would
corrupt all hearts from himself.

To avert this he promised from the throne great concessions
to all of Zul, stirring them up in hatred against the cities, and
particularly those of Atala and of Tek-Ra, whose governor, being
fled, he declared to be the maker of the mischief, being straight-
laced and foolish and no believer in the gods. To Izta was
given the rich province of Atala, and other cities to other nobles,
and to all was granted some consideration or higher position,
military or civil. Yet must the land be brought under subjection,
and in this the treacherous chief perceived a favourable oppor-
tunity for ridding himself farther of obnoxious ones, particularly
Ju, the lord of Pocatepa.

I perceived the chiefs to be well pleased by the generosity
of the new Tzan and not unwilling for war. And farther divisions
were made of the establishments of many dead nobles, some of
great worth; all their lands, women, slaves and riches. All
the temples received munificent gifts, their priests being pliable, —

144

THE HALT OF TRIOMPH.

among them Mah, who held Pocatepa in his power and might
now scheme afresh; and to every man in Zul was given this
or that.

The rebellion of the cities caused great trouble to many,
their resources being in danger by reason of it; yet the people
of Zul could not be taxed as yet, which was an additional reason
for war, so that the rich cities might by sacked. Yet it was a
serious matter that those of Zul, although the greatest of the
land, should have to cope with the thousands of Atlantis, and
there were held many anxious consultations, and much time
passed.

But the new ruler wished also another thing, which was to
subjugate proud Azta to his will, and my resentment against
him waxed great on account of this. On those days of blank
horror I yet look with pain ; for, amazed and terrified, I hovered
in a darkness between my great passion for one who loved me
not, and my rebellious feehngs against Heaven. In a maze of
Earthly complications I stood, not understanding, and wondering
whether to aid the visionary Acoa in obtaining power, or the stern,
realistic Mah; and through them right myself on the path from
which I had wickedly strayed, still yearning for good.

Shar-Jatal, being so determined as I have said, betook him
to the apartments of the Tizin, yet not altogether easy in his
mind, remembering her power. Her he perceived, reclining on
a settee, with the nurse Na at her feet, wrapped in deep thought.
Great passions had made her more pale than usual ; the insult
of imprisonment, the conflicting wishes to escape and go to
Toltiah, or to stay and scheme for power, the sorrow for Huitza's
death and her regards for myself. She gazed on the chief with
a thought in her strange orbs, and I perceived he liked it not;
nevertheless he advanced, hiding his left arm beneath his purple
cloak, a demoniacal smile wreathing his lips.

" I kneel to thee, fair Azta," he said, with feigned admiration
that indeed he felt in a great measure, bowing with courtly
grace as he fell on his knee.

She returned his salutation with icy condescension.

" Shall the fairest woman of Earth be content to remain hidden
and alone when half the throne of Atlantis will be proud to

145 10

ATLANTIS.

hail her mistress?" asked the chief; and again as in a dream
I saw dead Rhadaman with the same question on his lips, and
saw the same struggle in Azta's face, but with blunted feelings.

But her furious resentment against this one overcame all
other feelings.

"Begone, false flatterer!" she cried in a fine passion; "what
arc thy promises ! Have I not known thee aforetimes and seen
thy smooth tongue lure victims to death ^ Upstart slave in the
purple of thy master, har, murderer^ — go!"

Old Na glanced at her fearfully as she half arose in her
wrath ; and I, pleased with the boldness of her who was my
Love and all my hope — alas, to say thus! — came as a bright
wondrous fly into the room and hovered above her, so that
she looked up and smiled, yet sadly.

As one who has been smitten the Tzan stared, with parted
lips, kneeling and petrified. His left arm fell involuntarily from
beneath his cloak, disclosing the under robe of yellow sown
with gems and golden symbols. The lady's eyes perceived the ,
mutilation and a great sneer curled her lip.

It recovered the astounded man, and with a dreadful oath
he leaped up and laid his hand on his sword-hilt.

"Art coward as well as murderer?" asked Azta, scornfully,
glancing on the trembling Na, and outstretching her hand
towards him so that as in obedience he stood still.

"Thou wouldst deride me, the Tzan?" he growled in fury.

"The Tzan! How did the wolf kill the lion?" she retorted.

"There were two lions, and the stronger triumphed!"

"Never were there two lions after the Lord Huitza died!
and now the wolves have pulled down the old lion and the
biggest wears the suffocating skin. Fly from my insulted
presence, thou upstart slave!"

1 wondered at her words, believing she must have some
strong scheme by which she could accomplish all she wished
without this man's aid. But rendered mad by her biting taunts,
he drew his sword and heaved it up to smite her.

She sprang to her feet with a cry, and before her as a
tower of flame I stood. The weapon, blasted to the hilt,
droi)ped from his hand, and in a swoon the Tzan fell to the

146

THE Malt of triumpm.

floor with a great crash. Old Na covered her face and also
fell down straightway, nor dared look up, so that none per-
ceived by what means I conveyed my Love away.

Yet it was so that when Shar-Jatal rose up he searched every
niche and corner for the Tizin and made strict enquiries of
the guards concerning her, but to no purpose.

Azta was gone.

147

LIBER II

AND GOD -LOOKED UPON
THE EARTH AND BEHOLD
IT-WAS CORRUPT FOR
ALL-FLESH-HAD-COR-
RUPTED- HIS- WAY- UPON
THE EARTH -

GEN VI 12

CAP. I.

PREPARATIONS.

OE, Earth, for all thy
rebellion and foolish-
ness, for the trouble
of to-day to ensure
a result that recoils
on thy head in ruins
or eludes thy grasp 1
Builder of towers,
where are all thy
mighty works now,
and who knows thy
sons' names ? Men of
unsurpassed great-
ness were they, of
godlike presence and
terrible power, but
they are gone and none know ot them or of manner of their
passing. Only God lives on forever as at the beginning, perfect
and deathless Life and Love, awful in unswerving evolution,
passing onward through the centuries and long ages, sublime,
remorseless.

Thee would I contemplate in wondering awe, almighty and
mysterious, and feel with thrilling terror thy presence in all
atoms, of brightest deeps of immense space or darkest centres
of Worlds ; feel thy vast Life in the subtle air and flame and
the core of adamantine rocks Thine eve watches from leaf

151

ATLANTIS.

and stone and star, Thy voice speaks in all sounds, and I— fallen,

fallen !— tremble for ever in Thy constant and unavoidable prftsence.

Thee would I contemplate when soft night throws her gemmy

WEEP WITH WONDERING ANGUISH THAT EARTH CAN ATTRACT A SOUL BY ONE BEWILDERING ATOM.

veil high over the Earth, and hear in the cool depths, unhindered
by details, the music of Thy Life that never sleeps, and weep
with wondering anguish that Earth can attract a soul by one
bewildering atom.

152

PREPARATIONS.

Yet is sorrow and remorse unceasing, and for ever and ever
might we fitly bewail our sins ; but thereby we should not
profit others, for each soul stands alone in its blindness and
will not see. And my Love, for whom I gave up all, could
not perceive until the Earth had passed and left the spirit
free ; and I know not if my state would have been different
if she had. O Aztal

There were long seasons that passed, and many who prepared
themselves in them for calculated results ; for after one great
blow had been struck there would not be left to the vanquished
aught but surrender. And thus they of Zul, and especially many
princes who wished to supplant Shar-Jatal, yet being fearful of
one another, spent many months in great works of war, manu-
facturing engines to batter in walls, and a great number of kites
wherewith to carry up injurious things to drop over the enemy.
Enormous quantities of all manner of arms were made, of swords,
spears, bows and arrows, bucklers and helmets. And as
particularly Talascan was wished to be seized, the warships
Tacoatlanta, Mexteo and others were looked to, and more built ;
for the city was most pregnable from the river front on the
Hilen river, and was a most strong centre for warlike operations.
The idols were greatly propitiated to grant success, the fish-god
by the waterway, which held in its hands the model of the
Tacoatlanta, being much entreated of all seamen. Acoa advised
long and careful preparations, and greatly hindered many things
by omens and feigned messages from the gods; also causing
an irksome taxation to be put on the people, so that, in spite
of the need, Shar-Jatal became unpopular.

Now Noah had fled with his family afar from Tek-Ra to the
mountains beyond Talascan, and hid himself so that none ever
chanced on him ; to where also I conveyed Azta. And there
was with them Nahuasco with his guards and the child Toltiah,
which one rapidly increased in stature and beauty and loved
the practice of arms, being held in some awe by reasons of
his strange monstrosity and the swiftness of his growth, having
a voice that was of a mighty volume yet as musical as a
woman's, and combining also a giant's strength and rudeness
of arrogance with a feminine grace and persuasiveness that

153

ATLANTIS.

caused him to be beloved and feared after an unearthly fashion.
To the woman Susi, who was as a mother to him, he bore a
great regard, and Azta loved the fair woman for her kindness
to him, and wept over the boy and ever gazed rapturously upon
him. Which thing was a great sorrow to me, for he was
wondrous like to Huitza; yet to my Love I did not show the
sorrow in my heart. But oft I looked upon the fair Susi, and
envied her lord the possession of such an one! Why was not
my Love as this? And yet I too clearly perceived that it
was not through her that I suffered, but through my own
headstrong wantonness.

To Talascan occasionally went messengers from Noah,
to strengthen the report that Huitza should return, and to
perceive how the feelings of the people ran. And there
was much information known respecting the great prepara-
tions of Zul for the subjugation of the land, so that all
feared exceedingly ; nevertheless the cities had agreed to
fight for freedom and to aid one another, and the smallet
cities and villages had been deserted, their inhabitants aiding
to swell the fighting strength of the larger ones. Yet
what would have come had there been separate governments
granted to them then I know not, save much dissension,
and Zul would have ever boasted herself ruler of all, and
become paramount by sin and by all the great ones flocking
thither.

Now concerning Talascan, the city lay on the farther bank
of the Hilen river from Zul, and behind rose the peaks of a
great volcanic range of mountains, trending to the west, then
south-west and south. Their lower hills at intervals lay on
the river banks, enclosing level tracts of land covered with
mighty trees, the territories of Atala and Axatlan. Through a
natural valley in the highlands of Astra, whose northern boun-
dary was thus terminated by it, the Hilen flowed into the sea
with a swift current, a great span in width at its mouth, between
two tall cliffs called the Gates of Talascan, and inland its
tributaries watered a great tract of country. Axatlan lay
farther to the west than Atala, and held the burning mountain
that so affrighted the people, where the great serpent Nake was

154

PREPARATIONS.

believed to keep watch over mines of gems and quarries of red
stone which were of the Lord Nezca. oi,

WHERE THE GREAT SERPENT KEPT WATCH OVER MINES OF GEMS.

K Mr. A. W. Buckland in his "^Anthropological Studies" gives most curious and
interesting information concerning serpents and their worship. There must, as in
other curious things, be something to give rise to the legends concerning the
mystic creature, when we notice the strange persistency with which he and the gods,
of whom he is the emblem, are associated with agriculture, wealth, power, honor.

ATLANTIS.

Under the shadows of the mountains, surrounded by forests,
streams and meadows and with the great river surrounding it
on three sides, Talascan was a beautiful and healthy city, raising
its walls and towers and columns from a sea of verdure.

Chanoc was the Governor of Atala, who also loved Huitza
greatly and believed that he would appear as the rumours said.
For the prince had gone to Talascan secretly and declared that
he would free them from the bondage of Rhadaman when that
he had captured Zul for himself. He commanded them to spread
no rumour of his presence there and to disclaim all knowledge
of it; and many of their warriors went with his legions. He
also promised to give the Talascans freedom on condition that
they would always help him if required ; for he perceived the
natural strength of the place and how it could be stoutly defended,
having, as it were, the river for a wall; the which could only
be forded by an army many miles up above the city, being
too mountainous below for such. The Talascans, who were
hardy and brave, would aid him greatly; and thus, exacting *-
solemn oath from Chanoc and the great chiefs of the city that
they would ever be faithful to him, he had gone forth ; and the
next news they heard of him, which thing many also perceived
with their own eyes, was that he had returned to Zul and had
slain the Lord Rhadaman in single combat.

The people were in high spirits, but the following news of
Huitza's death damped them. But Chanoc was ambitious and
stirred up the people to resistance, sending a secret invitation
for all who had loved the prince and wished for freedom to
come to them.

Still they feared the wrath of Tekthah, yet were they not

gold and gems; and as Mr. ]?uckland says, the deeper we delve into this mysterious
past, the more numerous and important do these serpent legends become, bringing
to our view whole tribes who were supposed to be half serpents — kings and
heroes of semi-serpentine descent, and gods either serpentine in form, or bearing
the serpent as a sacred symbol; and it is a strange fact that all these gods and men
thus singularly connected with the serpent have ahcays some inexplicable relation
to precious stones, the precious metals, the dawn of science and of agriculture.

Hut this state of serpent-religion would ap])ear to have developed later, among
mythic histories of the Deluge and the legendary demi-gods. and a point might
well be argued as to the connection of serpent with seraph.

156

PREPARATIONS.

also a great community ? There were many mighty men there,
for Rhadaman, after the dreadful raid spoken of by Noah to
avenge resistance to his tax-collectors, had made great conces-
sions to induce many to go there. For from Atala came the
beautiful scented woods, colouring woods and earths, great quan-
tities of gold and very handsome women, and much fish from
the river. Yet many feared another raid, remembering the day
when the legions of Rhadaman made a furious onslaught; when
the huge bulk of the Tacoatlanta, crashing through their little
fleets up to the landing-stage, disgorged its freight of fierce
warriors, and their streets ran red with blood. That day the
war-ship lay in a red harbour, and only night put a stop to the
fratricidal carnage.

Then came a rumour that Huitza would return again in the
flesh, and after, that Tekthah was dead and Shar-Jatal reigned
in Zul. So that every one was glad, by reason of the usurper's,
popularity. Yet messengers arrived from the great High Priest
Acoa, commanding them to resist such an accession, saying
that Shar-Jatal was accursed of Zul in that he had murdered
the Tzan, and exhorting all to unite against him and wait for
Huitza to appear. Whereupon was much bewilderment, and
the messengers remained, as also did others ; and then arrived
the news that Izta had been created Lord of Atala. Now Izta's
reputation was an evil one, and, Tekthah dead, (whom all feared
yet reverenced,) it was determined that the greater cities should
remain free, offering to shelter and protect the inhabitants of
the smaller ones.

How greatly was I bewildered with it all! For Nezca sent
by stealth to Axatlan, bidding his people defend the river and
he would make to them great concessions, and Azco stirred
up the new Tzan's own land of Trocoatla to resistance. All
the country rose in wrath against the Representative, who was
as one of themselves and had dared to do this thing, yet feared
the reports of the preparations being made against them.

All was forgotten save war, and evil enjoyment while yet
there was time for such ; but long times passed and nothing
happened, only went on manufactures of weapons and of all
sorts of arms, and all manner of foul preparations were placed

157

ATLANTIS.

in bowls on the walls to hurl upon the besiegers when they
came. Some cities surrounded themselves with moats filled
with water, one beyond another, others with barricades of com-
bustibles that could be fired by flaming arrows from the walls,
while nomad tribes were loaded with gifts to harry the enemy
when he appeared and give timely warning of such appearance.

Chanoc barricaded the river front and constructed in the
Hilen below the city a vast boom to prevent the warships
coming up, and the rows of idols on the walls were entreated
to prevent mishap, for all cities had these hideous creations
along the fortifications.

All these things I saw, and wondered which should conquer
in the end ; and in these years Azta's love for Toltiah grew
and increased with his growth, and I knew that it was spoken
that he should be Lord of Atlantis. Me she suffered as much
as I would, yet I knew in her heart she loved me not, and
ofttimes I wished that I had never seen her; while her nature,
exasperated by conditions that caused me to despair in silence^
grew violent and outrageous. But her beauty chained me with
the chains of Hell and I could not depart from her now;
knowing that I never should had she loved me, and only would
do so because her heart was turned from me. I had sinned
deeply and could but wait events ; which indeed were interest-
ing while they lasted, for none know all the Future save God alone.

And Toltiah grew more fond than was seemly of strong drink
and was also enamoured of the smoking-herb. By reason of
my virtue he had great knowledge of hidden things, pondering
deeply over all the instruction of Noah. And many things
such as should not be known he imagined, and was much exer-
cised in his mind concerning them ; searching into such that
concerned life and death, yet not with reverence, but with
curiosity. He grew tall and strong and greatly excelled in the
use of arms, being instructed by Nahuasco therein; while the
sons of Noah taught him many things in hunting and arts, so
that he became greatly accomplished, and far more than they,
becoming also taller than Ham, which was the tallest of them,
at the appointed time that was spoken.

158

CAP. II.

THE SHADE OF HUITZA.

Yet being much smaller, Talascati was built after the fashion
of Zul : and the great ports, shut above the moat, bid defiance
to any attack from land, but the river front was open. The
architecture, though not equalling the massiveness or grandeur
of the capital, was nevertheless sufficiently remarkable. There
was a vast temple to the Lord of Light and many others also ;
the Governor's palace where also the Lord of the Territory
resided whenever he visited it; the Market-place by the river,
surrounded by bazaars and having a collection of deistic symbols
and representations ; and innumerable houses built of lava stone.

Down by the waterway lay a fleet of boats and rafts, numerous
others being tied to the banks or lying on them. Single tree-
trunks, hollowed by fire, formed the greater part of them, but
there were many rush-framed and skin-covered boats and rafts
floated by whole skins of animals inflated. There were no large
vessels there, and the only one they had ever seen of large
size was the Tacoatlanta, which at times came up the river
through the Gates of Talascan with a great wash of water
around her, either to call there or go beyond, and occasionally
smaller war-vessels from Zul would come up. These were such
as were designed to sail round the encircling moat, and were
shallow boats.

The population reminded the visitor of Zul during the period
of the annual tournaments, for here there were always many
hunters, miners, fishers and collectors of gums and feathers;
and, although every man was a warrior and liable to be called
upon to attack or resist an enemy, there was nevertheless a
troop clothed and armed uniformly and kept in idleness for
any emergency.

159

ATLANTIS.

Here, also, in addition to the vices of a barbarous civilization,
was exhibited the natural life of the country before cities were
built, the life of the single-handed warrior and hunter searching
for his daily bread with no farther care or ambition ; yet who
had also fallen into idolatry and worshipped whatsoever his
fancy gave him.

As at Zul, there was kept, in the temple of the Sun, Tekthah's
standard and symbol, a four-armed cross; and all over the city,
on pedestals, in temples or niches, wriggled in wooden or stone
semblance the worshipped offspring of degraded ideas : there a
bird-headed Thoth stood, and there foul Lamia writhed their
serpent-coils. Dagons and Bellerophons, Centaurs, antlered men
and winged monsters and the hermaphrodite gods of Atlantis
were represented under various names ; but by far the greater
number were the most grossly prostituted representations of
female forms, the producers and nurses of life. Before them
burned sweetly-scented natural woods in earthern braziers, and
strong animal odours were offered to their gross nostrils. The.
human mind went out of its way to exaggerate and degrade,
and crazed priests, mad with excesses, fanned the popular en-
thusiasm and preached the righteousness of it all.

The nobles followed the lead of Zul, and I saw how terrible
a thing is a bad example set in high places. For ambition
Tekthah had poured violence and excitement into the people's
hearts, and now he had himself fallen beneath the whirlwind.
It seemed that nought could check the chaos of sin, and no
terror of nature turned the nation's heart to God ; for when to
the west the thin vapour that ever wreathed the head of Axatlan
lifted at times to the rush of a column of fire that burst forth
with a roar and outpourings of rivers of gold, the people would
but offer up more victims and drench their idols with wine,
imploring them to hear and save them.

Large of limb and but half-civiHzed were most of the Talas-
cans, cursing the Lord Rhadaman and crying to the Sun to
burn him ; yet they went not elsewhere, because if the master
were not Rhadaman it was Izta or some other; and also the
human breast was strongly inclined not to leave the place of
its birth, thereby preventing some places becoming overpopulous

1 60

THE SHADE OF HUITZA.

and others empty. And this, notwithstanding that they might
be desert, or subject to earthquakes, or greatly overrun by
noxious beasts or insects.

The Talascans, as all of Atala, I have said, were hardy
mountaineers. Great hunters were they, armed with axes and
spears of flint and bone and metal, with which they killed the
large bears that lived in the caves. In their forests were the
elk and the mammoth, and others huge of bulk and terrific in
appearance and power, rending the trees and devouring the
crops of wheat and maize ; and there were great saurians in the
rivers, whose teeth were used for spearheads, while a very large
species of land-crab at times invaded them and covered the
earth with its multitudes. Eagles harried their flocks, and ser-
pents of vast length terrified them; a certain fowl, with a body
as great as an ox and formidable mandibles, ot. furnished dan-
gerous sport for the hunters, but was excellent to the taste as
meat ; and the fierce aurochs ran in dark herds on the borders
of Axatlan and to the south, many lives being lost in the pursuit
of such. There were lynxes and panthers that carried off the
domestic fowls, and also vexatious wild cats and dogs and
smaller vermin.

Yet the land was rich, and the people always had enough
wherewith to pay the taxes ; while by their prowess commanding
respect they were always well cared for and favourably noticed
at the Capital when they went up to trade or attend the Circus
festivals.

Out beyond the river-mouth and Astra lay the great pearl-oyster
beds, whose white gems were so much in request among the
belles and fair women of Zul, commanding great prices wherever
exhibited and being a valuable revenue to the land. And this

« Before such a statement as this we can but bow the head in silence. Neither
the oldest histories nor palaeontological researches have discovered so great a bird,
although there were of old larger animal forms than now. The Dodo, which,
classified among the pigeons, was a giant of its species 5 the gigantic ostrich-like
Dinornis of New Zealand 5 the Pelagornis, a winged monster of the albatross tribe ;
the Moa, the Gastornis Parisiensis^ whose remains have been recently found in
the Eocene conglomerates of Meudan — all these as birds far surpass any we can
muster now, but would not furnish a parallel to the bird of Atlantis, although they
might prove the descending scale of size.

161 H

ATLANTIS.

was a great covetousness to Chanoc, for if the country were
swept by fire and sword the new Tzan could not destroy the
pearl-fisheries, which could be a revenue to them against the
rest of the land.

Great meetings were called for discussion of defence against
the threatened invasion. Often messengers arrived from Acoa,
declaring that the gods would aid Huitza, who might shortly
be expected ; and at length came one who asserted that he
had seen the prince himself This one was sent by Noah, for
the time appointed had arrived that Toltiah, being now grown,
should appear.

And in this manner the youth came to Talascan : Noah and
his family, with Azta and Nahuasco and the guards, arrived
before the walls and were admitted, causing no small comment,
for all knew Azta and many recognised the Tzantan Nahuasco
and most of the family of the aforetime governor of Tek-Ra.
The patriarch declared] that, Huitza dead, he had been drawn
into the wilderness to seek him, and would now reveal the
reappearing leader to the land. Crowds gathered around the
group, and my Love, with her wonderful presence and surrounded
by the glamour of a myriad tales and romances, real and ima-
ginary, greatly aided the enthusiasm attendant. Noah vowed
that he would next day produce Huitza in the flesh before all,
sent to them by the Lord Jehovah to avenge his forgotten and
insulted name, being also Father of Zul before whom other
gods were preferred. He reminded them that Huitza was
greatly beloved of Zul, and at his words Azta's eyes flashed
so that my soul fainted with sorrow. Running messengers
were despatched to every city and all the tribes to tell them,
Huitza comes, rejuvenated, pregnant with victory, to bring
freedom to the land and avenge the nation on the tyrants that
ground it down.

Thus he would come, and in this favoured city would he
ai)pear, preferring it before any of Tek-Ra, and would make it
a mighty name in Atlantis.

The populace was in a state of wild enthusiasm; Chanoc
gave a palace for Azta and Noah and their people to dwell
in, and that night the city flared with bonfires. Everyone was

162

THE SHADE OF HUITZA.

drunk with wine, and the large square of the Market-place was
full of revellers in a state bordering on insanity. They shouted
and shrieked, pouring wasteful libations over the bestial images
until they shimmered under the lurid glow of the fires, with
their trickling, odorous streams. Skin-clad hunters shook their
spears in the air, leaping like madmen with formidable cries^
some imitating the roaring of lions or the trumpet-call of the
deer; and women with dishevelled hair and bared bosoms ran
shrieking among them, their eyes flashing in the lights as they
rolled them with wanton glances. The banging of drums and
shrieks of whistles added greatly to the din, but the chiefs and
nobles discussed the advent of the great Huitza and wondered
what should come of it.

Myself, I dared not interfere. These mortals knew the
temper and inclinations of one another better than I, and surely
one born as Toltiah should be able to cope with matters
of Earth.

Thus the next day Noah came down to the Market-place
attended by Chanoc and his guards, with Nahuasco's troop,
his servants and his family, among whom was Azta. Mounted
upon a block, the patriarch stood elevated above the thousands
who came running from all around, leaving the walls and barri-
cades at the call of the Governor's trumpets, waiting to hear
what he might say to them and forgetting his corrective reputation
in the knowledge that he was the trusted vizier of their great
chieftain.

Among the crowds mingled warriors of the city guards, their
bright helmets flashing above the more sombre headdresses, and
shadowed by the beautiful plumes of the ostrich, which were
eagerly obtained, or that of the wild swan. None in all the
land wore the plumage of the peacock, fearing it with a great
superstition, and holding it as the emblem of the setting sun,
of which they supposed its spread tail to be a symbol.

Azta, in a slung carriage, commanded nearly as much en-
thusiasm as the expectation of Huitza, for there were weird
legends muchly connecting the twain, and all believed her to
be potential in the matter. Tall Shem stood impassive and
watchful, Ham and Japheth leaned on their spears, the former

163

ATLANTIS.

rolling his eyes with vast amusement over the crowd of whom
he stood one of the tallest. The women and children, among
whom stood the fair Susi, were timid and fearful of the multi-
tudes, yet confident in their leader and their God. Only I had
no place there, and should scarce indeed have been there at all.

Beyond the rustling of the crowd and the occasional clang of
armour there was no sound. Noah began to speak, rousing the
people's anger against the usurper, Shar-Jatal, and all the evil
lords of Zul. But as yet he would not denounce the evil doings
of the land, preferring to wait until the monster of Sin with
bruised head should lay at his mercy; in which hope all my
soul was also, and I greatly dwelt on its fulfilment.

Now Toltiah lay in the midst of his people, hidden and as
yet unsuspected ; but after a prayer of exhortation from Noah
this one stepped forth and mounted on to the block which the
patriarch surrendered in his favour.

The crowd perceived a godlike beardless youth of vast
stature and splendid presence, with the ruddy hair and command-
ing eye of the great Chief. There, younger, taller and still
more majestic, he stood, a very miracle before their astonished
eyes, a dreadful beauty enstamped upon his features that were
like unto a very beautiful woman's. A golden plate covered
his chest, broad as an archangel's, and upon his head he placed
now the winged helmet.

The silence was broken up, and the air was rent by a vast
roar, deafening and prolonged. Four tall warriors, mounting
him on their shields, raised him high above the heads of the
people, shout on shout rolling to the sky, and Azta's child, in
the character of Azta's Love, seemed exalted to the altitude of
a god.

Those nearest to him noted that his eyes were yellow and
of great penetration, and his hair as dark molten gold. Never
had such perfection of form been seen before, such splendid
limbs and carriage, and I felt a great pride in my own sad
heart as I looked on him and wondered how so strange a being
would act. With enthusiastic shouts the people raised their
swords and spears, and the crowd swayed under a veil of tossing
yellow mantles. Young girls and children were lifted towards

164

THE SHADE OF HUITZA.

him, and in the deUrium of their joy even the abominable idols
were pulled down and abased before him, all manners of excesses
being committed in the frenzy.

And this was also my child, this strange, beautiful being 1
What power lay within the grasp of this splendid Amazon-
like man 1 For one moment, as I thought of Zul and the land
of a thpusand cities, I felt a great joy at the thought that it
would be his own and he would wield the sceptre of Atlantis
from th^t great red palace, and influence the peoples for good
and for Jehovah. And then, perchance, might I claim my Love
for mine own and purge my folly in righteousness.

Yet I liked not the look upon Toltiah's countenance, which
was one of great arrogance, bespeaking an Earthly spirit. He
kissed his thumbs towards the shouting people, seeking the
warriors particularly with his eyes and casting a long stare upon
Susi, who had refused his secret advances. On Azta, his mother,
he smiled triumphantly, and with still more triumph she returned
his glance. I perceived the great emotions with which she
gazed upon him — the love of a mother — and, O God I of a
lover! — the confidence of nigh satisfied ambition that filled her
eyes with tears of joy as she watched and heard the roars of
enthusiasm that hailed the youth's appearance. His foster-brothers
were loudest in their demonstrations, waving spears and shields
high with exultant glee, and all were happy save myself For
in that long, deep breath of freedom and the lustful stare
around I saw written, as with a flaming finger upon the clouds,
my completed doom ; and gazing with a horror of longing passion
upon Azta, saw that her whole absorbed attention rested upon
that shield-borne Majesty that should drag Earth to its doom — the
consummation of her foolishness and mine.

Mine ! I could have melted with agony ; and then my attention
was fixed again. Suddenly shouts of a different import spread
rapidly through the crowd. Above the river barricades appeared
three moving poles, the foremost topped with the Cross of
Atlantis, and no explanation was needed to tell the crowd what
they signified.

Agape and silent they stood for an instant, the moving poles
coming up rapidly amid a crashing, creaking and splashing

165

ATLANTIS.

medly of sounds from the flotilla of shipping, and instantly
an iron grappler flew to the top of the barricades and held there.

There were many, among whom was Toltiah, who knew not
what was portending, but a great shout of dismay enlightened
most of them :

" The Tacoatlanta 1 "

1 66

CAP. III.

THE RISING SUN.

High above the cries of the people rang the voice of Chanoc,
claiming attention and distilling confidence. The women ran
to hide themselves in the houses, terrified and shrieking, while
Nahuasco and the city legionaries ran to repel what might
threaten.

There was no time to be lost. Messengers were despatched
to the garrisons round the walls to bid them be ready to
resist any attack by land, while bands of warriors sped to aid
them, and spies were sent to the highest roofs to give warnings
and issue directions.

With the guards, towering above all, ran Toltiah, with sword
and buckler, eager for the fray and recollecting now all that
he had heard of the war-ship and her manner of attack. But
most were sorely puzzled as to how the vessel had passed the
boom and why no warning of her approach had heen sounded.
The city was in an uproar, drums heating and whistles shrieking
above the long-drawn war-whoops.

Azta bade her bearers remain where they stood, her heart
too full for expression with unknown fears, as, astonished to
find the massive barricades opposed to them, the men on the
Tacoatlanta nevertheless ran her close up to the landing, with
a proud and ferocious confidence in the irresistibility of their
wild onrush and the moral eftect of their unshaken valour upon
those before them. Clustering upon the bulwarks, they prepared
to leap upon the defences when the great vessel could be
hauled near enough by the ropes attached to the grapplers,
aided by the slaves at the oars.

The defenders were scarce in time to repel them as in scores
they crowned the barricades. Toltiah waved his mighty blade

167

ATLANTIS.

in flashing circles and smote at the foremost, shouting " Huitza
and Zul ! " The warriors took up the cry ; as the sound of a
storm it spread from mouth to mouth, and the Imperial troops
perceiving the ruddy mane of the leader and his resemblance
to the dead chief, remembered the prophecy, wavered in dis-

CLUSTERING UPON THE BULWARKS, THEY PREPARED TO LEAP.

mayed confusion, and were hurled backwards, many falling
into the water and drowning in their harness.

It was a victory, for the cry spread through the attacking
forces, and some of the grapplers were hauled back to them
as the warriors hesitated. The heads of the Talascans were
raised above the barricade with triumphant shouts, and the

1 68

THE RISING SUN.

archers on the warship let their weapons fall as Ham and
Nahuasco raised Toltiah on their shields in full view of all.

But now shouts arose from the roofs and a distant uproar
told of war along the land battlements. Leaving his victorious
comrades, Toltiah sped thither, accompanied by Shem and
Nahuasco, which one would not leave him. The streets were
empty, for all were round the walls, but as Toltiah sped Azta
cried out to him victoriously, watching the splendid being
eagerly until he was gone.

By the walls men fought hand to hand with the glittering
warriors of the Imperial Guards, who had landed from the
warship to the number of five hundred and were furiously
assailing them. Now, above the clangour of armour and
the clash of swords, the shouts, shrieks and groans of the
combatants and the cries of the captains, rang out a formidable
war-cry: "Huitza! Huitza and Zull "

The Talascans with shouts of victory rushed forward, driving
the foe from the breaches. Men slipped in blood, and spears
were buried in human flesh : limbs dropped, shorn clean off" by
the heavy swords, and the godlike form of Toltiah, pressing
through the swaying crowds, forced its way to the front.

There he fought, the tall wings gleaming above the press,
the ruddy hair that there had been no time to wrap round the
head flying in yellow masses ; the returned Chief, the Prince
on whom the hopes of Atlantis were centreed !

The unconquered warriors of Zul stared in wild dismay and
hesitated. The Tzantan Nezca cried out that they surrendered
to Huitza, while the erstwhile foemen shouted his name
exultingly, raising spear and sword in salute.

Flushed with his first success, the youth could afiford to be
gracious, neither had long wars steeled his heart. Stepping for-
ward, he took Nezca's hand and placed it on his heart, himself
performing the same action on the other's person, looking with
great regard on the chief, for he was a very goodly man.
"We are brothers," he said, and all the warriors shouted
with joy, climbing the walls and kneeling in obeisance to
the prince.

But I caused a voice to speak to Toltiah ; " Go, seize the

169

ATLANTIS.

warship, for there are others that come;" and speeding swiftly
to the barricades by the river, he cried, " Seize the Tacoatlantal "

He was too late. With a confusion of cries, with trailing
rigo-ing and mingled oars the great warship was drifting sideways
down the centre of the stream ; and as the victors crowded
down to take her with the little boats that were left unharmed,
the painted sail on the fore-mast was raised, the huge steering
oars were brought into play and, the other two sails being set
to the wind, the monster moved rapidly away, while the pursuers
hastened back on perceiving an armada approaching. For,
clearing the wreck of the enormous boom, three more warships,
towing rafts full of men, were approaching, but stopped on
perceiving the flight of the Tacoatlanta and the crowding foemen.

The victors were disappointed in this failure to take the
warship. Messengers were instantly despatched to warn the
Axatlans who held the fords, eight leagues above the city; for
beyond that to the West the mighty stream flowed through
defiles and deserts, prohibiting the passages of troops and stores,^
and even far-wandering hunters knew of no other place for
such purpose within any practical distance.

\'ct the warships could float over the fords, and therein lay
much danger; and a great council was held.

hVom Nezca was learned that yet another army, under the
Tzantan Izta, was on the march against them, with great stores
and many engines of war and a multitude of warriors. This
army had laid waste the land as it marched, sacking towns
and villages and pitilessly murdering all the inhabitants, and
going afar from its course to destroy the cities of Tek-Ra and
all the territory of lluitza. Upon Chuza was made a night
attack, and ere the morning sun had risen the houses and
streets ran red with the blood of midnight revellers surprised
at their debaucheries and slain, only such escaping as managed
to climb uj) into the great pallo, whose reduction would take
more time than was agreeable to accomplish, it being amply
stocked with food ; for it was used to a great extent as a
granary, and there was a well of water within. But the town
was left in ruins and the walls razed to the ground A mes-
senger brought back the news to Zul, and, the army on its

170

THE RISING SUN.

march for Talascan, four warships had started under the gover-
nance of Biidil, a son of Shar-Jatal ; and it was hoped that,
Talascan crushed, the land would be at the Usurper's mercy.

Then arose the daring ambition of Toltiah, who declared that
he would do no less than march upon Zul ! This boldness
pleased the chiefs, and that night was the youth proclaimed
publicly Tzan of Atlantis, king of the Earth, and presented
amid impressive ceremonies with the National Standard, taken
from its temple for the purpose of being used as the battle-
standard until peace should come again.

Crowds assisted, and the city was jubilant. The new Huitza
appeared more than victorious, a promise of unlimited joy and
freedom 1 He refused to have an Imperial helmet made, de-
claring that he would wear Tekthah's and none other.

Azta was triumphant, with an immense pride in her heart,
being considered the next most important person to Toltiah.
Also she was treated by him (who also stood somewhat in awe
of her, being indeed a stranger) and the rest of the populace
as Empress, occupying the half of a double throne with him in
the palace of Chanoc. Her presence, rendered more majestic
and imposing by her sublime pride, impressed all very greatly,
and her mystic eyes touched their superstitions deeply. She
was supposed, nay, reputed, to be of celestial mould and power,
and to her was ascribed the reappearance of Huitza, while
her furious impatience of delayed respect made her feared
by all.

Mere repute was turned into certainty by her coldness and
continence, which commanded respect while inflaming desires,
and with the wish of possessing her the thoughts of all who
deemed themselves of sufficiently high degree dwelt with a
daring joy on possibilities ; in the which I perceived much
future trouble, yet none could ever encounter the glance of those
yellow eyes without feeling a sensation of chill and fear.

Toltiah would fain have rested a while to form a court and
establish a household. Arrogant with victory and believing
himself to be, as the people declared, a god, he wished to
enjoy those growing passions that possibilities bred and nurtured ;
but the savage impatience of Azta and the exhortations of the

171

ATLANTIS.

governor and the Tzantans advised him to be energetic until
the Throne of Atlantis was actually beneath his feet.

Yet now fresh preparations must be made, for they were
not ready as regards the offensive, being but as yet desirous
of protecting themselves from the power of Zul. To every
city was sent the news that Huitza had returned, and it flew
abroad on the swift wings of rumour, strengthening the weak
and rejoicing the strong; and warriors began to gather across
the river by the fords, and journey to Talascan. But the warships
and armaments in the river were a vast menace, and perchance
had Toltiah more experience he would not have thought of
aught yet but protection. But all believed in him, and while
residing with his chiefs in the palace he formed a camp also
without the walls, bidding all the cities of the province mass
their warriors around Talascan; and his genius rising with his
power, he showed them how to make a fortress of the city and
directed how to form another boom across the river.

Preparations for an immense armament commenced, and the.
peoples of the city and the tribes without were formed into
various legions. Runners were sent to bring in the wandering
tribes and even to treat with the western savages and some of
the weird peoples who lived in the mountains and deserts of
Axatlan. Noah preached a holy war, greatly enthusing all by
his frenzy and his zeal, and Azta's gracious words to the
Tzantans rendered them eager to commence already a rush on
the capital, regardless of the warships and the approaching
army of Izta. Yet Nahuasco, and Noah, and such as had
followed Tekthah in the old wars, advised caution concerning
such a move ; for here they would face men of their own race
behind impregnable walls, which would have to be surrounded
by an encircling trench that would forbid any desperate sallies
and bring a long starvation. Nor would this dire famine cause
themselves less suffering, seeing how great an army was being
raised, which could scarce be fed upon one spot.

But Toltiah would brook no caution ; weapons of war were
manufactured in great quantities, and because of the clouds of
slingers that hung on the flanks of the warships and rafts these
had to keep far down the river and on the other side, waiting

172

THE RISING SUN.

for Izta to arrive. Bows and arrows were made as fast as
eager workers could turn them out; and now Japheth remem-
bered the great engine constructed by his sons outside Chuza,
the catapult, heaving a vast bolt upon the enemy. Therefore
he set to work to construct one; gangs of men worked at the
engine, exulting in all they learned of its possibilities, and the
city rejoiced greatly because of the powerful men who had
arrived to aid.

The first catapult was set to command the river below the
city, in which direction lay the armada, and afterwards more
were constructed, and the new legions trained in archery, for
all knew the use of spear, sword and sling.

^72,

CAP. IV.

THE CAMP OF TOLTIAH.

Each day brought reinforcements from all parts by tribes and
thousands, encamping under the orders of their own Patriarchs,
but all owning the supreme authority of Toltiah.

From the plains came the wild herdsmen of Assa, Het, Emok,
and Alorus, powerful chiefs with many followers, the tribes of
the Owl standard, and all the spearmen of Enoch ; the tribes
of the Vulture, the Unicorn, and the Crow.

From the raided province of Tek-Ra came fugitives : from
Chuza, Bab-Ista, Bab-An and other cities ; from Sular, Karbandu,^
Azod, Bitaranu, Surapa, Sham; and other great chiefs of the
plains with their stout followers and countless herds of sheep,
goats, and oxen.

And I saw where the young chief Lotis, of Katalaria in
Trocoatla, gathered his tall borderers in battle array, his mother
being that Veteve, sister of Azco the governor, who had great
distinctions given to her for compliance to the wishes of Shar-Jatal
in past days. And notwithstanding that she was a hard woman,
she loved her son with a mighty love and was in great distress
that he should so depart from her, entreating the gods con-
cerning it upon her knees with floods of tears. Fain would
she ever keep her boy by her side, gazing upon him with all
the best love of a mother. But San, his beloved, although
sorrowing equally with her, would prefer that her lord should
go where glory might be reaped. She vowed that she would
not survive him, yet loved not to keep her warrior back in
shameful security; and although in his absence she wept with
the sad mother, in his presence she was brave and exalted,
speaking of nought but of glory to be reaped.

And here were two loves, and of the two which was the better?

174

THE CAMP OF TOLTIAH.

And in the issue Lotis went forth with all the many thou-
sands that ran to join Toltiah.

How great an enthusiasm was there I The hope of sacking
Zul aroused their savage hopes to a terrific pitch, and the
name of Huitza was a power, in itself, promising a future
beyond all dreams of spoliation and rapine. The total effect
of the crowds was as of that great congregation which gathered
round the capital at the time of the Circus games ; for, stretch-
ing in a dense selvedge around the walls of Talascan, some
encamped under tents of skin or cloth, others dug holes in the
earth, with screens, stretched on poles, surrounding them ; while
hunters, accustomed to all the hardships of their existence, lay
on the ground, encamped round fires. Some of these last,
clothed in the whole skins of animals, presented an extraor-
dinary appearance, many wearing over their matted hair, which
was usually gathered at the back into a plaited thong, the
heads of. wolves, bears, aurochs, and stags with the spreading
antlers. Some wore horse skins from which the long, thick
tails swung, and one or two carried the horn and cranium
of the dreaded unicorn, x

But among these semi-savages were races who cultivated the
arts of cities, and tribes whose wealth permitted the purchase
of elaborate war-harness; and among such the plumes of the
eagle and ostrich towered above metal helmets, adding to the
splendid stature of the wearers clad in gleaming vantbraces
and cothurns, cuirass and backplate, — their arms of metal and
obsidian looking formidable among the clumsy stone axes and
mighty tusk-studded clubs of their humbler comrades.

The southern warriors brought with them beautiful women,
who fastened lantern-beetles among their ebon tresses, where
the lights glowed until the creatures died; and these women were
the occasion of many broils and quarrels because of their beauty
and wantonness, dallying with any who would.

It was a gay scene of warlike splendour in that great city and
the country surrounding the walls. Mingled with rough aprons

« The name Unicorn, as its etymology denotes, is given to any animal with one
horn, but generally, I believe, refers to the single- horned rhinoceros. In this case
it as probably indicates the antelope mentioned in chapter IX.

175

ATLANTIS.

of hides there were mantles of leopard-skins and the beautiful
furs of the beaver, bear, lynx, lion and rabbit; there were
breastplates of rough silver from Trocoatla, the whole shells of
laro-e turtles bartered from the Astran fishermen, and tortoises
from the forests of Axatlan; cuirasses of stout leather, covered
with the formidable shield and attached horns of a species of
wild ox, or with the spiked scales of the Hilen saurians.

Over far-spreading shoulders hung huge, massy bucklers,
leather-covered and studded with metal bosses, some being
entirely of metal and very glittering, yet showing dents and
hollows received by weapons of war. Some of the Tzantans
wore mantles of feather-work, and among the birds that thus
gave their coloured beauties for a warrior's ornamentation were
conspicuous the white swan, the scarlet flamingo, various macaws
and the gem-like humming-bird. The skin-clad hunters gazed
with envy on these gorgeous trappings, yet their own sterner
robes of lion-skin cost more than feather mantles in manly
prowess. There were other garments, of woven cotton and silk^
dyed in various colours, and bartered for eagerly in Zul at the
Circus periods ; but most of the military cloaks were entirely
scarlet, being plain but of striking effect among the other orna-
ments and trapping.

Abandoned women thronged to the camp, idols were set up
to be worshipped and propitiated, and some of the nomad tribes
who owned no god at all, were initiated into this or that belief.
Those from the southern plains were awe-struck by the moun-
tains, and worshipped the hill A.xatlan, visible on the very far
horizon ; and there were those who had never seen a city and
were terrified by the walls and the mighty uncouth colossi that
supported the buildings.

Some tribes of savages came in, but these were panicky and
fearful of their white companions, and were especially awed by
the great city. There were many thousands in the great, roaring
camp, more and more arriving as the rumour of the gathering
and its object spread, and still the army of Izta came not, and
still the armada in the river waited. There were some terrible
peoples from the western wildernesses, some huge, some small,
all deformed and monstrous, who hung on the outskirts of the

176

THE CAMP OF TOLTIAM.

vast gathering, feeding on earth-roots and the ofFal of the camp ;
and from the north came a great number of Amazons, whose
advent seemed Hkely to cause a strife in the camp, as their
reputation, exaggerated and half-mythical, aroused the keenest
interest among the licentious crowds, ot. There were many
dangerous episodes and not a little bloodshed before this extra-
ordinary and warlike race was understood to be capable of
defending its creed, and some of the best warriors of Toltiah
had to own to the strength and courage of these tall, ferocious
women, and their skill in the use of weapons. Lithe and agile
as panthers, with rounded but sturdy limbs, and thick hair tied
in knots under their helmets of animals' craniums, they wore
their skin garments girded up under a belt, while their small
breasts did not prevent the most perfect use of their arms in
wielding spear or axe, most of them wearing over them a tough
ceinture of hide fastened round the shoulders. Leathern cothurns
covered their legs, and sandals protected their feet ; their shields
were oblong, made of wolf-skins, with the tails flapping from
them, and the heads fastened to the centre. They gazed with
great curiosity upon the women of the cities, sneering at their
use of powder to decorate their faces, and staring amazed at
their jewelled teeth and elaborate head-dresses, and their inhaling
of smoke through pipes.

Azta was greatly interested in these warrior-women, whose
Queen was a majestic figure, taller than herself; and between
the two sprang up a firm friendship. To the Amazon the
splendid symmetry and mystic beauty of the Tizin was a
wonder and a delight, while no less was the latter's admiration
compelled by the high bearing and the bold, free carriage of

X In most ancient histories we hear of Amazons, and these women warriors
have been usually regarded as mythical, although they were apparently quite equal
to the men among the Sarmatians, the Sauromata: of Herodotus. This race occupied
the steppes between the Don and the Caspian, and the women rode, hunted and
fought in battle like the men. Indeed on one occasion we learn that Amage, the
wife of the dissolute King, accompanied by 120 chosen horsemen, delivered Cher-
sonesus in Taurus from the neighbouring Scythian King, whom she slew with all
his followers and gave the kingdom to his son. The Sarmatians appear to be
superior to the Scythians, but by speaking a nearly identical language would
probal)ly be an allied race.

177 12

ATLANTIS.

this woman who dared to compete with men in war. This was
the Hfe that won her admiration, and now she wished that,
Tizin of Atlantis, she could be surrounded by such guards, their
Chieftainess. Vet she could but own herself scarce fitted for
the stern hardships of actual warfare as she surveyed the large,
strong limbs and hard features of the Amazons and compared
them with her own softly-rounded beauties.

Thousands of the new arrivals were drafted into the various
legions, everything displaying on the part of Toltiah a genius that
might well have befitted the prince he was supposed to be, and
Chanoc, Nahuasco and experienced leaders were content to
approve and aid in everything he did, pleased in his daring
scheme and the vast preparations made for carrying it out.
Far and wide thousands more supplied the army with food, and
great drafts of men were sent to the fords. The mechanical
genius of the camp was exercised to discover engines for siege,
to be constructed when near the threatened city, for human
limbs, though of formidable strength, were powerless against
turrets of rock and stone, and those tall warriors whose godlike
fronts were so terrible in their iron-muscled power would face
men of like mould, Tekthah's veterans and the haughty lords
of Zul. The prowess of Shar-Jatal appalled none, but there
were men there like IztH, the dread conqueror of the territory
of Trocoatla ; the mysterious and mighty Toloc ; the gray-haired
Colosse and the giant Amal with the seven toes on each foot,
who had marched with the Tzan from the North. The witch
Pocatepa would raise the legions of the dead against them — that
black-eyed sorceress with the aquiline nose and voluptuous Hps —
and perchance even Acoa would fight against his Sun-favoured
children, Azta and Huitza, and cause a terrible night to over-
spread them.

In spite of all the great preparations, a certain idleness was
already beginning to work mischief, and the chiefs advised a
speedy start before the masses should become demoralized or
lose their warlike ardour. Each night was a roaring saturnalia,
bonfire-lighted; and although reinforcements came in daily, there
were also vast desertions. Riots occurred and much wantonness
was committed through suppressed energy, yet the leaders could

178

THE CAMP OF TOLTIAH.

scarce deem such rabble as was most of that vast array prepared
sufficiently to conquer Atlantis. All were inexperienced in the
storming of walls, and the chiefs feared terrible reverses.
. The thousands were ordered to make spear-heads, hatchets
and arrow-heads of bone and flint, while legions were raised
and practised in warlike manoeuvres. It was at length decided
to leave the rabble behind, for the greater part, while the
trained legions, with some thousands of hunters and some of
the more superior tribes, should cross the river, and, surrounding
and crushing the army of Izta, strike terror on the armada and
treat for its surrender.

To that end a great concourse of archers, crossing by the
fords to the opposite side of the river, so galled the ships
(who thus were enduring a storm of missiles from both banks
without being able to obtain immunity by the too-near centre
of the stream), that they moved away round a bend, sea-ward ;
and this prevention being gone, a great boom was constructed
across the river, made of trees fastened together with hide ropes,
below the city, so that the warships might not interfere- with
the passage of the troops. This work kept crowds employed
with great efforts for some days, and the legionaries played
games of chance, exhibited their terrific muscular powers or
philandered with the women; hunted, fished in the river and
quarrelled. Not a day passed without some rupture, the outcome
of idleness ; not a night without some wild scene of debauchery.
The savages, made to work like slaves on the boom, and losing
many lives, deserted by the hundreds. Large rafts were con-
structed for transporting the troops, who were filled with a vast
enthusiasm and were confident of victory, causing a danger by
their very confidence. Their leaders were not so ready to leave
the city in the face of the armada that ever menaced, for their
only trust was in Nezca's guards, the Talascan legions, the
Amazons and a few warlike tribes. The rest would only bear
the brunt of the carnage and serve as a hindrance to the enemy
by disjointed and persistent attacks.

But it was the only thing to be done. The army could not
be left longer idle, nor might it be allowed to lose confidence
by hesitation. The next day the transportation would commence,

179

ATLANTIS.

and at the evening camp the warriors reclined around flaring
fires, with mirth and wildest enthusiasm. It was a strangely
grotesque crowd, encamped over miles of land on plains and
among forests. The moon shone bright from a cloudless sky,
lighting the great white city and almost hiding the red vapour
that rose from Axatlan. The structure of the lower catapult
stood black and grim against the sky, completed and formidable,
only waiting to be brought into use when its range should be
ascertained, for it was not desirable to display its deficiencies
by wanton aim : from the city-wall to where the opposite bank
showed darkly, floated the tide-swept boom, like the backbone
of some mighty cetacean.

Suddenly exclamations arose and the wanton shrieks of women.
Far off, but distinctly visible, a great dark shadow swept round
the bend of the river with a foamy wave of water around it,
from which it rose square and threatening. It came up rapidly,
keeping in the middle of the stream, and when the spectators
imagined it about to approach the boom at speed it reduced
its proportions, and with a great back-churning of waters stood
revealed a long, low shape with three bare poles rising from
it; and again arose the dismayed cry of "the Tacoatlantal"
as, slightly heaving on the waters, the warship lay as though
contemplating the opposing obstacle with its great human-like
head.

Then slowly she moved back again and vanished. The moon
set and darkness lay on the waters. Men watched all night,
and some believed they heard strange sounds from the river,
but a kite sent up with a flaming torch attached revealed nothing,
and none dared venture on the boom of a night for fear of the
great reptiles and the river-demons.

But next morning the huge boat lay opposite the city, and
the boom swung down stream by its opposite ends, severed in
the middle.

1 80

CAP. V.

THE TACOATLANTA.

With shouts of rage, men clustered along the water's edge,
and in anticipation of an attack the garrisons went to their
several posts ; although the Amazons, required to keep the
walls while the men took the field, haughtily refused to obey,
and held themselves in readiness for an attack.

The slingers, archers and spearmen were in their respective
camps, ready for the passage. The hunters and savages, scat-
tered along the banks in a long, dense array, were ordered to
be on the alert to oppose any attempt at landing. Some thou-
sands of these untrained but formidable men were in the walls,
and harassed the enemy by slinging stones and ofifal within his
bulwarks. Another boom was prepared and made ready to
swing across the current, twisted hawsers securing it to the
bank ; while to the chiefs, Shem propounded a scheme, to cover
such enterprise, of floating down some of the vast trunks, with
their forests of branches intact, on to the warship, following up
the confusion by an attack with boats and rafts.

The foemen hurled abuse the one at the other, roaring fear-
ful threats and vowing horrible tortures to the vanquished ; and
suddenly a cry spread among the warriors on the banks as
the three other vessels were perceived to be approaching, towing
rafts full of men. The Mexteo led, her two large sails bellying
to the fresh breeze, her many oars sending her along apace,
with a swirl of foam around her and astern.

A shout of welcome went up from the Tacoatlanta, a howl
of rage from the Talascans. The warships and rafts came on up
to the larger vessel, dropping grapplers and swinging to the
current by the twisted skin hawsers. On and around them flew
a hail of missiles, so that all lay under their shields ; while the

i8i

ATLANTIS.

army of Toltiah. besieged by these comparatively few men,
roared and shouted with rage, sending in hot haste to the Axat-
lans to prepare for an attack by the armada, while large rocks
were brought and piled up secretly for the catapults. But few
had any knowledge of the use and power of this direful weapon,
and had those on the armada known its range they would
scarce have dared to venture so closely; yet, untried, it was
decided not to use them yet and fruitlessly, preferring to make
an attempt to capture one or more of the warships.

Presently the -Mexteo and her two smaller consorts shifted their
moorings, and, hoisting their sails and aided by their oars, went
up the river with the towed rafts. All looked propitious for
swinging the boom (which would be received by those archers
who were upon the other bank), and for a night- attack on the
Tacoatlanta, which lay opposite the waterway ; and while great
trees were hauled to the water's edge for launching down on
her, the warriors who were to attempt the capture were selected.

Akin would lead them, an old, tried chieftain, and used to.
the handling of boats, and to him was given full powers as to
the conduct of the affair. The warriors were to embark after
dark, to wear no armour, so that if thrown into the water they
could save themselves by swimming, and were to attack simul-
taneously at all points.

Word was passed from chief to chief, from the Tzantans of
the armies to the tribal Patriarchs, Polemarchs, Centurions and
Captains, to hold their men in readiness to cross at any moment;
the time probably being when the Tacoatlanta, enmeshed with
the trees and violently assailed, would be so engaged that the
new boom could be drifted across the river, men being posted
to swing it by the hawsers, and others to run swiftly across the
moving mass, leap to the shore and secure it with the aid of
those others.

All eagerly waited for the night, yet fearing it, because of
the demons of the waters and the reptiles that lay beneath
them. The gods were propitiated in trust that they might aid
the attack, much sacrifices being offered to them ; and in the
temple of the Moon Azta prayed, invoking all the spirits of
night to aid, and such as flew in winged shape.

182

THE TACOATLANTA.

Thus all were enthusiastic when night came, and with her
clouds hid all light. Hundreds of tall dark figures crowded
rafts and boats, keeping carefully out of the reach of such slight
glow as reached them from the near temple of the Sun, yet
which spread not far, being suffered to burn low.

Whispering crowds thronged round the attackers as in darkness
they pushed off silently and disappeared like shadows on the
bosom of the water, with keen eyes striving to pierce the night
to where, from higher up, the floating trees bore down on the
vessel, secured to one another in order to be the more formid-
able. Enormous bats wheeled and squeaked over the stream,
and bright insects flew like moving torches of fire, terrifying
the watchers. The tension was very great, the legions waiting
anxiously the signal of the formation of the boom to prepare
for crossing; and sudden and shrill, spHtting the silence with
a thrilling yell, came a long, tremulous whoop, rising to a shriek.

Shout upon shout answered and drums were beaten for encour-
agement. From the river came crashes and thuds and the
sounds of war. Sparks flew from crossing swords, and it appear-
ed that the warship was not unprepared, for amid the distant
storm of sounds rose the heavy splash of oars in regular fall,
audible above crashes, shouts and shrieks. Yells came from
furious throats, yet to the anxious, thrilling watchers the uproar
seemed to be moving farther off.

Yet now how greatly rose thy daring genius, Toltiah! For,
revolving in his mind the great benefit of destroying the army
of Izta and seizing his stores and engines, he perceived a chance
of passage. The Tacoatlanta was drifting down the current,
possibly disabled, and messengers, despatched by the prince,
flew from post to post and to the engineers of the causeway
who waited to let the restrained mass swing across the stream.

Slowly the huge boom, released now from its restraining
moorings, felt the current. Levers pushed forth the long trunks
of trees, and the swift stream swung it in its joined masses
across to the far bank. Already nimble hunters, reckless with
haste and excitement and mindful of future reward, had run to
the opposite end, and many more, wielding levers, secured more
firmly the several portions ; and while returning from the attack

183

ATLANTIS.

on the war-ship, on battered rafts or swimming like fishes,
dripping warriors with streaming wounds climbed from the river,
reporting a futile attempt at capture and the escape of the
Tacoatlanta, the mighty boom was signalled secure, and over
it began the passage of the army of Toltiah.

Through the barricades they poured, vanishing into the
gloom ; first Nezca with the guards, then the Amazons, and
then hundreds of long-haired, skin- clad hunters. Many, over-
come with excitement, and valiant by reason of much company,
plunged into the river, and soon the churning water was alive
with heads. With spear and sword strapped to their backs
they swam with long powerful strokes, and hundreds of the
savage tribesmen, from far up the banks, emulating them, plunged
in and braved the waves.

The breast of the leader was full of hope and joy. In imag-
ination he saw the defeat of Izta and rejoiced in the welcome
necessaries captured ; he saw the surrender of Budil and the
armada and then the triumphant march to the Throng of
Atlantis. Then a glowing light sprang up from down the river
as a war-kite sailed slowly up, carrying a blazing torch, and by
its light showed an appalling spectacle. The Tacoatlanta was
returning ! The noise made by the passing army had reached
the ears of her crew, Shar-Jatal's myrmidons and formidable
opponents, and with eager oars and filled sails she was coming
up with rapidity.

The passage of the army stopped, the nearest to either shore
going onward or hastily returning; while another light leaped
from the bows of the warship as a bonfire was ignited on a
protruding platform.

A murmur rose like the sound of a storm, and Toltiah and
all the chiefs beat their breasts with clenched fists, and growled
in their throats. The archers were ordered to send their shafts
into the galley while men flew in eager haste to the large
catapult, crying to the gods to be propitious, regulating the
range and directing their aim. A rock was placed on the
beam, the levers tightening the cords at the opposite end until
they sang. The huge missile, released, flew forth, hurled with
gigantic power by the beam, and falling into the current astern

184

THE TACOATLANTA.

and beyond the warship, raised a watery column that gleamed
golden in the blaze of the bonfire.

But straight at the boom, fretted with moving forms, the
great hulk rushed, and struck. For an instant she stopped
dead, her foremast falling with a crash, the bonfire flying in
lines of light far in advance. A terrible shock convulsed her
and the boom, and by the faint light of the far-soaring kite the
watchers could see the causeway was cleared of men as it
slowly swayed forward, and then, rushing with the stream,
parted with a great rending, and drifted downwards, divided,
the Tacoatlanta slowly forging ahead. With gathered speed
she went onwards again, and dark forms in commotion were
seen on her bulwarks busy among the floating heads, stabbing
at them with oars, smashing them with clubs, splitting them with
swords and spears and axes tied to poles

Howls of rage rose from both shores at witnessing this daring
deed. The Amazons yelled their long, clear war-whoop, and a
formidable sound of beaten bucklers arose as the warriors smote
them with rage. The leaders held a consultation, fearful of the
approach of the army of Izta that would destroy the army on
the farther bank. It was decided to move in force to the fords,
where, wading to their armpits, they might have a chance of
boarding and capturing the vessels there, the archers killing the
rowers and slaughtering the crew by pouring their shafts through
the port-holes.

All lay on their arms till dawn, when, with the first light,
the divided arrays poured flights of missiles on the Tacoatlanta
as she lay between them, preventing attempts to repair the
damage of the fallen mast and compelling all to lay beneath
their shields. Azta, lying in an open palanquin, watched the
dark vessel and cursed her by all the gods of Zul and the
demons of darkness. The catapults were prepared for use, not
being understood by the enemy, who had not fathomed the
meaning of that watery column that rose so near them in the
night-attack, and such even as perceived it judging it to be a
Spirit risen from the wave. Now three of them raised their
dark beams from the walls, one below and one above the city,
and the large one that had fired the bolt in the night, the

185

ATLANTIS.

course of which was influenced by other wedges of rock placed
beneath.

To an extent the presence of the army on the farther shore
was comforting, for the ships could not land men to revictual
the larders, and soon all believed the provisions faiHng would
cause a retreat if all else failed, for the fish had two much food
to eat to venture on a hook, the bodies of many warriors
feasting them to the full. The march to the fords was prepared
for, where it was hoped to find that the enemy had attempted
to land, and consequently, wearied with fighting and perchance
in disorder, would fall an easy prey.

Camped around fires, the warriors were breaking fast, when
a shout apprised all that something claimed attention. The
Mexteo was coming down the river.

Azta perceived her approach first, and her quick mind
revolved a scheme. She rose up in her palanquin, raising her
voice in command to the hastening warriors, her proud head
raised high and her eyes flaming with enthusiasm. " To the
catapults!" she cried; and standing to her full majestic height
at the added height of the shoulders of tall negroes, waved her
arm with a sweep from horizon to horizon, crying that the
whole world lay before Huitza and all who followed him.

Shouts answered her, the warriors declaring her to be a
goddess, while the artillerists manned the engines, and trumpets
and drums sounded all over the city. The missiles were fitted,
and as the galley arrived opposite the machine above the city,
a huge bolt flew through the air and plunged into the waves
under her beam, sending a mound of water over her and the
oars into inextricable confusion.

A roar of triumph rose from Talascan and the thousands
beyond the walls who witnessed this. The boat, under confused
orders, slowly drifted into the very range, and the artillerists,
shrieking with eagerness and sweating at their work, fitted
another missile. The army on the farther shore raised howls
of gleeful jubilation, and the crew of the Tacoatlanta ventured
from under their shields to watch what might happen.

With a twang and a whiz the rock sped. The breathless
thousands watched it as it flew, presenting all sorts of shapes

1 86

THE TACOATLANTA.

in its gyrating path. It fell with a crashing thud on the bulwarks,
and a shriek of terror, drowned in another prolonged burst of
exultation, rose as, amid splinters and blood, the water swirled
into the breach. The warship lurched horribly, but the shouts of
triumph drowned the shrieks of despair of her heavily-harnessed
crew, which, falling down the inclining deck, fearfully increased the
list that the flooding waves gave the vessel. With a lurch forward
and a heavy roll she turned over, the eddies swirling around her;
and only her sails on the water, like two great domes with the
air they enclosed, kept her from completely turning over.

The Tacoatlanta with grapplers down watched the dire sight.
Tentativeness changed into the wildest dismay on beholding the
unfortunate Mexteo wallow and overturn. But for Budil and other
leaders the crew would have surrendered at once, fearful of such
fate ; but these, with threats and blows, forced them to hoist the
sails, while, abandoning the grapplers, the oars beat the water.

Within range of the catapult below the city a vast missile
flew forth, striking the mainsail and tearing in from the mast,
which snapped at the foundations and fell, drenching all with
bounding waves, heaving the vessel greatly on the swelling
wash and mingling the oars in confusion.

Cries of terror arose, drowned by irrepressible shouts of
enthusiasm from the army. Some of the galley-slaves, mad
with terror, leaped overboard and dived deeply so that they
drowned ; upon the catapult a man mounted, waving a cloak and
gesticulating towards the artillerists, who wound down the great
beam preparatory for another shot. All down the barricades
clustered thousands of warriors, and now they began to stream
through on to the waterway. On the pedestal of the colossus
Mele, a water-god supporting one end of the architrave shadowing
the steps of the river gate, stood Toltiah ; on the top step was
Azta, standing as a goddess in her palanquin, jubilant with triumph,
who had travelled along the battlements in glorious victory.

Ignorant of the powers of the dire engine, the enemy believed it
to be able to follow them up and sink the ship, and terribly alarmed
by the startling warning they had received, hauled down the remain-
ing sail ; while a cloak was waved in answer to the one on shore, as
the great warship sullenly rowed up to the waterway to surrender.

187

CAP. VI.

THE FIRST STEP OF FAME.

Enthusiastic crowds watched the galley, as, towing the hamper
of two masts she came up and struck. There was no need for
grapplers : hundreds of hands clutched and held her, warriors
swarmed over the bulwarks, and but for the authority of the
chiefs she would have been sunk by sheer weight of numbers.

The crew landed, among them being a few of the notables
of Zul, come on what they had deemed a pleasurable trip.
Not a few were wounded by the fury of the night-surprise and
the ceaseless missiles of the army; most of these were secretly
murdered and with those who were already dead thrown over-
board ; while the warriors, enraged by the mischief wrought,
hanged the Captain Budil from his own masthead. The body,
barbarously profaned in the market-place, had the head struck
oft", the which was sent by a tall hunter to be cast into Zul in
token of what would befall when Toltiah were master. A score
of the Mexteo's crew, clinging to their wreck, were killed with
sling-shots and arrows ; while, under pretence of enrolment with
the conquering legions, all the crew of the Tacoatlanta, together
with those notables, were overcome by violence and murdered
in a place beyond the walls.

And now all was bustle again and a rush of preparation for
the interrupted passage of the army to be continued before the
other war-ships might appear. All thoughts of gratitude to the
gods were forgotten. Boats carried ropes across the river from
bank to bank, and the wrecks of the two booms were by them hauled
together and secured. Nezca's spies, looking in far-reaching
circles for Izta, gave yet no sign of his approach ; and now,
crowding the boom and on rafts and boats, and thousands
swimming, the army crossed ; and the menace of the approaching

i88

THE FIRST STEP OF FAME.

one, albeit disciplined and terrible, lost its sting. The ill-fated
Mexteo, smashed and waterlogged, was drawn up to the waterway
and secured, to be raised again as soon as preparations were
ready; while a catapult was fitted on the Tacoatlanta and her
masts replaced, the body of Budil being suspended by the heels
from the foremast. Her management was left to the Talascans,
who were used to the sea and river, and Akin commanded
them.

The boom was crowded with arrogant conquerors, and in the
sunny streets of Talascan women and children swarmed again, the
fear of violence removed. They laughed and chatted and gazed
with awe on the tall catapults, revering them as gods. To the
populace the name of Huitza was a power in itself, for besides
being that of a popular hero, it was, with Tekthah and Rhadaman,
one of the three that reminded the people of the old days and
the glory of the land. Shar-Jatal was hated as a brother who
had objectionably seized a sire's power, and Izta, his right hand,
was hated likewise for his upstart insolence and tyrannies ; while
Japheth was lauded with mighty enthusiasm, being called saviour
of Talascan and Wielder of the bolts of the gods.

But on Azta and Toltiah the regards of the people were
poured with a frenzied enthusiasm, and images were made of
them and sold to be worshipped. And now with levers and
inflated skins, (the people hauling on ropes,) the Mexteo was
turned on her proper side, and, the water being bailed out,
floated in ordinary fashion upon the water, the breach being
repaired by skilled men and everything set in order. There
were many bodies of drowned warriors within her, but these
were flung with scant ceremony to the waves, while jubilant
Talascans ran freely from bank to bank over the causeway.
On this a catapult was constructed to hurl a volley of missiles,
but at the first trial the levers broke and hurried violent death
to many, nor was it until much time had passed that confidence
in it was restored.

In the darkness of the night one of the two warships by the
fords came down the river to see if aught had occurred, and
dimly perceiving the Tacoatlanta, rowed up to her. Whose
crew, also understanding what the crew of the galley took to

189

ATLANTIS.

be the case, permitted the approach, and grappling her, made
an easy capture ; and thus Toltiah possessed three of the four
vessels of the armada, and the people rejoiced greatly.

With the dawn of the next day the three warships sailed up
the river, the great Tacoatlanta displaying at her fore the ill-
fated Budil, dead ; and at noon perceived where the rafts lay,
and the other galley. The landing at the fords had been bar-
ricaded with pointed stakes and piles of wood, which in places
showed where the devices of the enemy had fired it. These,
believing the approaching ships to be full of their friends, shouted
to them, and the crews replied; the while surrounding the galley,
which was named the Tzan, the one captured being named
Tizin. The vessel, being thus hemmed in, would have surrend-
ered, but the savage attackers would take no tameness like this,
and pouring over the sides, killed every man on board. Yet
they too suffered in a great measure, for the Tzan's crew fought
furiously as long as there was a man left.

The Axatlans and all those which were sent down to aid ,
them were greatly enthusiastic seeing how things ran, and began
to pour missiles upon the crowded rafts, of which there were
three. These, with hot haste, began to make for the farther
bank, but the crew of the Tacoatlanta, perceiving this, prepared
to fall upon them, fitting also a missile on the catapult. This
plunged between two of them, causing a great wash of water
and much consternation ; but they redoubled their efiforts to
escape as the huge galley bore down on them.

She struck the first with a devastating crash, again sending
the foremast, with its horrid burden, overboard, with much
havock to the bulwarks ; but cutting this adrift, continued on,
and by the crew going astern, in order to raise the long bows,
the second raft was completely submerged beneath the mighty
bulk of the vessel.

The river was crowded with heads and shoulders. Half-
drowning men plunged about in their harness, making for the
farther bank ; but mad with excitement, the light warriors of
Axatlan swam like fierce sharks after them, and the Mexteo and
Tizin, victorious, came along, towering from the crimson waves.
1 he high lacoatlanta bore down on the third raft, and its crew,

190

THE FIRST STEP OF FAME.

perceiving this, and how merciless were their enemies, prepared
to surrender their lives dearly ; and as the dark mass reached
them they leaped like cats upon the sides, or, clinging to the
oars, thrust their spears through the port-holes to slay the rowers.

So furious was the attack and so desperate were the doomed
warriors that, had there but have been the Tacoatlanta to con-
tend with, the chances would have halted for a space. But the
Mexteo and the Tzan bore down among the strugghng men,
and the fierce Axatlans swam and dived among them, stabbing
their bewildered foemen on all sides, and many a haughty
legionary died there in the crimson water. Not one escaped,
for the swimming pursuers darted about and cut off every fugitive
that the warships, awkwardly handled and fouling one another,
could not get near.

Joyful messengers carried news of the victory to Toltiah, and
vast rejoicings celebrated the return of the warships. The
conquest of Zul appeared to be but a little thing to all that
had been already accomplished, and it was greatly wished that
Izta's army would appear.

Arrangements were made for the great march to the capital
a large guard being left behind for the protection of Talascan, and
another at the fords, in the event of Izta slipping past their flank.
Messengers were sent to all the cities far and near to bid as
many as were able to come from their walls, to join the march-
ing army; and these spread the certain news of the coming of
Huitza and of the great successes that had attended him thus
far. The armada was to stay in the river, guarding causeway
and fords, and the former was not to be destroyed unless very
seriously aiding a siege. Indeed it was well defended, for in
addition to the catapult below the city that would keep rafts
from coming up the river — unless, comprehending it, they forsook
the centre of the stream for the farther side — there was that
one in the midst of it, now faced to the shore from the city,
that threw many bolts at once. Also messengers could always
be landed by night to carry news to the army if necessary ;
yet those left behind thus were greatly discontented, and only
on agreement of equal shares of spoil with the rest would they agree.

But the army refused to move without its women, loud demands

191

ATLANTIS.

being made to bring them out from the city and the camp,
and mocking insolence being cast at the leaders, who had
brought their harems with them. The hunters and the more
savage tribes were particularly clamorous, and the more degraded
thousands became riotous. In vain their leaders explained the
hindrance of a female following; they swore by all their gods
they would not march without them, nor were the trained legion-
aries less obstinate. A body of the rabble suddenly attacked
the camp of the Amazons, where was Azta with the wives and
mistresses of Chanoc, Noah, and other chiefs, and this resulted
in a furious and determined battle on both sides, which might
have ended with dire results, for the rabble was largely rein-
forced continuously.

The Amazons fought with a noble fury free from any trace
of fear, defending their terrified charges well and dealing death
with their great axes ; yet, fearful, I summoned Toltiah, who
with his chiefs and Nezca's warriors, propitiated, attacked the
rebels in the rear and drove them before their onslaught on to
the vengeful weapons of their foes in front, all who escaped
being publicly tortured before the army as an example to others.

Hut advised by Azta, Toltiah gave the army its women,
which as they came over made a large crowd of themselves.
There was a great wonderment at the delay of Izta's army,
and the Tzantans wished to wait for it, feehng secure with the
catapults and warships behind them, and mistrusting the quality
of their vast armament. In the centre were the guards of
Nezca and Chanoc, the Amazons were to the rear of these.
Right and left were immense bodies of archers, spearmen and
slingers, and unnumbered tribes and thousands of irregular
warriors, hunters and savages. The forests here would prove
a fearful trap for the advancing army, but by no signs of the
flights of birds or animals, nor by far-circHng scouting-parties
could they perceive it.

The primitive hunters thought that the gods had devoured
them, and the superstition of all was greatly exercised con-
cerning this thing. Yet in the inaction an apathy began to
settle down over all, and Toltiah, under pretence of visiting
Azta, dallied long with Marisa, leader of the Amazons, and

192

THE FIRST STEP OF FAME.

wasted long whiles in foolishness with Azca, who was of great
beauty, while the warriors gambled with their gold and metal
ornaments, with their arms and armour, and with their women.
They held gross competitions among themselves and shouted
continually out of wantonness. There were jugglers among them
and sword-swallowers, men who devoured fire, and women who
stood naked, wreathed in flames and uttering incantations.
Many were murdered and their bodies flung to the waves,
and women giving birth to children killed them that they might
not be troubled with them on the march. Sometimes bands
of men were decoyed into a wild spot and killed, that their
women might be obtained by the murderers, nor did the chiefs
scruple to use this end to their enjoyment.

Also I looked upon a fearful sight, where many of the
hybrid savages, hungry for food, crossed the river to where
that crew of the Tacoatlanta was killed, and fed themselves
upon such stark bodies as the wolves and vultures had left.
Yet it was not much, for vast numbers of animals hung on
the outskirts of the army, and overhead the eagles and vultures
sailed in circles ; but beneath the pile of bodies lay some un-
touched, and these the dark beings, rooting Hke hogs in the
putrid mass, pulled forth and ate.

At length a captain of the archers, by name Maxo, dis-
appeared, and the fear of what inaction would lead to terrified
the leaders, so that the order was given to march. With
scouts and flanking parties and a loose array of thousands of
the irregular warriors leading, to throw the enemy into con-
fusion when they came upon him, the forward movement began.
Drums beat and whistles and trumpets shrilled above the shouts
and songs, as with the war-cry of " Huitza and Zul ! " the
march to the Throne of Atlantis commenced.

And I, brooding upon the banks of the Hilen, rested in
thought and looked around by night, when the bright stars
reflected themselves in the quiet waters, with only the long
boom and the shadowy masses of Talascan to speak of the
presence of man. Yet thence methought I heard a shriek, and
on the water were voices and soft moans, and many spiritual
appearances. I longed for rest, for the sweet innocent love of

193 13

ATLANTIS.

such an one as Susi, whose pure face was ever before my mind
with its deep, serious eyes, chiding my presence here. Yet
with a fierce pang of anguish I turned me to contemplate Azta,
my Love ! I would not own to my mind that she did not love
me. and thus I ever hoped and believed in a lie ; and, yearning
for the innocent and mighty joy and power of past times, could
not leave her. What should happen now.-^ I dared not consider
the apparent character of Toltiah, her son and mine, nor what
should come of it ; I dared not pray to that Throne that ruled
the Worlds to aid my Earthly love.

And thus I sat and pondered on that starry night, what
time Toltiah marched with his legions to the conquest of Atlantis.

CAP. VII.

HUITZA AND TERROR.

In Zul Shar-Jatal lay, surrounded by myrmidons and syco-
phants, yet standing uneasy beneath the crown and the great
power that he felt himself unable to administer. From all
the Imperial province of Hava the warriors of every city had
been forced to the capital, lying in great camps within the walls
and happy with the thought of great pillage over all the land,
when they should march forth to conquer. But among the
chiefs Acoa spread dissensions and thereby weakened the power
of Shar-Jatal, there being also many of the haughty lords and
ladies who plainly regarded him as an upstart, and only trusted
to his cleverness to save them now from the vengeance of that
prince whom terrifying rumour said again led the armies of the
land. Handsome, vain and licentious, the usurper was withal
indolent, and became greatly embittered by reason of the loss
of his hand. The only one who bore a real regard for him for
his own sake was Pocatepa, the wife of Ju, whom also Mah
held in some thrall ; and with a wicked passion she loved him,
greatly upholding his power by her arts. More than all the
rest was she disturbed at the rumour that Azta was in Talascan,
because she knew Shar-Jatal loved the Tizin and that her power
was very great in the land, all believing her to be under the
special protection of Zul, and a goddess ; thus, inwardly deplor-
ing the weakness of her chosen lord, she stirred him up to
resist the failings of his nature, to take his power and dispense
it as became the Tzan of Atlantis and master of a headstrong
nation threatened with dissolution.

She held her lord completely by her willing pandering to his
wishes, and both that twain were much discussed for their
licences and wantonness. But they feared the friends of Ju.

195

ATLANTIS.

particularly the chiefs Zebra, Eliaz, Ombar and Eto-masse, who
were powerful among all such as lived by the sea and all sailor-
men, and whom they durst not put away secretly, (for already
there was great disgust at many such proceedings,) and were
uneasy and amazed as the time passed with no message of the
sack of Talascan. Tek-Ra was in ruins and soon would Azco
be brought in chains from Trocoatla to answer for his insolent
rebellion; but, before that, Talascan must fall, Shar-Jatal's
territory being far off.

Yet the Tzan's love for his mistress grew colder as a horror
settled down upon him and a great distrust to every person.
For Pocatepa warned him of Acoa, whom he relied upon greatly,
and the thought came to him that the falling of the Solar symbol
upon the throne had turned the regards of this one against
him. Of a night the spirit of Azta appeared to him and fearful
larvae haunted his dreams : the shade of Huitza threatened him
with atrocious gestures, and in sweating horror he perceived a
whirling sword menace his life.

An uneasiness spread abroad as there came no news of Izta
or Rudil. and a gloom that was of unquiet consciences sprang up
and lay over all. Everybody feared a certain vengeance for
the sins of past years : the services to Zul were conducted fer-
vently and the evil crowds bowed down before their divinities,
performing those rites which were abominable and obscene,
prostituting themselves to their own foul creations. In the
silence they perceived an approaching Terror, and committed
vast excesses, hoping to make up by the exhausting and reckless
enjoyment of to-day for what awful thing might come
to-morrow.

And Mall, mindful also of his ambition to become ruler in
Zul and the first of a Priestly line, persuaded to his scheme a
great multitude of other j^riests and as many foUoweis as they
could collect for the purpose of seizing the power when oppor-
tunity offered, which plan came to the ears of Acoa, who
was not unwilling that there should be dissension in the city,
for the army there was very strong and there was much mate-
rial of war and many engines; so that any civil strife would
greatly weaken them. And the plan being ripe, Pocatepa was

196

MUITZA AND TERROR.

summoned by Mali and bidden to administer to her lord a
certain potion that would destroy him.

But alone with him in their apartments her heart failed her
because of the love she had for him, and summoning the Cap-
tain of the Guard, whose name was Bel, she bade him see the
watch was well kept, and adjured him on his life to seize any
loiterer by the palace, whomsoever it might be. Whereat Shar-
Jatal was greatly disturbed and demanded what such orders
might portend.

"My dear lord," said the weird woman, smiling on him,
"this day would I show thee how my love for thee triumphs
over all considerations of power. Watch thou!"

Now it was the time of sunset, and on a mirror of polished
gold the great light flashed, dazzling and beauteous, glittering
also on a black veil covered with bright metal stars that over-
shadowed the flashing circle. From the ceiling there hung dia-
phanous draperies like clouds, and cabalistic symbols were set
on the walls ; upon a pedestal sat a huge black ape, and beneath,
in chains, was crouched a human figure with the head enclosed
in a bronze cage. This was old Na, on whom the dire sorceress
had rivetted the incubus because of her refusal to concoct certain
subtle perfumes that Azta was envied for, and this cage pre-
vented any free movement on the part of the old woman.

Pocatepa, wearing the mystic insignia of Neptsis, reclined on
a throne-like seat, of which the arms were carven to represent
a large sort of beetle that came up, shining, from the earth of
a night to fly in circles ; which also was her Divinity, her slaves
and guards wearing its emblem upon them. Her footstool
was a block of marble formed to represent the same insect,
and over it lay a cloth covered with scales of innumerable
elytra; of the real beetle and irridescent with bright stones.
Behind the throne was a mystic circle of luminous atoms, the
centre representing the moon, and thousands of stars fiUing the
circumference ; yet only I knew the awful significance of what
the daring idea pretended.

The lady summoned a slave, commanding him to strike from
off the head of Na the bronze cage, which, being done, the old
woman stood forth free. Half she hoped her mistress had

197

ATLANTIS.

caused this, and on her wrinkled face was a smile as she waited
what should come.

"Come hither," said Pocatepa, her harsh voice attuned to
sweetness ; " come and drink to my lord and me from this
golden goblet that shall usher in thy freedom. See, my lord,
in her hands I place the cup, and soon perchance shall we
envy the lot of this old slave."

Amazed at her words, the bowed woman took the massy cup,
brimmed with generous wine, yet methinks she drank a curse
to the pair instead of a blessing, as Pocatepa threw herself back
against her uneasy lord and watched with an evil glitter in
her eyes.

Na dropped the bowl and her sunken eyes grew large as
they rested on the sorceress before her. She swayed and sank
to the ground, and in an instant a slight froth rose to her lips
and the golden skewer through her nostrils was flecked with
tiny drops of blood. So she stayed, dreadful in silent immo-
bility, and then Pocatepa spoke. •

" She hath passed, my lord, and is free, whilst ourselves — "

"What is this, woman!" demanded the Tzan, clutching the
hilt of his sword, and greatly dismayed.

His mistress cast herself upon him, kissing his lips and caress-
ing him. " Fear not," she said, " the danger is passed, and
what might have come to thee love hath turned aside": and
to him she revealed the heavy plot of Mah ; while I, watching
her amorous play, wondered why only to me should no love
be given.

And of her sort Pocatepa was fair to look upon. Clad in a
black, transparent mantle, her eyes more brilliant than the shining
l^lates on her forehead and of a mystic fascination, with bright
diamonds gleaming in her teeth, she appeared as a goddess, yet
of evil. Her breasts were bare, the mantle gathered closely
beneath them by a belt covered with symbols; her arm was
encircled by a living snake, fastened by tiny gold skewers and
rings, and tremulating occasionally, causing myriads of little gems
with which it was studded to scintillate, whilst its forked tongue
waved incessantly.

The Tzan suffered her caresses sullenly, fearing her somewhat,

198

HUITZA AND TERROR.

and uneasy at his position, yet shamelessly she importuned his
embraces. Suddenly it grew dark, and in the darkness I saw
Acoa as before I had seen him appear to Azta. The two people
gazed around, believing some power of Mah to be upon them,
and thinking the potency of the poison in the dead slave at
their feet to be rising to their brains, yet hoping it to be but
the coming of night.

Still the darkness seemed to roll down in palpitating waves,
almost visible, and the throne-like settee, from which they had
arisen, stood out gradually in fearful relief against a background
of phosphorescent light in which circles seemed to revolve all
ways. To their sudden fright at such proximity they perceived
a figure seated there, which forbade them to stir ; directing their
attention to where a clear round of brightness showed the mirror
standing, untouched by the surrounding obscurity. Whispers, as
of voices, floated through the air, and a blast of deadly chill
made the terrified pair shiver, while an impression that the
figure, in the proportions of a giant, huge, black, awful, had
arisen and was regarding them, held them spell-bound. Their
hairs crept and t)ie blood ran cold at their hearts, as their eyes,
dazzled by the luminous appearances and the moving blackness,
fixed themselves on the clear bright surface of the mirror that
appeared to regard them as a great eye, their straining optics
directed and focussed by the darkness around until it seemed
as though they gazed down a tunnel into a very bright place.
The mind contracted itself to this observation alone, and with
all their souls they stared at the disc of glowing light that
claimed the attention irresistibly.

The darkness around gave place to another phenomenon, that
was not light, for there were no shadows and nought was visible,
yet was no longer darkness, for a bright atmosphere assimilated
itself with the brightness of the mirror. There was a feeling
of the spirit standing alone in infinite space, expectant: a
possession of fear, a wish to be elsewhere, as an impression of
passing long periods was apparent. Years, centuries, appeared
to roll by, unmarked, unbounded; there was nought to start
from, nothing to be reached; only a knowledge of life in a
glowing atmosphere, a sensation of wonder and waiting; and

199

ATI.ANTIS.

through it all the circle of light compelled the terrified attention
that strained every tight nerve to concentrate itself yet more
fully in a fearful effort of contemplation.

On rushing pinions the soul sped to the centre of potential
attraction, yet never reaching it: on and onward with panting
heart and vast exhaustion, striving with bursting nerves to
reach a point whence came sounds less dream-like every instant,
and certain complications of vague movement.

As if a veil had been lifted away the sounds deepened and
a Thing was visible, wavy and shadowy — a mass; indefinable
and nebulous. The atmosphere shook and a figure stood forth,
vast, grisly and of faint outlines ; a larva that overpowered by
the horrid sensation of being in the presence of a floating cloud
of black immensity with the knowledge that this dread thing
was a man. The weird horror was overpowering ; it would
suffocate, overwhelm in oceans of air and in silence made awful
by the movements that caused no sound.

The glow had given place to a pale green brightness : the
vague shadow slowly took shape and form and the outlines
appeared, human, yet how vast and unnatural ! These contracted
and the shadow darkened.

An appearance as of a stroke of lightning sprang from
obscurity and vanished : the figure seemed to move and stretch
its limbs as awakening from sleep, and, in an increasing light
that brought out its features with distinctness, to turn its face
on the expectancy. The eyes opened, the lips compressed
themselves tightly as a frown settled on the face, and the
Tzantan Muitza looked again forth in human guise.

A long shaft quivered through his body, the blood-dripping
point protruding through his chest. With a movement, as of
a dream, he drew the weapon from his back, and, poising it,
cast the long shaft upwards. A flash of brightness fell, dazzling
and terrible, and a shriek cleft the atmosphere.

In the streets of Zul was great rioting and disorder, where
the adherents of Mali and the priests who followed him met
the legions sent by Shar-Jatal to take them the next morning.

200

HUITZA AND TERROR.

Terrified by the vision he beHeved to have been sent by Mah,
the Tzan wished to seize him and demand an explanation of it,
which thing Pocatepa greatly urged ; and for a lesson to all
whom it might profit to learn, it was commanded that not one
of the rebeUious people should escape.

And many, on the appearance of the armed legions, fled and
disclaimed all knowledge of such a plot, but many joined battle,
led by priests, and very furious in fanaticism.

There were huge missiles cast from roofs that crushed many,
and long streams of blood trickled down the streets, but the
warriors of the Tzan overcame the rioters, putting them to the
sword ; and as many of them as escaped fled to the temple of
Neptsis, which was accounted a sanctuary for the vanquished
and such as would plead for life. But Shar-Jatal, reckless in
his wrath and terror, caused them to be slain, and the blood
of scores drenched the outraged altar of the goddess until all
had ceased to live. And among them were many of the eunuch
priests of Zul, but none could find Mah.

The city was uneasy by reason of this thing and many others,
and in the evening the people discussed many things concerning
the rebellion and the massacre of the priests of their gods.
They were much exercised in their minds also by the lack of
news from before Talascan, to where swift messengers had been
sent ; for they believed that the great army of Izta and the
warships of Budil should by this have returned triumphant
with great numbers of captives and much spoil. They vowed
oblations to the gods and told how the altars of Zul should
smoke with grateful sacrifices, for Acoa had said there should
be vengeance taken for the murder of men who ministered to
the gods.

Yet the warriors by the walls sang lewd songs, unheeding,
and talked profanely among themselves of the same subjects.
A group sat recounting what they would do when the rebel
cities were conquered, and disclosed the grossness of their
minds by rehearsing tortures, and what would happen to this
one and that, and laying indecent bets on various performances
that they would undertake. Something fell by them with a
thud, and, looking up quickly, they perceived a long spear

201

ATLANTIS.

quivering in the ground; and, gyrating around it, a human
head, fastened by the long, thick hair.

It was the head of Budil, and dismay fell on the city.

And all, remembering the rumour concerning Huitza, and
fearful that they, the attackers, might well become the attacked,
forsook their waning arrogance concerning the conduct of the
war. Hurried councils were held, whereat it was commanded
that the huge granaries of the city should be filled, and flocks
and herds from without should be driven in. The bolder ones
were minded to go forth and avenge the insult, yet on all
men's hearts lay the fear of treachery and unscrupulous ambition ;
and at all councils were many dissentient voices to every scheme
of safety, mocking at caution.

202

CAP. VIII.

A VISION OF WARNING.

With songs and merriment Toltiah's army marched onward,
drums, whistles and all manner of instruments of music sounding,
wild and discordant, above the tramp of myriad feet, waving
spear-points scintillating like gems above the moving masses,
o'ertopped by all sorts of standards and rallying-poles of various
tribes. Reinforcements joined them occasionally, and thousands
of wolves and wild dogs followed the march, while overhead
ever hung that winged army of fierce birds which all believed
would carry the souls to the Sun. With the Amazons went
Azta in her slung couch, accompanied by Toltiah and some of
the Tzantans and a great number of messengers.

They passed rapidly along, camping around villages by river-
banks or on plains, where hasty shelters were erected for the
Tizin and one or two of the more luxurious among them. The
women following the army shared the hardships and the stony
couches of the men, and a few joined the ranks of the Amazons ;
yet such were very few, tor the manner of living of these
women-warriors was hard, and one among them was put to
death for a violation of chastity that would have passed as
nought among the women of the towns.

Now in the distress of my thoughts I had held myself from
Azta; yet not blaming her for my sorrow, which was caused
by myself, but because I cared not to force her regards.
Therefore I kept aloof in a great measure, concerned by sad
thoughts, unfitted for Earth and fallen from Heaven. And in
those days I loved the sea, for in its restless waves was my
soul comforted, and its voice cried to me from wind-kissed
wave-top and hidden depth of unknown mystery. Vet my
passion for Azta tormented me, and one night I came in to

203

ATLANTIS.

her, the army being encamped among uncouth ruins that caused
much amaze, herself being beneath a canopy. All around
blazed the innumerable fires of the multitudes, who pulled down
the luxuriant vegetation hiding up the old places that but few
of the hunters even knew of; and among the high mounds
many believed there lurked the larvse of that ancient people
whose existence they perceived in the ruins by sundry rude
weapons of war.

I looked upon my Love with the same wild, deep yearning
as of old, and perceived her to be affrayed at my presence,
whereat I grieved sadly.

"Be not in fear of me, O my Love 1 " I cried, embracing
her tenderly ; " have we not conversed enough for thee to trust
in mer I will not force thee, my Azta ; neither indeed can I,
for the heart that is not fully given is not given at all, and
though for a few brief moments our souls mingled, yet thou
canst never love me."

"Yet I do love thee. Beloved." Her words faltered under
my stern and searching glance that pierced her soul as the eyes
of the angels Zora and Zar^bel sought in the tombs for what
the professions denied. Kneeling beside her, I kissed her forehead
with a chaste salute and took her hand in mine.

She looked out to where in the flickering fire-light dark
shadows stalked slowly at times across the space of vision,
and imperiously bade the young slave-girl who combed her
hair, retire.

"O Asia," she said, "to-night my thoughts go very deep and
I would speak to thee, whom I fear not; yet when I see thy
tall form come with such stately stride and such solemn majesty
something terrifies me. Nay, hear me," she said, as I made as
though to speak ; " tonight, I know not why, I think of that
night on which I fir.st saw thee Yonder shines the moon as
it shone then, and still those spirits fly, perchance the same
ones, in the mystic shadows ; yet then I fretted with vain hopes
and impotent ideas that now will be fulfilled. For see, poor
Love, in this strange being that is our child hast thou given
me an accomplished ambition to thine own disastrous cost, for
also as thou art ever before my mind's eye, majestic, silent and

204

A VISION OF WARNING.

sublime, I see in thine eyes the soul's agony, (which I know,)
the hopeless, despairing horror of one who looks on the heart
and only sees there a forced sentiment that dies in the absence
of its object. In Toltiah I see Huitza, the one who aroused
in my bosom a passion pure, strong and unconquerable, and
at times methinks he is in verity a reincarnation of my Love,
a child of Zul, grand beyond Earth, almost as thyself. Yet
have we many loves and next to this comes the love of thee,
who deserves of me the most that I can give, a better love
than any that Earth could offer."

She ceased and a shudder passed through her, great sobs
broke from her heart. The barriers of my callousness were
broken down.

" O God I O God 1 " I cried in the torture of hell, " behold,
I love thee more than all the times before!" A long time
passed in horror and darkness, a period of wild, awful grief,
where embracing one another we wept. Ah, the hopelessness
of Earth ! The subtlety of Souls 1 My Love's words misjudged
me, for though I deserved her love I had forsaken my own
fealty to Heaven to strive to obtain it ; and now. Ruler of the
Worlds! I had lost all!

And thus we stayed until Toltiah prayed admittance from
without, and entering in all his splendour of person stared to
perceive me.

"Welcome, my child," I said, with a bitter gnawing pain at
my heart, noting how the moonlight shone on his ruddy mane
that fell over his breast and shoulders. He blushed deeply at
the hesitance of address, and bowed low in somewhat awed
salutation, yet with a certain hauteur; and because of the place
wherein we were encamped I was minded to show a thing.

"Thou hast attained to a great station, O youth," I said,
" wherein lies much danger to such whose inclinations tend to
evil and unseemly ambition, and whose ardour overruns experience.
Great indeed canst thou reign, leader of a free and enlightened
people, if thou wilt follow the laws of Jehovah, the God of thy
fathers and of me. Cast pride away from thee, for of what
may mortal man boast himself? Body and estate are given and
taken away, and for gifts should such be thankful, remembering

205

ATLANTIS.

they are bestowed by One who can remove them at will.
For consider ! Thou wert a babe, or beautiful or hideous it were
not thy making; naked, than didst not clothe thyself; mighty
or of no account, it was written so in Heaven; dead, thou
canst not aid thy Soul, nor will thy God-given Talents do aught
but demand of thee for why they were used this way or that,
save it is in the way of the meaning of thy Creator, to whom
thou art in debt for all."

Toltiah hung his head, but an inner anger overspread his
countenance, and looking upon him, I felt wrath to perceive a
mortal so arrogant.

"This night," I said^ "will I show thee a thing for a warning
and an example, and to thee also, O Queen. Look upon the
mounds. They are the past dwellings of a race that lived long
centuries before the foot of Adam pressed Eden's soil. Come
and see what may be revealed concerning them who followed
not the plan of God on Earth, thereby causing confusion."

I looked on them with the look of power that compels the
mind of man, so that they believed themselves to stand upon
a mound, and, gazing around, noted that they were the only
people in sight and the time was of noon. The army was gone,
and in their ears that which seemed to be rather a thought
than a voice spoke :

"What matter? Men come and go, and the great event of
yesterday is a fading remembrance of to-day, a sentiment of
absolute indifference. Only God and Love go on for ever."

They looked upon one another, yet without emotion, and
gazed around on the mounds, nor were surprised to perceive a
large structure of stones and rock near them. Upon this a
figure of human outlines squatted without motion, and they even
deemed it dead; but as Toltiah made a step towards it the
creature fled with precipitancy, seeming to doubt whether to
escape to some holes near by in a hill, or to caves formed
by huge masses of stone builded one upon another. On
perceiving no pursuit it returned to the stone structure, uttering
a loud cry.

Other cries answered, and several figures ran past them, of
great size and bulk, most of them larger than Toltiah, leaping

206

A VISION OF WARNING.

with great speed on hands as well as feet. One stopped near
the pile, regarding them fixedly with an eye that looked forth
from the back of its head, x which, slightly moving, gave to
the weird orb a rolling movement. It was a human-like creature
of uncouth and vast muscular development, with enormous feet
and long arms, and clothed all over with red hair; and thus it
rested with its back to them, ready to fly to its retreat.

The watchers stood still, and presently from similar erections
all around other forms issued, vast and weird, most moving
backward, ready to run again to the caves, but the bolder
faced them. Some carried huge clubs, and amongst them were
beings of monstrous growths and frightful aspects, half human
and half animal, which uttered strange cries.

** Behold," the voice said, "the disorder of Earth and to what
things the violence of Man leads him ; his thoughts ever tend
to evil and to the working of iniquity, and how can the purpose
of God be fulfilled when His laws are set at nought?"

Then appeared a great shadow, moving rapidly upon the
earth, and looking up they perceived a winged creature of the
shape of the animals that lived in the Hilen river. Azta cried
put to me to save them, while Toltiah loosened his sword and
grasped his spear firmly, advancing his shadowy buckler.

"Fear not," I said to my Love; "yet now does thine heart
know that I can protect thee more than this one which is half
of Earth."

"In thy love I trust," she said.

"It is well," I answered her; "and ever in thy nature shall
there war distinctly the Spirit and the Flesh. Yet watch further."

The inhabitants of the stone city had all vanished as the
winged beast swooped. It was a marine animal, /3 and Azta,
looking through an opening in the masses of stone, perceived

X This third optic has been often stated by modem writers to have existed in
archaic man, the seat of it being the pineal gland. Dr. Carter Blake of the
London Anthropological Society tells us that Palaeontology has ascertained that
there was actually a third real organ of vision among the animals of the Cenozoic
age, and especially the Saurians, a fact upheld by Sir Richard Owen, who points
out its presence in many fossil animals.

^ An entirely unrecognisable species. If allied to the Pterodactyle, it would
carry man's antiquity very far back,

207 '

ATLANTIS.

the scintillating glitter of wavelets, and fancied she heard the
roar of the surf beating on an iron-bound shore. As though
conscious of a certain anxiety she glanced around in search of
something she could not give form to.

But now the inhabitants of the stone caves had crept forth
with stealth upon the beast. Two huge clubs, simultaneously
applied, blinded it, and with uncouth cries it rose into the air,
falling with a tempest of beating pinions, amid streams of
blood, among the rocks, where it was despatched with cruel
weapons.

"Thou seest that without these caves man could not live among
such beasts as the one thou hast seen," I said : " it is his nature
to live in colonies together and to build cities; yet, with vague
longings for grandeur, which is of the soul, he combines the
body of an animal smaller and feebler than the brute beasts,
but directed to violence by skill of imagination. And see the
pity of it! that mind that should steer to great accomplishments,
disregarding the laws of Nature that serve for a mind to the
beasts, is exerted to commit all manners of confusion. See
how he would pervert the ordinances of the Creator!"

Azta looked and perceived horrible shapes that basked in
the sun, being scarce human. She understood that a period
had passed, and these abortions were the offspring of foul
unions, their vague eyes lacking any emotion ; which thing
would in course of time, affect all creation. One came forth,
bearing a small new-born monster, which by-and-by it dashed
upon the ground and proceeded to tear hmb from limb to
devour, others coming up likewise for the horrid repast.

With curdling blood Azta turned to me. " Such was the
world," I said, "before Adam; one long series of evolutions,
of failure through sin, of destruction and re-creation. See, the
end of this degenerate race is come!"

Water trickled between the rocks, running and falling, while
around was an amorphous darkness that had come instantly and
yet seemed to have been gathering for a long period, and in
the water a long way off lay a fearful vision. A long dark
body, motionless and phosphorescent; a giant shark whose evil
eye looked menace and death, watching and waiting with others

208

A VISION OF WARNING.

the flooding waters, and heedless of the storm. The waves
swirled in increasing volumes through the rocky interstices, and
gurgling sounds and little squeaks arose as hundreds of tiny
monsters were swept out from lower caves where they had been
hidden. Many hideous females ran forth also, and many that
were feeble or sick, but the waters surrounded them on all sides.

Cast down and tossed about, sucked beneath the waves in
vortices and dashed on rocks, the wretched beings died ; yet
still hundreds of terrified creatures ran from the caves and
climbed to the highest rocks, fighting and struggling among
themselves for any point that offered above the waves. A
tempest of waters swept down from the sky, and animals
mingled with human beings in the rush for degraded and
impossible life.

A vast creature with floating mane, stranded on the stormy
waves, beat the waters wildly with distorted limbs, throwing
them, leaping in torrents of foam in its death-struggles, from a
trunk that elongated its hybrid head, the while plunging under
water the strangling forms of smaller beasts and men. The
shark was among them now, and horrid things that were more
like vegetables than animals drew down with slimy tentacles
the miserably struggling creatures beneath the waves en-
crimsoned with blood.

Now to the horizon spread a long expanse of heaving waters
from which all of life had disappeared, save where the fins of
sharks cut the waves as the monsters searched for more victims.
The deluge had ceased, and in the waters all was still ; but
from them seemed to rise larvae of vast shapes, that, spreading
over all the sky, became clouds.

"Thus after death alone are such of use," I said, "con-
tributing to the development of another generation by causing
the elements of the atmosphere to keep their proper proportions,
as their bodies nourish the earth."

The waters subsided and the hills arose, the stony monuments
erected instinctively by a gregarious race showing above the
diminished waves. The Earth, pregnant with Ufe that fed full
on its great feast of animal matter, threw forth vegetation and
covered them all,

209 14

ATLANTIS.

Another race of men was there, filling all the Earth and
wondering at the great collections of piled-up rocks and flower-
grown mounds that no records told of. A camp — the army —
the dawning day and remembrance of the march on Zul.

"Now write it in your hearts," said I, "that thou hast looked
upon the primitive Man, that might have developed and
grown to give great praise to his Creator, but was hindered by
his own folly and weakness and was destroyed before he could
stray yet farther. Unto whom also came Adam, the Last-
created Man, to lead the way to Heaven. And having thus
seen, beware ! "

2IO

CAP. IX.

THE MARCH OF TOLTIAH.

Now there came news of the army of Izta, brought by the
scouts that were far in advance ofToltiah and his legions, which
said that the warriors of Zul were encamped in some far-spread-
ing villages that lay by a river, round a great pallo. The army
halted and the chiefs held a consultation as to what should be
done, advising a great attack by night, which, being agreed
upon, the legions were secretly disposed so that an onslaught
should be made upon all sides at once, and chiefly was it
arranged for a great number to surround the pallo and prevent
any access to so impregnable a citadel whose reduction would
take many men a long while to accomplish.

And in the darkness, when Izta's fires blazed afar and the
wanton legionaries debauched themselves with the enforced
cheer of the villagers, it was but the myriad-voiced war-whoops
of their enemies that gave them warning of the portending
fate ; nor could they, unprepared, withstand the rushing thou-
sands that poured upon them lying in disorder. The ribald songs
and merriment were drowned in shouts and the shrieks of
women, the blazing fires were quenched with spouting blood,
while round the useless engines of war the corpses lay thickly
where men gathered as to a standard and fought hard for life.
The Tzantan Izta with some of his great chiefs, nobles of Zul
and men of high degree, fought fiercely and slew many of their
enemies, but the great hordes pressed upon them so that they
went down in the rush and were seen no more.

By the lights of flaming huts the combatants fought, but soon
there was but a great dark field whereon lay dead and dying,
and in fear the carnage stopped. Only the degraded and
monstrous savages from afar, that followed the army, crept among

21 I

ATLANTIS.

the bodies to gorge their obscene stomachs on the flesh and
blood of men and to steal whatsoever they could of what pleased
their fancy. And the next day, of those left which were unable
to escape because of the encircling warriors, most were killed,
but some were taken into the legions of Toltiah.

There was great joy because of the victory, for many villag-
ers had escaped upwards into the pallo and served greatly in
preventing Izta's troops from gaining access to it, being in favour
of starvation rather than sharing the unhappy fates of their com-
panions in the lower villages. These rejoiced, being made much
of as allies in the enthusiasm of victory, and of the enemy there
were many women captured and engines of siege and much
store of arms and food and prepared herbs for smoking, and
luxuries which were distributed all that day ; and in the night,
when the legions encamped around the flesh-fed bonfires, when
the swift bats flew above the countless numbers of the living
and the dead, they drank deep draughts of wine and shouted
with enthusiasm, toasting their leaders with little stint.

Thus with great joy was the march resumed, and the kites
and eagles fed full on the bodies that stayed upon the field.
The savages were forced to move the engines, being also the
carriers of stores ; and to the farthest parts were sent more
messengers to declare victory and demand reinforcements.

From the West came other companies from Chalac and
Trocoatla, tall plainsmen, enduring and hardened by border
warfare, leaving their defended walls ; and many of whole villages
from there also. They marched beneath the standards of the
Vulture and the Serpent, and rallied to the cry of the large
prairie antelope that carried a formidable spiral horn between
its eyes, the horny base protecting the whole forehead. This
cry, which was a succession of grunting barks, emitted from
the vast chest of a Trocoatlan troop-leader, was in itself suf-
ficient to appal, and the ferocious appearance of these men
rendered their presence welcome. The warriors of Chalac wore
a circle of ostrich plumes dyed black at the tips, these nodding
head-dresses lending to them a terrific aspect of warlike
majesty, as of a portentious storm-cloud moving along. The
Governor Iru led these, a squat man of vast build ; those of

212

THE MARCH OF TOLTIAH.

Trocoatla were commanded by the Prince Azco, wearing the
vulture-winged helmet of a son of Tekthah, between which
wings was a grand mass of ostrich-feathers.

Past cities and villages, levying tribute, and through vast
forests marched the legions, and ever reinforcements followed ;
for the most remote peoples wished to be present when Zul
should be sacked, and great hordes of these were of tiny
stature and monstrous forms, pink-eyed and with spots and
stripes like the brutes, squeaking and making unseemly noises
for speech. They fought over the ofifal of the encampments
with the birds and beasts, and my heart was sore as I looked
upon these poor little beings brought into a world of lust and
loathing by the unnamed sins of others.

By great streams where quaint animals dived beneath the
waters, and herds of others fled inland, were yet more ruins,
vast and grotesque, wherein perchance lived, in those days when
all was huge, some mighty nation that had subjugated all the
land and then had vanished, and no man might tell whence
their footsteps had gone. And in the desert were great refuse
heaps of encampments and vanished towns of the nomad tribes,
and tall mounds that were like the Pyramids, yet being formed
of piled-up rocks and stones, upon which many of the army
that were of the plains cast more stones. And these I learned
were the rude mausoleums of departed chiefs, and beside them
were the smaller ones which rose above their wives, being thus
in the pair, male and female, which God had ordained. And
the stones, being first cast above the Clay to prevent the wolves
carrying it off, were greatly added to by all who passed by,
until at length they became of great height and pyramidal.
Thus were they copied in such form in stone of comely propor-
tions for a symbol and a thing of awe ; for indeed there rested
upon these buildings a vast solemnity as the last of the army
passed by and left them standing in their solitary state above
that which looked ever with upturned face to the Heavens. Yet
few saw them thus, for a thick dark cloud of dust arose behind
and above the multitudes that spread to the horizon. And
occasionally also there were tall pallos built upon hills, to which
their inhabitants fled in fear, leaving their fruitful fields; for

213

ATLANTIS.

such people, cultivating the soil and being always upon the
same place, (whereby they could easily be found), were preyed
upon by any nomads who chose. Yet within the strong citadel
they were safe, for it was well stored with food and watered
by a stream to which a tunnel led. And these Toltiah compel-
ling to promise aid in case of retreat, left in safety.

Past the cities of En-Ra, Sham, and strong Surapa, which
were in Astra, they went with much misfortune to the inhabi-
tants and detriment to the flocks and herds. And in those
days Toltiah became enamoured of Marisa, who led the Amazons,
notwithstanding that she would have none of him and sought
to escape from his attentions. And Azta looked favorably on
her child's desire, pleased that his masculine inclinations should
prevail, admiring the Amazon and greatly esteeming her, for
the strange romantic legends of her race caused the Tizin to.
wish to retain her among the people as an ally. Also her pride
and love for Toltiah could not brook the thought of an alliance
with an ordinary woman, or dreadful contingencies that her
spirit revolted at ; and her eyes, bhnded with arrogance of his
prowess, could not perceive his leaning to shameful pleasures
that would supplant all other ambitions. Yet she besought him
that he would tarry until such time as he was lord of Zul,
telling him many things concerning the city ; of its power and
strength and greatness, the multitude of the buildings and the
beauty of the courts and gardens ; of the sea-moat surrounding
it and the massy terror of the walls. A little he remembered
the palace, especially as concerned the thronging stairways and
the lions that guarded the Hall of the Throne. For Azta had
ofttimes taken him thither and placed him upon the seat,
bowing before him in adoration.

To all these things he listened, and was also greatly advised
by Noah, who was as a father to him, and his sons as brothers.
And he regarded them also the more because he had covert
regards for Susi, the wife of Shem, whom in secret he importuned
greatly ; whereby he caused the fair woman much sorrow and
shame, and myself also. For in him I perceived the consumma-
tion of my sin, and at times could I have slain him, yet I
dared not.

214

ATLANTIS,

One day a great cry ran through the army, as emerging
from a forest they perceived very far off a vast white city.
They ran to high places and climbed trees to gaze upon the
beauty that crowned the wilderness, howling jubilantly and
demanding if this were Zul. Most knew it well, the Queen of
the Waves, that raised her beauteous temples of hidden vice
from the deep waters ; the savages gazed in fear, the half-wild
hunters and plainsmen with remembrances of wild enjoy-
ments on those terraced heights. All thirsted for her painted
halls and open coffers, her splendour of treasures, and women
whose wild legends and burning glances given amid scenes of
furious excitement raised to the wonder of unearthly beings.
The licentious soldiery dreamed of the charms of queens whose
exaggerated glories filled them with ecstacy, loaded with jewellery ;
and they swung their great arms like birds soaring for flight
as they looked on the walls that stood between them and their
desires, nor saw in imagination those walls splashed horribly
with blood —their blood — neither perceived their souls going'
up to the Sun in the smoke of Zul's diabolical flame.

Marisa and her warriors gazed with intense curiosity on those
far walls, laughing with childish glee over the beauty of the
towering architecture, beating their shields with spear and axe-
head and smiting their bosoms with open palms in ferocious
gladness.

But with what emotions Azta gazed, believing she could
perceive the long red building that lay beneath the Temple and
the gardens w^here the fountains played ! Where were the old
faces now? where old Na? When would it be that she should
rule the land from that red palace? By her stood Toltiah and
the family of Noah, Chanoc, Nezca, Nahuasco and many
Tzantans, and to such as were ignorant of the walls she pointed
out where the great ports lay, and where the larger buildings.

The stragglers were hastened up, and the haulers of the huge
engines sweated at their task with a joyful knowledge that
soon it would be over. Nearer and nearer they drew until at
evening time the gods that sat in rows on the walls could be
perceived where the Sun gilded them in the clear atmosphere,
and the dark waving line of thousands of human beings; and

216

THE MARCH OF TOLTIAH,

the devout or superstitious bowed themselves, falling upon their
knees before the sublime majesty of the Sacred City whose
Divinity they came to take from the usurper and exalt in
jubilant greatness.

And Shar-Jatal and the people, looking forth through the
night, felt their hearts sink within them as their fears were
realised, perceiving, as it were, a flaming sea encompassing them
about, where a myriad twinkling fires showed the hosts of the
enemy stretched in a vast semicircle from the eastern coast-line
of Astra away westward and south until they shone again on
the sea-shore eastward below the city; and fancied in their
ears they perceived the shout of "Huitzal Huitza and Zul!"
mingled with the screams of victims where the reed roofs of
Lasan, Bab- Ala, Dar, Bari and Ko, and three score cities of
the coast, fell in flaming ruins on ravished women and murdered
warriors.

217

CAP. X.

THE NIGHT OF* SPIRITS.

And in the night Toltiah slept, and as he slept he dreamed.
And ignorant of the storming of walls or the conduct of the
long siege, save by the councils of others, his bold imagining
perceived the legions climb upwards to victory, and himself
the ruler of all the land.

In spirit he walked free of Earth, and reviewed the past
and all the triumphs up to the present, where before him lay
that which should be lost or won. Before his eyes a Shape
weighed in balances the two events and bade him consider
well as he watched. And coming in vivid reality, as a living
thing through the mazes of a dream, an Elemental spirit
approached from the walls, a grisly shape of majesty and fear.

"Go back," it said, "go back: for thou art begotten of that
which is hateful to Zul, and wilt thou arrogantly dare to present
thyself antagonist to the Lord of Light?"

Toltiah, in dismayed argument, said : " But who art thou ?
and by what name art thou known?"

And the P^lemental spirit answered : " I have no name, being
but the wisdom of Pocatepa ; and of that wisdom I say, go
back, nor dare that which is more strong than thou."

There came also another spirit of a bright and shining
countenance, which said, " The city is thine, for in itself is it
divided : in its heart have I sowed dissensions."

Whereat Toltiah was amazed, looking now upon the walls,
and now upon the camp ; blown upon the winds of conflicting
sayings that led his own self captive, yet rebelling in obstinate
pride.

"And who art thou?" he asked.

" I am of Acoa and am even as thyself," answered the bright

218

THE NIGHT OF SPIRITS.

spirit: "that which gave me life has transmitted it to thee. But
of greater earthly power, thou shalt greater prevail on Earth.
The city is thine already, the seed of destruction is sown :
sever the aqueduct and storm the walls."

But a voice said :

" Happy is the man who never reaches his highest ambition,
for there is nought beyond ; save those closed doors, the gift
required to enter which is not thine to bestow."

Amazed at all these things the dreamer stood, nor answered
a word. And voices contended in the air and all around him,
as though Heaven warred in argument concerning a vexed
question; and when it appeared at times that one would speak
with him, a multitude of tongues drowned such speech.

Yet, compelled by some power, the Shades of Huitza and
Ju demanded the vengeance of Atlantis upon Shar-Jatal ; and
opposing them fiercely, the Elemental spirits of Bel, the captain
of Pocatepa's guards, and Arioch the archer dared the bold
besieger to farther annoy the city where slept the dust of
Tekthah, the chosen abode of Zul.

To him thus Nezca :

"Contend not in wanton argument of mind with such as
these, child of Azta. To thee is the sceptre of Atlantis, and
the opening gates of Zul shall hail thee conqueror crowned
with wisdom and glory. In thy hands lie the powers of life —
and death — and that which shall come of thee shall live for
ever in song. Up, up, Atlantis! Nor craven fears shall stay
thy march of glory and death when great Toltiah leads the
legions to victory."

He ceased, and a great multitude of voices echoed :

"Up, up, Atlantis! up, for Toltiah and victory!"

And a throne grew up beneath him, reaching far above the
Earth, so that its top touched Heaven. Whereon seated, half
in fear, yet arrogant withal, the Chief surveyed the populous
places. And certain balances were hung before him, wherein
were weighed affairs of grave importance and momentous, yet
with hardness of heart he perceived not the reason of such,
daringly seeking other things in impatient longing. A desire
for self-glorification entirely absorbed him, and he wished to

219

ATLANTIS.

obtain the Word whereby all becomes subservient ; so that, car-
ried away irresistibly, his mind conceived the most outrageous
powers whereby he became possessed of a fatal force of blasting
and destructive magnitude. Transcending all capable power he
entered the Infinite, and by potency of birth begot the memory
of past and vaguely experienced things, increasing in bigness
of perception until he confronted an intangible Veto. Appalling
in its gloomy menace the shadowy barrier forbade all vision,
and an impious fury arose in his heart as such hindrance.

The glorious throne sank in silence, folding up within itself
and shrinking to small dimensions : and from the silence arose
a sweet voice.

"Is there none to plead with this Soul?" it asked in thrilling
niournfulness : " behold, it is a Soul that lives and will live
for ever. '

But a great voice answered the sweet pleader :

"The soul of Man on Earth belongs to Man, neither can
aught direct it, save communion with God which is its Father
and itself."

"May it not pray for guidance and be guided?"

"Too dear are the prayers of these my Self-children to pass
unheeded. Beloved, yet is volition given with life."

" Can there not be instructors among them to lead the way
to Heaven?"

" Not though Myself descended for their guidance would
they follow. Man must lead Man, but God can lead the willing
soul by love and sympathy."

" And this one will lead Mankind astray."

"There is a God, dear lover of Souls."

Then was placed within the dreamer's hand a balance. And
on one side were many desirable things, yet of evil, and in
the other were all wisdom and moderation. Nor stayed the
level scales for an instant, but by virtue of the holder's bias
the evil side weighed downward so that the other kicked the beam.

A cry of sorrow and dismay arose, and sounds as of mocking
laughter; colossi, that appeared to support the might of tall
pylons, leered horribly from the gloom and held forth repelling
hands, waving backward. There lay a great serpent, fold on

220

THE NIGHT OF SPIRITS.

fold of scintillating mystery, as of shapely clouds set with stars
rolling backward in wondrous majesty, and rising high above
its mystic front the towering head crowned with thunder, whose
dire eyes swayed empires. Hovering in their fires of vibrating
gold hung the glory of his dreadful pinions ; and now his form
was as that of a god enthroned upon a cloudy tower of horror,
and now as of a glorious figure clothed with the sunset and
the might of storms. Which one spake with the voice of
Earth, saying :

" Who art thou to come up against me with men and with
legions and with many weapons ? what will avail thee thine
arm of flesh when thou meetest my intangible power hereafter,
in the midst of which thou wilt be engulfed and utterly lost?
Go back, proud conqueror of earthly men, nor dare to impi-
ously raise the anger of gods."

The wings tremulated among the coils as swift lightning
running behind clouds, and the high crest cast a baleful light
around.

The dreamer groaned in dismay, yet, undaunted, gazed upon
the cloudy Horror.

"What if I go not back?" he asked; "dost thou love me
that thou wouldst save me from destruction ? or fearest thou
the reign of starvation that perchance may aid me in level
war with thee? "

" O impious," answered the coiled majesty, " dost vaunt
thyself the equal of the gods I To save vexation to those high
altars I command thee, go ! Go with thy legions and possess
the land, but touch not Zul nor the habitations of the gods
which were of old times before thee."

But as falling lightnings from Heaven that obliterate all view,
came a figure of surpassing splendour, filling all space with glory;
before whom the many-folded king was but as a dark mystery
going forth into the night. In restrained awe bowed the
worlds before his icy grandeur that exhaled an atmosphere of
most chaste horror and fatal power. Upon his brows enthroned
sat Cruelty and Death, and his eyes as purest crystal compelled
all that was not of God. His feet rested on night, from his
awful head rolled the great storms in the semblance of serpents.

221

ATLANTIS.

In a voice as of a silver trumpet he spoke :

"Arise, my son, nor heed such interested counsels. The
fair mistress loves not a hesitant lover, and a hot wooing will
cause a swift surrender."

The vision faded. The majesty of fire and cloud sank into
nebula and left a period of void and nonentity. The morning
of Earth swept away the mysteries of the dark night with the
life and bustle of the Present moment ; yet in Toltiah's soul
remained a saying and a dim remembrance that was the voice
of Death.

222

CAP. XI.

THE HOUSE DIVIDED.

The city was terrified now in earnest, as tentative gloom
gave place to assured imminence of danger ; for instead of march-
ing upon the enemy, he had come in legions and in rushing
thousands to them. Yet against him burned also a great hatred
for desolated provinces, and the daring insolence that would
face the proud lords of Zul in such manner of war. They
divined that the army of Izta had been overcome, nor were
they the more dismayed when the standards of his legions were
next morning waved in insult under their eyes. All night long
the chiefs of both armies consulted, the one as to defence, the
other concerning attack; yet the former looked with dark
suspicions, the one upon the other, for many had slain their
friends' brothers to advance their own interests, and none owned
a leader. The granaries were but half full, owing to treachery,
and the owners of flocks and herds, perceiving them to be
rudely seized, drove off the remainder and went afar. Only
such as had cause to fear the dread wrath of Huitza worked
heartily to defend the city, yet in so doing fearing secret death.
But the citizens knew that for them was massacre if the walls
were gained, and worked freely for their defence, fearing also
the intrigues of the nobles. Upon the battlements were placed
large vessels containing abominable stuffs to be hurled upon the
attackers should they actually attempt an assault, and both sides
prepared war-kites to carry up and drop other abominations.
Vast offerings of slaves and valuables were placed upon the
reeking altars of Zul, and as the blood-fed flame dropped an
unctious black soot on the city it glowered fiery and terrible
and appeared to take the form of a demon waving a sword
over them. Not even in their wide moat did the citizens esteem

223

ATLANTIS.

themselves safe from Huitza, and still more would they have
feared had they seen where the workmen of godly Japheth
collected materials for the building of catapults, and understood
the omen.

The beleaguering thousands were eager for a storming attack,
and by morning they were still nearer the walls, that they might
look upon their prey and feast their eyes upon her fatness.
The busy councils determined that the building of the far-spread-
ing entrenchment might well be delayed until force of arms
was powerless, when they could replenish their power while
impoverishing the city. Within easy recognition from the walls
were the standards of the cities of Atala, Chalac, Trocoatla,
Axatlan and Astra ; the dragon token of Talascan, the vulture
ot the Chalacian cities, the serpent of Lote and the towns of
Trocoatla, of Karbandu, Bar-Asan, Muzran, and of Bitsar and
certain nomad tribes ; and the Fishes of Hanat, Surapa, Sagara
and Mutasara, towns of the sea. Before the eyes of the anxious
people in the walls stalked Toltiah in all his pride of great
stature and beauty, amid frenzied shouts of " Huitza 1 Huitza I "
His appearance filled them with horror and dismay as they
believed themselves to be gazing in truth upon the Prince himself.

Lifting his great voice he invited them to surrender, pointing
to the captured standards and to the encircling hosts ; but
though many craven ones would have done so, the braver and
wiser knew it would be the beginning of a dire vengeance,
for Huitza never brooked rebellion. Therefore they shouted to
him to be gone and cast missiles upon him, so that he turned
in enraged scorn upon his heel and left them.

There was a hill between the city and the far forest, and
upon the summit was a vast skeleton of some unknown animal
that lay half-embedded. On this hill, among all the impedimenta
of the army, Azta encamped with the women and such as took
no part in warfare, watching the preparing of engines of war and
the placing of such as were ready. Machines for the scaling
of walls were made, and the aqueduct which crossed the moat
for the conveyance of fresh water to the city was broken down,
large wooden causeways being made for crossing the moat.
These would be conveyed across by levers thrust into the farther

224

THE HOUSE DIVIDED.

side and pushed upward from the hither ; yet could the enemy
by vigilance prevent this, until such time as the catapults were
ready to keep them afar.

The bestial gods upon the walls reeked with all manner of
oblations, and steamed in the Sun that vaporised the wine
poured over their soaking forms; those in the market-square
holding in their deformed hands strings of rare gems, gold
armlets and necklaces, tiaras, wrought hair-pins, coins of value,
and heads of women with their long silky hair matted with
blood and dust and flies. The hideous figure that represented
the god of these unclean insects and whose open mouth was
always filled by his priests with clotted blood to attract them,
was importuned to conceive more, that they might cleanse the
city with the vultures and the dogs

A glimpse caught of Azta also greatly terrified the people,
and Shar-Jatal was vastly dismayed. From walls, terraces and
roofs the citizens gazed upon the countless hordes, noting all
their movements with anxiety, cursing the Imperial Guards with
frenzied oaths as they perceived them, and quaking at the
uncouth savages and the tribes of nondescripts, albinos and
pintos, and the echoing sounds of whistles, shells, drums and
instruments of all kinds that came to their ears.

So eager were the besiegers for their prey that many could
scarce be restrained from rushing upon the walls at once ; and
considering well the human heart, I perceived how one passion
can reign supreme to the distaste of ail others, as here I saw
how the joy of the warrior spurned all conjugal bliss and only
rejoiced in furious prowess of battle. They hurled missiles
from their slings and bows and howled taunts and insults and
threats ; while Marisa begged a favour from Toltiah, which was,
to be permitted to make a midnight raid on the walls; nor
would the chieftainess be dissuaded by aught that could be put
forward against it. Mindful of his dream, and enamoured the
more of this woman by her splendid bravery, Toltiah consented
on condition of a half-hearted promise to consider his suit, and
Marisa went forth to prepare for her reckless venture.

The main port, opposite the market-place, deeply embayed
amid its huge colossi, and with raised causeway within, was to

225 IS

ATLANTIS.

be the first-tried place, and the Amazons would have to swim
the moat. Then, if possible, they would open the ports and
lower the causeway by its levers and vast ropes of hide, and
the army which Toltiah promised to hold in readiness would
follow up the confusion in its pouring myriads.

Thus all the trained legions were moved to the front, and
Shem and Ham, Toltiah's instructors in many manly exercises,
had also obtained the leader's promise to head storming-parties
when the causeways were built upon the morrow. They rejoiced
to think of the time that saw them the first to smite the evil-
doers, nor dreamed of the preference being given to a woman
in the field of arms.

A certain exultation entered the hearts also of the warriors
of Zul at the prospect of imminent war, notwithstanding its peril
and their horrid fate if vanquished. They drank deeply in
watch-tower and battlement, heedless of the fact that the great
machines and causeways of Toltiah were nearly ready ; and all
over the city lights shone out as the darkness dropped, the.
flames on the temples gleaming brightly, attended by the priests.
The Amazons gathered opposite their point of attack, ready
with scaling-ladders of rope attached to grapplers to gain the
summit of the walls, and waiting with axe, spear and buckler slung
on their backs, to glide into the moat and swim silently across.

The drunken sentinels did not perceive the coming foe.
Swift shafts pierced them as the grapplers flew upward, and the
attackers swarmed unresisted over the walls into the glare of
the bonfire-lighted streets, laying low all who opposed them.
Then indeed, aroused by long clear whoops to a sense of
danger, both friend and foe gazed, startled, to where arose the
sounds of conflict, and as dripping Amazons scaled the high
walls lightly, the warriors of Zul poured upon them from all
sides. In an instant, hemmed round and driven back by irre-
sistible numbers, that being in readiness arrived swiftly, the
reckless Amazons fought stoutly, swinging their great axes and
warding off blows with their wolf-skin shields with valiant energy.

They looked for the port and the raised causeway, but a
surging crowd of flashing helmets glimmered above the dense
shadows of the legions that pressed them back thence.

226

THE HOUSE DIVIDED.

Around lay many dead and dying, so furious was the conflict,
and Marisa, perceiving how powerless she was to accomplish
her errand, uttered the long-drawn whoop that commanded
retreat. Before her, bounding through the ranks of her warriors,
appeared a huge Tzantan wielding a spear, the blow of which
she escaped but by an active leap, leaving her shield transfixed
upon the ground. She swung her axe upon him and the
weapon bit deeply, but as, carried from her balance by the
fury of her attack, she fell, his buckler that would have crushed
her beneath its vast weight, fell also with a hollow clang by her
side, the warrior falling upon it and covering her with blood.
The legions of Toltiah, apprised by the leader of what was
taking place, looked eagerly for an opportunity to attack the
walls also, and could scarce be restrained from rushing into the
moat to swim across. The Amazons, as they could, regained
the summit of the wall, but some half-dozen, perceiving in the
faint light the plight of their Queen, dashed upon the enemy
with ready weapons, and clearing a space by the impetuosity
of their attack, carried her off. The warriors of Zul made a
rush to secure one whom they took to be a chief of note,
possibly Huitza himself, but a tempest of spears and axes beat
• them back, and a tall Amazon, wrenching one of the hideous
gods from its pedestal, hurled the uncouth mass towards them,
as a missile from the twisted strings of a catapult. Running
upon the walls they also poured upon the citizens their own
preparations, a few keeping back the warriors until their com-
rades should have recrossed the moat, and then themselves
crossing.

Thus bruised and bleeding they wrathfully retired, hurling
insults upon the foe, and casting a certain discouragement upon
the besiegers, of whom also the Tzantans were furious at prefer-
ence being given to a woman, but Toltiah declared it to have
been unknown to himself.

The high-spirited chieftainess replied haughtily to his enquiries
as to how she had fared, nor would she hear of any things
of soft meaning. Her people loved not to be repulsed, nor did
they think of aught but blows when in war. Of intercourse
with man they knew not save through the medium of axe and

227

ATLANTIS.

shield, and Toltiah, enraged and mortified, was bidden to depart
from her presence.

The people of the city were jubilant with their success,
believing this to be an attack in force, and were greatly en-
couraged that the gods had not favoured Huitza — for no suspicion
of Toltiah being other than the prince was dreamed of, the
chiefs believing with Tekthah that the child of Azta had been
killed on the night of the massacre. Now from both armies
great kites soared up, skilfully directed, dropping combustibles
and abominations upon those below, so that many were injured.
Yet the citizens liked not the appearance of the camp fires, like
a fallen heaven of stars surrounding them, the points of which
environment resting on the shores and cliffs above and below
the walls.

How greatly were they astonished when they discovered that
their fierce assailants of the night were women 1 They were
likewise enraged and ashamed, and two of the Amazons who
had been taken alive were subjected to nameless indignities
and were miserably butchered upon the altar of the temple of
Neptsis, which was near the walls and within clear view of the
enemy, who howled with impotent rage at beholding.

The great preparations continued, thousands of men in all
directions working like ants in a hill, hauling beams and erecting
great machines round the walls, while continuously the large
kites soared up and spread their vile cargoes on those beneath.

The Tzantan Coyo-Lote advised a sallying forth from the
city upon the forces of the enemy before they could gather in
ready might, but Shar-Jatal, who was ever cautious, would not
permit this, suspecting treachery. Also, if in good faith, he
feared a repulse that would not only discourage all, but seriously
hinder the defence, and agreed to wait until such time as a
decisive blow could be struck. But the impetuous nobles, stirred
up by the former success, would not hear of caution, and
insisted upon an attack being made, urging their plan by the
greatest show of reasonable arguments, and furious at being thus
bearded even by Huitza's self.

Therefore it was planned that the main port should be opened,
the causeway dropped, and an army pour forth upon the enemy

228

THE HOUSE DIVIDED.

to do what mischief it might and return when ready. The
warriors of Lasan and those other towns which had been
overwhelmed and destroyed, cried aloud for vengeance, and
formed the main part of the attacking force, while to Colosse
and Toloc was entrusted the personal charge of capturing alive
Toltiah, who, conspicuous, strode in plain view of all, his
enormous shield hung behind his back as a gleaming Sun.

Thus these vengeful men were gathered by the port, and
vast crowds stood upon the walls to watch the movements of
the foe and their discomfiture by those legions. It seemed as
though the enemy had also set himself upon action, for one
of the prepared wooden bridges was thrust across the moat by
the great gates through which the warriors of Zul were preparing
to pour ; which was also secured to the walls, despite a down-
pour of blazing pitch and heavy missiles that stretched howling,
mangled workers beneath the battlements.

Around a machine opposite to the port the frantic crowds
observed numbers of warriors gather, and presently a great
rock was placed upon a beam, while innumerable missiles
darkened the air in protection of the causeway, rattling on wall
and armour and dashing chips from the idols. Men with levers
heaved downward the beam of the engine, which, suddenly
rising with terrific violence, launched the rock towards them,
flying in varying shapes and gyrations like an approaching
thunderbolt.

Cries of terror arose, and a wild heedless stampede took
place, the terrified people screaming with fright, striking with
great blows and pushing underfoot all who barred their way.
Women and children went down in that panic-stricken rush to
escape an unknown danger; men stumbled and were pushed
down to rise no more, some wriggling impaled on their own
or others' weapons, some perfectly nude, others in flying rags.
The legions were broken up and confused, and great blows
were exchanged ; while above shouts, shrieks and cries came an
appalling sound as the great idol over the port, smashed into
a myriad flying splinters by the missile from the catapult, flew
into their midst, and the bounding rock cleared a bloody lane
for itself until it fell against a wall.

229

CAP. XII.

THE WOOING OF ZUL.

With the shot from the catapult the besiegers started into
motion. From the lines of their encampment issued a mob of
rushing thousands, chiefs leading and standards waving. Two
tall warriors led the rest, one waving the National Standard,
and like a tidal wave stretching from horizon to horizon the
multitudes moved over the intervening space. Waiting in front
of the main port Toltiah held the trained legions in readiness
to enter the opening valves, as, amid shouts of command, scores
of bridges spanned the moat and catapults showered volleys of
stones and single rocks upon the walls, smashing idols and
overturning vessels of pitch. From the watch-towers issued darts
and sling-shot, but, regardless, the attackers moved forward from
their encampment, from which their dark legions appeared never
to cease to pour; for as the van prepared to run across the
causeways the rear still issued forth.

With the long springing step of panthers they advanced and
hurled themselves with yells of menace upon the walls, swinging
clubs armed with blades of obsidian, (x. and waving spears, swords
and knives of long flakes of flint and chalcedony and copper,
climbing upon each others' shoulders, up ladders of hide or
pegged beams to reach the top; while from behind sped over-
head the hail of missiles from their comrades. A sound high
above caused an instant's cessation, ^s from Zul's fire-tower
boomed the great drum, smitten by Shar-Jatal's hand, like a
long roll of thunder, bidding the legions pour to the battle-
ments, as a myriad heads crowned the walls; men helped up

X The description would nialce this weapon appear to be the prototype of the
Mexican Maquahuatl.

230

THE WOOING OF ZUL.

on the shoulders of others, forming a living ladder for comrades
to climb upwards.

The army inside the main port having recovered from the rush
of the panic, spread along the battlements, sling-shot and arrows
rattling upon the armour as the sound of a hail-storm ; while,
pushed across the prepared causeways by the besiegers, and
presented to every gate along the walls, came a slung beam in an
engine, tipped with a bronze beak, for battering down the opposing
defences. The six remaining warships of the fleet lying by the
entrance of the moat, fearful of the pouring masses of the foe,
ran out to sea, nor attempted a fighting passage round the
walls; watching the legions run across the causeways and leap
upwards, despite furious resistance.

Savage howls of agony rose as the boiling pitch burned
hollows in human flesh, or a sling-shot or slave-whip tipped
with bronze claws wounded some sensitive part; but in
spite of overturned masses and falling pitch the besiegers
streamed upward. And, before God ! it was a stirring and
a brave sight to witness how those swarming thousands
scaled the battlements, and to hear the thud — thud — thud of
the battering-beams falling upon the mighty gates and
picking them to pieces ; whose grim colossi seemed to smile
on their efforts.

Up they went, some over, some to fall back, dead or dying,
into the moat, heaving red with blood. An idol, caught by a
grappler, fell downwards with its load, clearing a dreadful path
by the weight of falling men ; and now in one or two red
spots human men, mingled with beams and smashed fragments
and the horror of broken causeways, filled up the moat and
made a dreadful bridge. Mid veils of high- splashing waters
the black legions covered the walls, and high waved the
victorious Standard of Atlantis as tall Shem raised it to the
skies and shouted a jubilant war-whoop. Ham's spear dripped
with blood, and all along thy walls, fair Zul, rose near and
far the long continuous roar of howls and shrieks of wounded
men, the clash of metal and horrid thuds of huge tusk-studded
clubs. With furious avenge the savage warriors of Bab-Ala,
Ko and Lasan smote at the attackers with their clubs armed

231

ATLANTIS.

with swinging balls of brass ; the thrown sticks of Dar and
Rari x flew like winged missiles into the thronging foemen and
caused horrid wounds. Yet up come the enemies with dreadful
bravery, undaunted, pyramids of men climbing upon one another.

There fought the swift Amazons with spear and reeking axe,
yonder the terrific war-cries of Chalac and Trocoatla rose like
the sounds of savage animals amidst the din, as, beaten back
continuously, the assailants flew at the walls with desperate
valour, opposed by glittering Adar, Izal and Coyo-Lote, and the
legions of Hoetlan, Saman and Bel, Oris, Uta, Ataleel and Hammur.

Derion's archers pour over the walls their death-dealing
shafts, the piercing cries of the spearmen of the Owl tribes
sound like a wild song ; Azta, like a goddess in her majestic
fury, cheers them on, and Toltiah points to where the leaders,
fighting upon the walls, stand within a bloody circle of foemen,
red from crest to heel. Would that the gate would yield that
he might lead the chafing thousands to victory 1 With mighty
weapons the assailants fight with no advantage to either side,
for if ever a valorous band enter the walls a rushing mass of
defenders hurls them backward.

The battlements run red with blood that smokes where the
sun can reach it, yet still the desperate foemen scale them,
some to leap inside and fight until beaten down by numbers,
others to fall back, pierced through and through by arrow,
spear or sword, or with heads smashed by sling-shot, club,
axe or shattering buckler.

And ever arose the sounds, rising, falling, of that long strife,
from near and graduating afar, until there was no atom but
vibrated with uproar where thousands fought and died. Some
hurled down the hideous idols on their enemies, crushing many,
and jumping down in the cleared space endeavoured to gain
a footing and fight their way to the ports; but, charging furi-
ously, the warriors of Zul ever beat them back. There died

X I'liis would describe eciually tlie Zulu Knobkeri ic or the Australian boomerang,
which latter weapon w as at one time more universal than might be supposed, one
form of it being found among the Hindoos and another among the ancient
Egyptians. The throwing stick is also used by the Andaman Islanders aud the
Ks(juiniaux.

232

THE WOOING OF ZUL.

of Toltiah's warriors the stout Ez-Ra, the only survivor before
the prowess of Izta's troops, and smitten by Amal fell Mazapilli
and the valorous Aramath, governor of Bitsar, and Abbas of
Surapa in Astra.

There fought Colosse and Iztli amid Princes and Tzantans
of Tekthah's Court, covered with horrid stains, with dinted
armour and battered crest; rnighty Toloc hurls back the assailants
with a giant's strength, and the enormous seven-toed Amal fights
desperately on the walls with half a score of furious Amazons
who tug and tear at him and endeavour to cast him down
among their comrades.

Above the heads a rushing mass hurtles, and a serpent
column of the temple of Neptsis, shattered by a bolt from
one of the engines, falls in ruins and scatters death on the
crowd around. Stones from the slings of both parties fly over
the wall like a thick hail, humming, whistling, filling the air
with hideous flying lumps of flesh and brains and long splashes
of blood. Men pant in the stifling crush, and some, smitten
dead, sway upright with protruding brains sUpping down over
their shoulders. Blood shows horribly on ashen faces, but now
all is diabolical frenzy, and teeth are bared and eyes blaze like
.the fires of Hell. The sharp sounds that rose at the com-
mencement have lulled to a long roaring growl and moan as the
red weapons flash and circle and fall in deadly onslaught.
Still up they go and now men fight on mounds of dead bodies,
while choking dust rises thickly, and Shar-Jatal from the highest
roof of Zul can scarce discern how the battle goes.

Another shot from a catapult spHnters on the crest of the
wall, smashing men like flies, and afar the engines hurl their
masses pregnant with death, and the great beams fall upon the
stubborn gates. Azta gazes with her yellow eyes ablaze, her
fierce spirit deeply stirred by the brave sight.

The walls are all red now, the moat in places exposes the
half-submerged heaps, and above the death-locked masses rush
the bolts from the engines and the unceasing hail of smaller
missiles. The palaces and all those buildings near the walls
are chipped and redly spattered, and the streets and squares
are full of mangled bodies and debris. From near roofs rains

233

ATLANTIS.

down a storm of harmful things, rocks, stones, bricks, sling-
shot and arrows, and wretched prisoners, captured at the walls,
are hurried to the temples for sacrifice.

Those of Zul fight for their life and liberty, and high blood
and superior arms begin to tell against the wearied attackers,
mindful of the fate of the captured.

No good now for Shem to raise his war-cry ; Ham's great
spear lies shivered at his feet; the Standards waver. Marisa,
wounded, falls back, fighting sullenly ; the ostrich-plumes of
Chalac roll backwards like a baffled cloud of thunder. No need
for causeways now for the retreat, the path that they recross
is the heaped-up path of the dead.

In their encampment Susi prays by the side of Noah, wildly
and entreatingly ; Asta passionately invokes her spirits, and all
cry to their different divinities. Japheth at his artillery taps the
humming cords and directs the aim, now of this one, now of
that. They perceive the storming-parties, beaten back and
repulsed, return discouraged, decimated, weary, and red from,
crest to heel, with trailing standards and dishonoured arms.
Shem's head lowers with grief and shame despite his valorous
deeds, and as they slowly stream lack, those myriad heroes who
rushed onward so jubilantly at noon, the setting sun throws
long mournful shadows afar. They bewail lost comrades, many
whose relationship were very close and dear, and many a
blood-mingled tear falls. There, behind them lie friends and
foes, horribly mingled in their ensanguined grasps, on the walls
or beneath the crimson waters of the moat. Azco lies there
surrounded by dead foemen, and many a haughty chief with
him now stiff and dead. Amal lie-; there, gashed and un-
recognisable beneath a red pile of friends and foes that press
over him his vast shield, gold and studded with gems of
ony.x. Madalia, the Amazon, places his mighty armlet of bronze
ujjon her black hair as a coronet, than which none more grand.

Shar-Jatal did not pursue; the fight had been too severe
and exhausting to all, and he perceived still the swarming
hordes who covered the land to the rear and were unfatigued.
Rest was necessary for the wearied ones, and the women tenderly
bathed and nursed the wounds of their warriors, resting their

234

THE WOOING OF ZUL.

weary heads on their bosoms and ministering to all their needs.

Toltiah consulted with the Tzantans as to what they should
do, this one proposing to batter down the walls with the beams
and catapults, that advising to starve the city into submission.
Yet this last would not do, because of the like danger to their
own immense armament. Azta, like a goddess of battles, urged
passionately another assault, Nezca likewise advising this thing.
Surely must some be able to open the ports ! So also advised
Noah and Chanoc and Nahuasco, nor were wanting the voices
of Japheth and Marisa.

Thus it was resolved, and messengers were sent to bring up
the rearmost troops and to hasten the savages and hunters and
such to the front, for it was thought that these less valuable
warriors could exhaust the enemy and prepare the way thus
for a most formidable onslaught of the more trained legions.
And from the dark encampment there sailed up over the city
a great kite which rained fire and poisons above the houses.
And others sailed high in the air, until it seemed as though
the Heavens rained horror upon the doomed city, scattering
fiery death and pestilential atmosphere all around. Many were
transfixed by arrows and brought down, yet the sending them
back over the besiegers was of small avail, (which had no houses
to fire). In fainting horror people died, racked with the deadly
poisons, while the city was lighted by flaming roofs that blazed
in all directions and fell in upon the people. Yet Tunipa, a
mighty archer, caused the downfall of many of the fatal destroy-
ers by rending them with arrows, while upon their arms the
foemen slept, exhausted, save those who had taken no part in
the fight, which ones kept watch to preserve the camp from
an attack.

235

CAP. XIII.

TIIK HILL OF THE TALCOATLA.

The fires flared redly in Zul all night, and on top of the
great temple the horrified watchers could perceive a ghastly
holocaust being proceeded with, in fancy hearing the screams of
agony of tortured wretches suffering horribly. The topmost
flame spluttered and burned redly, flaring with the oil of con-
suming hearts torn wholesale from breasts throbbing with hideous
tortures, and the odour of burning flesh reached even to the
camp of the besiegers, and sent the blood in curdling streams
to the hearts of the watchers, who deemed that such might bev
their fate on the morrow.

All through the night that bloody work went on, regardless
of the flying terror of the kites, and Noah cursed the evil-doers,
and particularly Shar-Jatal and Acoa, by Heaven and Hell and
all that was upon the Earth, but Azta, with a little bitter laugh,
threatened them with like treatment when she should hold them
in her power. Toltiah answered her laugh with one as menacing,
for the teachings of Noah affected him not.

The morning came and those who slept awoke And coming
from a far hiding-place, where he had fled from the cruel wrath
of Tekthah, great Mehir joined Toltiah, eager for the fray. Both
sides beheld the rising of the Lord of Light with forebodings ;
and as Toltiah perceived the flashing tower of Zul leap into a
blaze ot gold through the veil of smoke that hung above the
half-burnt city, he wondered, perchance, what that tower would
witness. And being — despite, as I have said, all teachings — an
idolater, deeply he bowed in reverence towards it and on his
knee made obeisance, and all the army did likewise.

How many fed their last that morning round thy camp-fires,
O fields of horror! And after the commands were given, the

236

THE HILL OF THE TALCOATLA.

trumpets and drums and shells raised their voices of death, and
the anxious watchers of Zul perceived that they were to en-
counter another furious attack, as band on band and army
on army moved slowly towards them and the engines were
manned.

There were no shoutings and insults this day, only a grim,
horrid silence seemed to brood with bated breath over all.
Shar-Jatal cried to the gods to aid the city ; Pocatepa consulted
her oracles, crying to the Shades to help in the defence of the
Sacred Shrines and imploring the Spirits of all who had wor-
shipped Zul to aid now in her sore need. But Acoa cried to
the Sun by virtue of the pleasant offerings to aid Toltiah.

Now commenced again the hissing hail of flying oddments
and the thudding blows of the battering-beams worked by their
long array of hauling artillerists. A horrid stench filled the air,
arising from the moat, and, as the shots flew, a buzzing veil
of flies hid the view of the walls for some while.

Like black clouds, thousands of hunters and savages leaped
towards the walls. All the women gathered round Azta and
Noah, with their hands raised in supplication to the Heavens.
They watched the multitudes dash at the walls, scrambling and
slipping, while high in air the missiles from the engines flew
in volleys and by single masses, bearing crashing doom and
destruction. Hunters and slingers, heaving stones and sharp
pebbles, streamed across the horrid moat, while swarms of savages
raced before them, and upon the other side of the city the
hordes of nondescripts were driven upon the walls.

A wild prolonged medley of shouts, shrieks and whistles
rent the air as the masses splashed and plunged through the
red horrors, many with feet entangled in protruding ribs falling
to their doom. Showers of boiling metal flew among them,
causing ghastly wounds, but the booming thunder of drums
drowned for awhile their shrieks of agony. Yet greatly defended
by their rearward artillerists until they gained the crest of the
walls, they there encountered the full fury of the flying atoms
and fell back in numbers, pierced and dying. Beneath them,
on the awful mound of human bodies, men wriggled, impaled
on bones of corpses or writhing with dreadful wounds inflicted

237

ATLANTIS.

by the molten metal that bit deep into their flesh. Yet in
reckless madness the attackers struggled up, inflamed by the
shouts of those behind and in the encampment, who harassed
the city with noxious kites.

Again was that echoing horror of shouts, groans and shrieks-
Men, pierced through the head, cried shrilly and fell on their
faces, and many who were wounded whooped to encourage
their comrades. Ah, those ghastly wounds! Ears were smitten
off and eyeballs burst by the sling-shot that smashed skulls
and scattered brains. Some, struck in the throat, grunted hide-
ously, and from crushed limbs the purple blood oozed in great
gouts, dropping like a heavy rain.

" Now up, ye braves of Toltiah ! Forward for Zul and Atlantis!
Huitza ! Huitza and Victory!"

O Azta, that sweet love of a mother that shone so brightly
for an instant ! Would that ambition had not held thee so
greatly ! For a space, oppressed by nameless forebodings, she
clung to her warrior; how could she let him go? what shoulc^
aught befall him I The sacred instinct rose superior to consider-
ations of glory ; and yet he must go, and she, his mother, must
not be the one to hinder his triumph, though her heart break
and her spirit faint in worse than death.

" (io and conquer, son of Asia!" she cried, "and the Spirits
who love thee watch and protect thee. Zul awaits her lord
and Victory crowns thy standard. Yet kiss me once more,
O my child, for thine own sake and for his whose likeness is
stamped upon thy brow. Go, my brave ; I shall not survive thee ! "

"Fear not, Lady," said the gentle voice of Susi at her elbow,
as she stood like a statue of marble, gazing after her retreating
warrior; "the God of battles is upon our side and the doom
of Zul is spoken. For last night a fearful Vision hovered over
her towers — a great angel with streaming mane of fire and waving
a sword of flame. From Mount Axatlan he came, and from
his hand fell a bolt; before him went the lightnings. Didst
thou not also see it, my Empress?"

Azta, still gazing, shook her head. The dark clouds of the
legions were in motion! A great cry of despair came from
the city, thrilling and prolonged.

238

THE HILL OF THE TALCOATLA.

Right and left, far stretching and tremendous, move forward
the masses of men. There ghtters the splendid armour of
Tekthah's guards, and beside them the ostrich plumes of
Talascan and Chalac roll like storm-waves in terrific motion ;
the fierce legions of the Amazons leap forward swiftly, and
Trocoatla pours forward her fiery bands longing to scale the
red walls and claim their prey. Swiftly advance the standards;
the vermilion plumes of the flamingo flare like splashes of blood
upon the moving carpet of crested heads, begemmed with flashing
gold and gleaming weapon-points; the horned and antlered helms
of Axatlan and the cities of the frontiers sway like a field of
plants under the breath of a hurricane.

Marisa's warrior-women rush forward impetuously, and as
they surmount the walls and pour like an avalanche upon the
weary defenders, all down the long line surges the charging
shouts of the vast array, that, fresh and irresistible, leaps to
the attack. The Amazon Queen falls with an arrow through
her arm, and a streaming wound on her head where a war-club
has carried away her helmet and laid bare the scalp. But two
vast missiles drop in swift succession into the enemy's masses,
crushing and maiming and compelling a retreat.

Up the walls and over I "Huitza and Zul! " rises the frenzied
shout, as blades rise and fall and bucklers are beaten down.
The noise of the battle doubles — the City is in its death-throes!

Toltiah, with the guards before the main port, watches keenly.
But for Nezca he would have rushed forward to the walls, but
from this the Tzantan begged him desist, pointing to where his
legions victoriously fight and bidding him mark the sounds of
mortal strife all around the walls, where all had now gathered
from roof and street to aid in their defence. Yet more also
than defence, for the great cry of the city's despair was not
from fear of the enemy, but the news that there was no water
in the reservoirs and that the aqueduct was cut. Therefore it
was resolved that day to crush the army of Huitza or perish
by a kindlier fate than want of water.

By reason of this resolve, suddenly the great valves of the
main port slowly opened, turning upon their stony pivots, and
streams of warriors issued forth, valorous with wine which had

239

ATLANTIS.

been supplied to thcin to increase their rage. Yet in a great
measure the furious rivalry of their leaders greatly hindered
them, and many even withheld from joining in the sally; which
hesitance was of grave importance. Believing these to be his
own victorious warriors who had broken through the port,
Toltiah with a shout of triumph swung up his vast shield and
dashed forward, but halted in astonishment as he perceived
these to be of Zul and not his own troops.

Running swiftly into a fan-shaped formation these rushed
upon the legions of the guards, and their great spears clanged
upon the advanced bucklers, impaling many. A furious fight
commenced as their impetuous charge, ever increased by out-
pouring numbers, drove back the assailants; and the rearmost
fell upon the flanks of the storming-parties, carrying death and
destruction. In a dense crowd thousands fought hand to hand
where Zul at bay struggled for life, watched anxiously by
those in the camp, whose jubilation stopped in anxiety. Sword
to sword and spear to spear, with clanging bucklers fough^
the trained legions, the guards of Nezca, with Chanoc, Nahuasco,
Mehir and many more great and valorous, pressed back by
the desperate and overwhelming rush with the rest of the
legions of Toltiah.

Shar-Jatal watched from the great temple, pleading the loss
of a hand as an excuse for not joining the fray. He saw
where, towering above the crush, swayed the golden helm of
Toltiah, and marked with dismay the sweeping death that laid
men low before his mighty sword. He believed he perceived
many of his own chiefs, and sought for where gray Colosse
advanced his shield against the obsidian-headed spears of the
guards and smote with his flashing sword the ostrich-plumed
crests; where great Toloc charged with gory spear, and where,
appalling sight, dark Mehir stalks before his eyes, crowned with
vengeance and death. The vermilion plumes of officers showed
like flames, and bossy bucklers, heaved upwards by some smitten
to death, gleamed brightly for an instant and then fell. Clubs
flourished and crashed, slinging clots of flesh and blood, swords
swung in fatal circles and the long stabbing spears quivered up
and down like the tongues of serpents ; high sounded the crash of

240

THE HILL OF TliE TALCOATLA.

meeting shields amid the shrieks of horribly wounded men and
the awful roaring moan of the crowd. Ill fate to him who
fell! For now scarce was there room to fight, and men of
mighty brawn thrust savagely with destroying elbows, strangling
each other with bare hands and butting with their heads.
Dented helms and blood-spattered visages rose and fell like
visions of a dream, armour was torn off and quivering hands
thrust themselves up as from a suffocating sea in which dead
men hung by the shoulders, kept up by the crush, to presently
fall and cause a stumbling mass for others. Heavy sandalled
feet crashed through ribs and stuck in the corpses, and some
men, mounting upon the shoulders of others, smashed at the
heads beneath until they were killed by a spear-thrust in the
abdomen. Here, save but for my intervention, would have
fallen Lotis, the youthful chief of Katalaria, whom his mother
loved, and for whose sad grief at his parting I vowed to
cherish ; there fought the furious refugees from Izta's desolating
march and such few as had escaped the massacres of Tek-Ra ;
the Chalacian chiefs Astrobal of Sular and Azebe of Bitala
contest the ground with the men of x\rioch and Zebra, jealous
chiefs whose rivalry hinders their prowess. Before Sidi-Assur,
friend of Chanoc, falls Ombar and the men of Lasan, and
endeavouring to stem the rush of those of Zul, fight with giants'
prowess Eru, Nezca, and Nahuasco, Rhea of Muzran, Arvath
of Anduqu, glorious Toltiah and many of the Amazons. The
slingers of Bitaranu leap upon the glittering warriors of Zul,
and Hano's Astran warriors fall fighting before the unconquered
might of Colosse, Toloc, and Eto-masse, and the furious legions
of Adar, Oris and Hammur.

Slowly backward swayed the troops of Toltiah, the leader
fighting desperately and shouting to encourage his men. If but
the thousands round the walls would but perceive his plight
and hasten to aid, then would the desperate attackers be smitten
in the rear and overpowered ; yet so furiously were they engaged
in their scaling of the walls and conquering the battlements
that no warning moved them. Side by side Shem and Ham
swing their heavy swords and shout for aid to them as
step by step they are forced back with the struggling mass.

241 16

ATLANTl!^.

Now they were among the baggage and the women, and
these, retreating in weeping terror as the frenzied multitude
approached ever nearer, gather round Azta and Noah ; the
l)atriarch exhorting them to prayer, Azta commanding them to
arm themselves with whatsoever they might and aid their
warriors, who, heavily pressed by the Imperial troops, gather
round the hill.

Yet even now she gazed curiously around, as here they stood
by tlie white skeleton that stretched right and left, the bones
of a Talcoatla, an animal of long past ages unknown save in
legend. Behind, an untrodden land ; in front, civilization — and
death. To her mind there arose a vision of a new world, a
land whose birth she could not fathom, a realm of the years
to come, vague and mysterious. Standing upon the bounds
of the Past and of the far, far Future, the roar of the conflict
fell upon her ears with a sense of incongruity.

Yet now was the Present and the voice of Death, and she
looked for Toltiah with a terrible yearning love. Half-way up
the slope he stood, surrounded by his chiefs and warriors,
exhausted but unvanquished ; while urged on by their leaders
and the possession of victory the Imperial troops press them
hard. A grim carpet of dead bodies stretches backwards from
them to the sally-port; gray-haired Colosse has fallen back
there under the walls, and Zebra, Uruk, Saman, Ataleel, Arvath
and Astrobal, foes united in death, bear him brave company.
Coyo-Lote falls wounded, and Toloc leans heavily on his sword
in the rear. Shem's left arm hangs within his failing buckler,
smashed by a war-club, and his head is wounded ; Ham is covered
with blood and dust, and Toltiah's helmet has gone, his ruddy
mane flying loosely. Nezca alone appears unharmed.

Sullenly and vengefully they grapple with their foes, but a
great rush drives them yet farther up the slope. They fight
now in fierce despair and the women cry miserably.

In agony I called upon Heaven, descending with a fiery
rush of flame to fight by the side of Toltiah and to protect
my Love. Toloc with two giant chiefs, Oris and Bel, rushes
up the slope, impatient of victory. Azta with deadly terror in
her heart advances towards her son, and the battle closes furi-

242

THE MILL OF THE TALCOaTLA.

ously as the red swords clash and spHnter and the battering
bucklers meet. Toloc, smitten by my will, falls like a blasted
tower with clanging arms, and Coyo-Lote, rushing upon Nezca,
receives a great blow upon his crest and falls dead. But in a
pool of blood Toltiah slipped and Bel's great sword had
then and there ended his career and perchance have saved
Atlantis; but smiting up the blade with his own, Alam
leaped upon him, bearing him to the earth beneath his buckler,
(which warrior was that son of Pharno whom I had seen
aforetimes).

Now from the city a great roar proclaims the victory of the
attacking legions of Toltiah, and now from every port their
blood-stained columns race through lanes of death to the perceived
imminence, and, rushing back from the walls, the fiery Amazons
leap upon the enemy's rear and with their axes drive them
into a dense crowd.

Downward the blood flows in long streams, but the high,
clear whoop of the rescuers is as a voice from Heaven rising
above the horrid uproar; and, closing in from both flanks, the
vulture of Chalac flies above its crested bearers upon Zul, with
the serpents of Trocoatla and Lote and the fish-tailed gods of
Astra, as streaming hosts pour upon the remainder of Shar-
Jatal's legions.

"Go, my child," I cried to Toltiah, "thine is the victory!" and
the mighty youth rushed upon the foe, cutting down all before him,
while Nezca's battle cry called the legions to the charge. Shem,
lying prone in Susi's arms among the riot, shouts jubilantly as
the enemies melt away before the rushing legions and men haul
the remnant back as prisoners.

The battle was over. The sun had nearly set, but still his
bright beams lighted upon the Hill of the Talcoatla and shone
on pools of coagulating blood. Bodies of men, not all still,
lay in masses along that terrible path leading from the gate
of Zul, and cumber the slope of the hill on whose summit
the women weep for joy and Noah and his family pray over
Shem and bathe the wounds of the others, praising Heaven for
the victory. The Amazons stand in groups, dark against
the sky, here bending over a dead or dying comrade, there

243

ATI.ANTIS.

cruelly murdering a fallen foe; and Toltiah, exhausted and
wounded, rests on Azta's proud bosom, assured that Zul is
in his hands.

Jubilate deoriim !

This successful storming of so strong a fortified city is, I suppose, the quickest
event of the sort on record, but carrying by storm was not often attempted on
such a scale.

The siege of Jerusalem occupied about four months altogether, various positions
being carried by assault, and finally the central citadel. The siege of Troy is stated
to have lasted ten years, but this long time is eclipsed by the siege of Ashdod
by Psammetichus, who, according to Herodotus, invested it for twenty-nine years.
Tyre resisted Nebucliadnezzar for thirteen years (587 — 574 B.C.), and then pre-
sumably capitulated on favorable terms; but was again besieged by Alexan'ier and
taken by storm after seven months, in July 332 B.C.

244

CAP. XIV.

THE SHAME OF THE STRONG.

There was blood in the city ; in the streets, on the walls,
on columns and steps it lay in pools and splashes. The vul-
tures that sat on the roofs of the Bazaar, scared off by the
battle, returned with added numbers and gathered together to
the feast of death, fighting dogs and rats that crept forth from
holes and corners where they sheltered during the terrors of the
siege. Flies rose in black clouds from swollen hideous corpses
on the approach of any intruder, the incessant sound of their
buzzing being audible all day long; and hanging dead by the
heels from beams upon the walls, and drying upon the torture-
stakes, were scores of victims to Toltiah's vengeance.

Large ocelots, brought in by the hunters, yelled and snarled
-savagely, terrifying the smaller scavengers, as they lay flat on
their white bellies and drew out the entrails from the corpses.
Under huge rocks lay crushed and mangled wretches in pools
of purple blood, stripped and denuded of all ornaments ; many
of high rank who little dreamed of such an end.

The bolts from the catapults had wrought dire havoc, scarce
any of the nearer buildings on the lowest terrace having escaped
defacement. In the Market-place they had fallen, and the great
square was littered with the debris of a late encampment and
the smashed wreckage of sundry of the abominable idols, toge-
ther with shattered rocks and stones and arrows.

The temple of Neptsis had suffered, but the Circus, higher
up, had escaped. The Museum was damaged, and the Bazaar
which was by the walls was full of horrible debris of rocks,
splintered columns and idols, bodies of men with bones and crushed
armour bedded in their flesh, entrails hanging like dishevelled
rigging of a ship over the mounds of horror and disgust. The

245

ATLANTIS.

palace of Izta had been struck, and the flying splinters had
strewn dead bodies thickly there. But the walls! The high
battlements had been swept clear of all projections, and the
rows of idols were lying in fragments on both sides amid piles
of rotting bodies.

Partly within and partly without the city the victorious army
was encamped. In the red palace were now Toltiah and Azta,
some of the great Tzantans, and Noah, whose family were given
palaces of nobles to live in. In one of the apartments Marisa
lay, recovering from severe wounds, whom Azta spent long
times with ; and now the former occupants, Shar-Jatal and Poca-
tepa, taken alive in each other's arms in the violated sanctuary
of Neptsis which they had not respected aforetimes, were in the
Circus with many other prisoners, each chained to a negro guard.
And fain would Azta have seen Acoa there, but he had gone,
nor was he to be found ; but there were other priests there among
captured chieftains and warriors, of whom the more important
were secured as Shar-Jatal and his mistress, but the rest were herded
together in the apartments of the beasts, and most of the great
ones which were of Tekthah's court were spared all indignities,
among whom the queens Axazaya, Sada, Sumar, Tua and others
were well entreated, yet some feared for the triumph of Azta,
having cause by reason of jealousy and aforetimes annoyance.

And Azta was minded now to slay Mah, whom she feared,
yet also had he disappeared, which was aforetimes; and learning
of Pocatepa's treatment of Na, and the death of her old nurse,
she caused the metal incubus which had been riveted upon her
head to be placed upon Pocatepa's. The large ape was speared
by a Captain of the guards that none might be enspelled by
it, for Azta feared the magic of its mistress somewhat, knowing
how Mah held her in his power.

Many of the Amazons were taken by the Tizin for her
especial guard and were greatly favoured, being quartered in
the palace, and great spoil was granted to all the army, which
occasioned many quarrels among them; also their women who
had followed them from Talascan were bitterly jealous of the
captured beauties of the capital, upbraiding their fickle warriors for
deserting theirs for new charms, and smiting them with weapons.

246

THE SHAME OF THE STRONG.

Each day disbanded troops which were from all the cities of
the territories marched back with songs and rejoicings, pleased with
the liberality of the Tzan and glad to return to their families;
yet there were many who preferred to remain in Zul, having
with them their mistresses. And also such of Shar-Jatal's army
as preferred to swear allegiance to Toltiah were permitted
so to do, and among these the greatest was Iztli, who in the
days of Tekthah had conquered Trocoatla.

And swift runners went afar to Akin, who held the fleet
before Talascan, that he should chase and capture those six
vessels which had fled from Zul; and while the aqueduct was
being mended to supply the city with water, it was discussed
among the chiefs as to disbandment, and also the restoration
of buildings.

Now there was much discussion concerning that army which
was of the savages and the wretched peoples from afar, because
so great a host, notwithstanding that many had been driven
to a death within the moat and their murdered bodies lay in
hundreds piled against the walls, caused a scarcity of food,
and it was wished to send them away : yet was this also a
danger, for so great multitudes would eat up all as they went.
Nevertheless it was requested of them.

They refused instantly, clamouring aloud and with menace
for gifts, and threatening to drive all the food-animals afar and
lay waste the fields ; and certain of their leaders prevailed upon
the nondescript hordes to revolt, these wretched creatures, eaters
of dirt and roots and offal, clamouring and shrieking with the
unreasoning and bestial rage of brute beasts, falling upon each
other in their blind fury and tearing one another.

Again there was uneasiness, for all these multitudes far out-
numbered the Adamites, who feared not their prowess, but the
scarcity of food ; neither could any support longer the masses of
putrefying bodies of men that caused much illness as in gardens
and amid ruins they lay, mounds of horrid vermin, filling the
atmosphere with pestilence and disease and causing to breed
and congregate swarms of flies that polluted everything.

It was agreed to treat comfortably with the savage chiefs of
such tribes whose prowess might be feared, and these were

247

ATLANTIS.

convened in the Throne 1 lall of the Imperial palace. Awe-struck
by the huge buildings of the city, by the temples, palaces and
streets, and particularly the colossi, these great uncouth people
were conducted onwards to the vast red pile and up the
sweeping flights of steps flanked by the man-faced lions. Thence
they entered the grand Hall where upon the throne sat Toltiah,
and upon his right hand Azta sat upon another throne. Between
the great beasts that guarded the entrance they passed, stepping
carefully to find themselves in such awe-inspiring precincts and
terrified by the enclosed space and the gleam of armour all
around the hall, from which, but for the strenuous exhortations
of Noah and Nezca, they had never emerged alive. For Chanoc
and Iru counselled their destruction in savage phrase.

Azta glowered upon them like a Queen of the lower regions,
but Toltiah addressed them graciously and allayed those fears
that began to manifest themselves on perceiving the glittering
guards standing like statues behind the thrones and lining the
spaces behind the columns and braziers. He called them
friends, praising their fidelity and declaring his wish to show
his gratitude, nor said aught about their murmurings.

Presents were brought forward and promises were made to
liberally reward their followers, who were to depart back to
their own country immediately they received their dowers. To
each of the chiefs was given a beautiful maiden, weeping and
terrified, and they departed with vows of compliance to the
demands asked.

Loads of presents were sent out to their encampment, and
any rebellious signs were quelled by the chiefs, who recounted
the awful grandeur of the city and the fear they themselves
had passed through in the interview with the Tzan. Contented
with the presents, they departed with shouts and yells, leaving
the hordes of their more wretched compatriots to treat for
themselves.

These miserable people caused no fear, and but for the fact
of their destructive numbers laying waste the land, would have
been forcibly dispersed. Half-witted, deformed, undersized and
loathsome, they were merely formidable by the movement of
their numbers, gaping foolishly at the multitudes on the walls

248

THE SHAME OF THE STRONG.

before them who shook their fists and cursed them. Hungry
and helpless, they committed cannibalism in its worst forms,
and in a day all the albinos disappeared. They devoured their
new-born children and all the young ones, for now, under
orders, the warriors of Zul penned them in and prevented
their hunting for food, enraged at the extortion inflicted by
their powerful and departed aUies. There was no gratitude
felt for their help and no pity for their wretchedness, and it
was resolved that they should render another service and then
die. Toltiah manifested yet another characteristic, for as the
tiger that has tasted blood, he longed to see more flow, with
a terrible and evil appetite.

The manner of their riddance being decided upon, their
thousands were first compelled at the point of cruel weapons,
and instructed by hunters who comprehended their manners,
to clear the long moat of its foul contents and cast all such
into the sea; and then, driven within the city through every
gate, the ports closed upon their doomed multitude.

The unhappy beings stared at the masses of architecture
around them, gazing in fear upon all, as they had need to ;
and inside, they were forced to remove the rotting corpses and
things too foul for name, and cast them over the low cliffs into
the waters at the foot of the palace gardens, carrying up
dreadful loads on litters borne by many from the uttermost
parts of the city. Those who, starved and emaciated, dropped
at their fearful task, were killed and cast upon the load, and
their women and children were compelled to aid also in the
carriage.

Gradually as the troops surrounded them and penned them
up, following in the cleared tracks, they became herded into
a dense crowd on the low cliffs and shore around and above
the waterway and harbour, surrounded by the dark lines of
murderous warriors who pushed them up to the higher ground
rising from deep water. Their last work accomphshed, they
stood looking out over the sea, feeling in their poor degraded
breasts a sense of fear at the quiet that hovered over them,
expectant, as the warning silence of a great storm. Before
them was the cliff-edge and the deep waters; around, the

249

ATLANTIS.

i^leaming crests and arms of tall legionaries formed a menacing
wall that struck an icy chill of apprehension to their hearts.

The sound of a drum broke the stillness of apprehension and
waiting, and from the miserable beings, naked and hideous,
broke forth a thrilling wail of terror as the instinctive fear of
an unknown danger swept over them.

Advancing their shields, the legions made a great rush that
sent hundreds of suddenly overbalanced wretches into the waves,
where they swam about violently and a few managed to land
below the city, being good swimmers. Fearful cries arose,
gibberings and squeaks, screams, howls and hisses, and, mad
with terror, the victims threw themselves down and bit at their
murderers. Ah, the horrible work that followed ! Justice of
God, that such should be! and I, chained and speechless, was
compelled to witness what I had ventured through my sin.
The bloodthirsty warriors jumped upon them, smashing their
helpless bodies; kicking and clubbing, impaling and strangling,
heaving up the writhing bodies in their great muscular arms,
and dashing them down on others ; swinging them into space
by their matted hair like sling-shot, crushing them with furious
leaps and hurling them into the wav6s. Bronze knives crashed
through their ribs, the smaller ones wriggled like eels on cruel
spears from which they were cast into the waters.

The sea was red, that farther off became a light crimson
tinged with dark purple streaks and masses, trailing entrails and
splashing ripples. Bodies plunged in the water, writhing in
crimson foam, and long dark hair floated like weed.

Many swiftly-moving triangular objects darted hither and
thither, as the sharks, attracted first by the dead bodies being
cast into the water, dashed among the living prey, their dark
fins cutting the waves, and at times a long shining object rose
above the horror, to vanish instantly. Slimy arms threshed the
air in search of victims and dragged them under the waves,
yet still they poured over the fatal shore, gashed and mutilated,
moaning and shuddering, amid the brutal jests and laughter of
their butchers.

Toltiah watched the hideous scene from an arbour on the
cliffs; and Azta, from a part of the palace roof that commanded

250

THE SHAME OF THE STRONG.

the scene, watched cahnly. I perceived that her susceptibiHties
were steeled by all the scenes through which she had passed,
both in the palace where, Tizin in name, she grew accustomed
to all manner of confusion, and in the sanguinary siege that
had filled her fierce soul with a certain joy. Her name, with
Toltiah's, was now supreme in Zul, yet there was a void,
goading and tormenting.

She murmured my name with a sigh ; and then rehearsed
to herself those words I had told her : " Ambition is a cruel
mistress, a siren that oft lures to destruction." And thus she
mused, and then again she spoke: "What is this joy of murder
and killing? The sublimity of destruction that comes nigh
to that of creation; the wonder of the sunset and the sunrise?"

Her reverie was interrupted by observing the figures of a
woman followed by an aged man hastening toward the cruel
scene and to where Toltiah stood. The woman cast herself
down before the towering chief, gesticulating wildly, and by her
actions seemingly imploring him to bid the carnage cease,
while the hoary patriarch lifted his withered arms in furious
denunciation.

She perceived them to be Susi and Noah, and a gleam of
haughty anger swept over her heart at such interference, the
anger of the evil-doer whose fault is discovered, and an impetuous
resentment of restraint. Noah pointed to the far horizon where
the sky darkened, and the woman appeared to wildly implore
mercy, her arms embracing the warrior's knees.

He thrust them from him impatiently as the carnage continued
without cessation, the tall warriors, red with the helpless blood
of victims, hewing and slashing in a frenzy of slaughter and
hurling their wretched prey headlong to destruction. There
might be seen a furious spearman in swift pursuit of two or
three miserable little savages, whom he mercilessly swept down
by a terrific swing of his weapon, and then bounded after others
vainly endeavouring to escape by flight. Nor did attempts to
elude destruction by means of hiding under piles of corpses
avail, all the bodies being cast into the waters ; and when from
under a heap of removed victims an undersized figure leaped
up to make a desperate rush for life, some mangled body would

251

ATLANTIS.

be flung after the fugitive, the dead limbs flying in circles as
the ghastly missile sped, and the poor wretch would be felled
with violence to the earth. And another splash upon the waters
spoke of yet another entry through those awful gates of Death.

In vain the two mediators pleaded, in vain the lowering sky
and setting sun commanded cessation of the awful carnage. A
dark mist covered the ocean and a muttering roll of thunder
echoed through the Heavens.

The darkness increased; the last body was thrown over, and
now above the place of violence hung a, red mist, so that each
man, looking uneasily upon the other, could not see where his
feet stood.

A flash of lightning leaped from the dark sky towards the
palace. Azta saw where it struck upon the highest pylon roof,
and there in its place stood a majestic figure. Two bright
wings wavered swiftly as though it prepared for instant flight,
and its strangely animated countenance surveyed all the scene
at a glance. Its hand rested on a sword-hilt, its vividly brilliant-
eyes that flamed tremulously with a wondrous light encountered
hers. Entranced, she was powerless, and gazed with wonder
on the animated, beautiful being, clad in scintillating atoms,
that quivered with the subtle life of a tongue of flame, the
wings moving with a bird-like eagerness, and the bright Thing
appearing as an illusion of air, transparent and endued with
intense life. Thus it stood for an instant that seemed a long
period, and then a heavy roll of thunder vibrated the stifling
atmosphere. As though in obedience to a command the wings
flashed out and the Accuser was gone.

252

CAP. XV.

THE JUBILEE OF ZUL.

Under the shadows of every grove arose the songs of birds
and every breeze bore afar the joyous strains of music. It was
the morning of thy bright day, fair Zul, thou who, foredoomed
by Man to destruction, went down into the depths and darkness
with great horror at the setting of thy Sun. The mourning for
the dead was over, yet in unforgetting sorrow went many for
loved ones gone ; where Edna mourned her lord Colosse, and deer-
eyed Tamar sorrowed disconsolate for dead Izal. Yet long would
live those great deeds of might, when thou, Astrobal, sought,
yet unavailing, to stem the rush of Zul, with Uruk and Arvath ;
and how Dakka of Bitaranu fought hard against the might of
Toloc. The youths of Bitala will look in vain for thee, Azebe ;
nor more will Napal, Roga, Nit, and Derion clasp their fond
mistresses to their breasts ; yet rejoice to-day, mortals, for now
is the time of Earth's gladness ; but, alas 1 that it should have
been so foolish.

In the waters by the city lay the Tacoatlanta, and behind her
the Mexteo, Tzan and Tizin, gaily decked out with yellow, but
not one of those other ships, which indeed were heard of no
more. In the cleared Market-place the idols had heen reset
up by their various worshippers, whom Azta supported, for
Toltiah owned no restraining superstition of any sort at all,
worshipping Zul alone to the oblivion of all Noah's teachings.

Azta had instituted new priests and had piously restored the
pyramid wherein rested Atlace, the mother of Huitza. For this,
being before the temple of Neptsis, had suffered somewhat in
the siege. All buildings that had been damaged were renewed,
and from arches that spanned streets hung masses of flowers
in the midst of which concealed birds sang merrily. All the

253

THE GREAT FISH-GOD WAS DECKED WITH ORNAMENTS.

THE JUBILEE OF ZUL.

stems of elegant palm-trees were decorated, and now, the
aqueduct being restored and the great reservoirs upon the highest
point full, the ripple of a myriad fountains made sweetest
music as they cast up their diamond jets among the gardens.

The great Fish-god at the entrance to the harbour, which held
the model of the Tacoatlanta in its hands, was enthusiastically
decked with ornaments, and the restored gods upon the walls
reeked again with oblations. Yet there was certain sorrow in
the city for the loss of friends and relations ; and also many of
the warriors who had taken part in the cruel massacre of the
savages died of wounds inflicted by the poisoned hands of their
victims. And in the Circus were many wretched captives who
cried and bemoaned their fate, whose number was now in-
creased by several chiefs of the departed savages and many of
their followers overtaken by the vengeance of the city and
brought back to cruel deaths. For all of these were being
saved to administer sport to their masters at the great feast to
be held in the evening at the palace and in the gardens, and
jeering crowds mocked their sufferings with insolent speeches.

Among the idols on the walls the great catapults were placed,
and on the flowing moat were cast baskets full of flowers and
leaves and bushes of pomegranate, roses, and sartreel, so that
the sweet smell rose up to Heaven. A great feeling of security
reigned, and luxurious wantonness took the place of all the
hard life of the long time past; Toltiah, and all at the palace,
glutting their souls and bodies with grandeur, power and pleasure.
Companies of beautiful girls, flower encrowned, danced hand-in-
hand along the streets, breaking up the mirthful crowds
gathered around jugglers, musicians and astrologers and captiv-
ating the spectators with daring exhibitions of sensuous charms.

The drum of the temple of Zul called to worship and cere-
mony, and with fervour the multitudes repaired to the roofs,
and the Court and notables to the temple. Amaziel was the
High Priest, who had come from the Sun in a miracle of
splendour, in place of Acoa who had vanished, not being appointed
by any of Earth ; yet I perceived much evil in his shining
countenance and a certain fear which I could not express. His
mantle was most curiously brilliant as though indeed it were

255

ATI.ANTIS.

in verity of the Sun, and with a great love he looked upon
Toltiah and also in a measure upon Azta.

The service was consummated in its usual horrid fashion, and
the far crowds shouted joyfully as they returned downwards
with hearts full of gratitude to the Lord of Light, (for being
joyful they were devout,) pleased to return to their merry
games and enjoy the bounty of their rulers, while gathering
to witness the consecration of the Tzan. For earlier in the
palace Toltiah had received the orbed sceptre from the Keeper
of the Throne, which was the lord Lamech, the son of Jaal
of the family of Enoch the righteous, and upon his head
Amaziel had placed the Solar crown of Atlantis, upon the head
of Azta placing the crown which held the crystal symbol of
the Moon ; and now, upon the highest platform of Zul before
counties? multitudes gathered in dense array, the Lord of Light
was petitioned to consecrate the saviour of the people, the man
esteemed before Tekthah.

And to add to the awed enthusiasm of the nation, it was»
know to every one after what fashion Toltiah was carnally
endowed, as a very offspring of Zul in actual manifestation ; so
that there were continual great movements to get near enough
to be able to see him, and very many people were trampled
under foot and were killed. Nor less was Azta fearfully regarded,
as being concerned in his appearance before them, all believing
him to have been incarnated through her by the god Zul.

All the great ones of the land were there, either upon the
same platform or in the forefront of the multitudes ; and many
who were pardoned when the city was taken, being among
them all of Tekthah's household, who joyfully welcomed him
whom they believed to be Huitza and sickening of the upstart
Shar-Jatal.

There were men, women and youths, noble and great, children
of Tzantans and Chiefs, Queens and Princes; old men who had
grown gray in Tekthah's wars, venerable tribe-leaders who had
followed the four-armed Cross of Atlantis from the north-east
to the hill of southern Zul and beyond. With tears of emotion
they witnessed the consecration of their Emperor, and when
all was over a vast shout arose : " The Tzan, the Tzan ! Huitza

256

THE JUBILEE OF ZOL.

and Zul!" and as Azta stepped forward and saluted him with
a kiss, yet wilder rushed the swelling roar to Heaven, as vic-
toriously they shouted her name, calling her Tizin and goddess.

How wonderful she looked, raised above human passions and
vibrating with a new life as she stood with head thrown back,
her swelling throat alone showing the emotion that nigh over-
came her 1 Entranced by her beauty and unearthly majesty
the noble crowd upon the high platform thundered applause,
and Nezca bowed the knee low before her. Toltiah gazed upon
her very curiously and I perceived he liked not Nezca's act,
yet he said nought, smiling haughtily around.

Heralds dispersed the crowds and After-worship was partaken
of riotously ; in bowls of hot wine the souls soared to the skies.
The strains of music redoubled and whirling dances engrossed
the joyous throngs, who cast masses of sweet flowers about and
sprinkled one another with liquid perfumes. But their gambols
were licentious, and many a wanton shriek arose above the
roars of merriment, and not a few cruelties took place ; for the
people were very like to tigers at play, yet without the natural
restraints of such forbidding unseasonable coarseness.

In the palace matters of state progressed. Toltiah, upon the
throne of marble and ivory, supported by the princes, council-
lors, captains, astrologers and such as knew every detail of every
thing for settlement, the geographers, judges, and rulers of tribes
and cities, divided the lands and appointed to coveted posts, dis-
tributed taxes and regulated laws. Only to such as formerly
owned allegiance to Shar-Jatal were no rewards given, but to
all that besieged the city was granted something. This one
was appointed governor of this city, another of that: Chanoc
was appointed Lord of Astra, (Raim, a favourite chief of the
Talascans, being appointed governor of Atala in his place) ;
Iru, Lord of Tek-Ra; and Nahuasco, of Trocoatla. Atala, neigh-
bouring to Axatlan, was given to Nezca, Lord of Axatlan,
who was much beloved by Toltiah for his beauty and loyalty,
Alam being made the governor of Talascan for saving the life
of Toltiah ; and Chalac was restored to Mehir. Marisa, who
had risen from her couch, was offered a high appointment if
she would swear to remain an ally of Zul; but she refused, to

257 17

ATLANTIS.

Azta's sorrow and Toltiah's chagrin, and it was given to Resaula,
a son of Sifu, concubine of Tekthah whom Toltiah loved. And
to such who, being already governors of certain cities, were to
return to that city, power of concessions was granted ; and
particularly was leave of greater concessions given to all of
Atala.

The sons of Noah felt no little annoyance that no province
had been given to them or their sire, but Toltiah smiled upon
them, saying that his love for them was such that he wished
them to remain always by his side. But they knew he feared
their teachings and loved not their straightness of hving and had
forgotten his indebtedness to them for all that he was. Yet
nevertheless, embracing Xoah, he conferred upon him the
governorship of the city of Zul and gave him a palace and
estates; and likewise embracing his mortified foster-brothers, to
Shem he gave control over all the economy of the Empire, to
Japheth the post of Chief of Armies, and to Ham the manage-
ment of all walls and public buildings; likewise giving to each,
a mansion, and certain apartments in the Imperial palace. The
chief Akin was made Tzantan of the Sea, with control of the
warships and fisheries ; and many more posts were given to
sundry. The taxes were arranged and the code of laws revised,
and at evening all was completed and the drums and trumpets
gave the signal for the feast.

The palace had been renovated and the dining hall restored,
the old marks of violence cleared away and the frescoes touched
in with fresh colours, between which the polished mirrors reflected
everything with wondrous brilliance. All the notables of the
land were to come as guests, and every citizen of Zul, with
the Amazons and all the armies and the crews of the warships ;
and the gardens of the palace were prepared for the reception
of the guests, many trees being cut down to leave open spaces, in
which the carpenters made platforms of wood to form level surfaces
for the viands and bowls of wine, which were in great abundance.

And how stared those warriors who were from the borders
at all that they perceived, at the delicious fare so different
from their rude victuals, and the manner of the serving.
Mingled with the sweet odours of dying flowers were the odours

258

THE JUBILEE OF ZUL.

of the feast, for among piles of fruits of every sort were steaming
joints of meat and whole animals roasted; panthers, bears,
horses, aurochs, antelopes, all yielded up their delicacies to fill
the hungry stomachs ; of fishes there were sorts without number,
some great sturgeons and the turtles much sought after. White
swans and gorgeous peacocks, prepared in their plumage, or-
namented the board above mounds of grapes, melons, nuts,
bananas and oranges, heaps of small birds reeked in pungent
sauces, and baskets full of locusts, ants and such, soaked in the
juice of lemons, filling the air with scent. Pine-apples lay in
their red lusciousness side by side with the vast feet of mam-
moths, which were esteemed a great delicacy, and venison
tempted the appetite with its steaming odour. There were piles
of bread and cake and rich sweetmeats, and baskets full of Atalan
land-crabs, and among all of these were placed strong scents of
animal, flower and pungent wood, hidden beneath the enormous
bowls of wine.

Upon these good things the eyes of the guests fixed them-
selves gluttonously. There were warriors young and old, merchants
with their wives and mistresses, jovial seamen and dark tribe-
leaders. Some of the warriors wore their harness, but most had
cast it off and were as the citizens, for all carried arms; and thus
on skins of lion, bear and all manner of animals the crowds
reclined, and upon them from all around the light from torches and
bonfires cast a red glow, while in front of the Hall of Feasting all
shuddered pleasantly to observe the multiplied array of crosses
and stakes filling the broad platform above the sweeping steps.

In the great hall, torch-lighted and briUiant with garlands of
flaming sartreel flowers, Toltiah, with Azta on his right hand,
reclined upon that dais unoccupied since the murder of the
nobles, above the gay throng, cooled by the waving of a thousand
scented fans. Below were Nezca and the Tzantans of the palace,
Marisa, Amaziel, Iztli and the family of Noah, and all around
I perceived many great men, among them reclining ladies of
high rank, haughty queens and elegant. Behind the dais were
detachments of guards and Amazons, and either side lay Toltiah's
mistresses, their masses of hair flashing with precious gems and
ornaments.

259

ATLANTIS.

Tua was there, coquettishly veiling her soft blue eyes with
their long lashes whenever they encountered the admiring gaze
of some chief, which was not a little often; Sumar was there,
and southern Emarna, with her red complexion and large bold
eyes, was among them also, gazing with love upon Ham, not-
withstanding that his espoused wife Ru reclined by him; and
upon these soft, luxurious beauties the Amazons looked scornfully
and jeered, noting the powder upon their faces and the flaming
jewels in their teeth, while with no less curiosity did the queens
note where Marisa reclined, and mark her masculine beauty.

Large black slaves assisted the menials in handing the great
joints of meat and other things, and walking freely among the
viands poured forth the wine from the amphoras into drinking
horns and cups of shells of turtles and vegetables, particularly
of certain sorts of large nuts. They handed round the scented
smokingherbs, while the music of a hundred instruments swelled
high and drowned for a time all other sounds, the multitudes
listening in admiration to the strains.

But before the eating and wine-bibbing started, and when all
were seated, Nezca arose with a huge horn of wine, crying to
them to pledge the Tzan, and like the rush of an army the
warriors leaped up, shouting: "The Tzan! The Tzanl Huitza
and Zul ! " — pledging the gratified ruler in great draughts of
wine, those without taking up the cry until it spread over the
multitudes. Whereon Marisa, standing, cried also upon them to
pledge Azta, and opening a vein in her arm so that the red
blood fell into a bowl, she drank it to the Tizin. And as she
bound up the flowing wound, the crowd, rendered mad by such
manner of pledging and the enthusiasm of the toast, shouted
with mighty noise and emptied deep horns of wine to the
majesty of the Tizin ; while a tempest of glittering weapons
hissed in flashing salutation. Nahuasco raised one of the immense
amphoras and drank to her with a vast enthusiasm, and many
others followed his example ; while, catching the madness, the
great crowds without shouted Azta's name, coupling it with that
of Neptsis. And at all this applause Toltiah's features expressed
a diabolical jealousy, and the beauty of his countenance was
as that of a smitten and fallen demon, sublime but terrible,

260

THE JUBILEE OF ZUL.

And then the feast began and the people did nought but
eat and drink and smoke continuously, ravening like animals
that were starving. Lying flat on their bellies they gorged
themselves, and Noah and Shem, with their women, went out
to their apartments, not liking the licentious doings of many.

Such as had never before seen the interior of the palace
stared at the wonders around, drinking in the pictured concep-
tions with joy and awe, the Amazons gazing coldly upon the
portrayals of huge and unrestrained imaginations. The wavy
lights danced brightly on weapons and gemmy tiaras, helmets
and armlets, and turned the great amphoras of wine into craters
of blood as the viands disappeared. Full stomachs began to
crave less haste in satisfaction, and, adding to the minstrelsy,
snatches of songs arose, ribald and coarse, as the wine bred
bravado and merriment. The women sang also, and bright
eyes grew brighter and glances more daring as here and there
one danced among the viands with tossing hair and wanton
gestures.

Tairu, sweetest of musicians, declaimed in a clear space in
the midst of the tables, singing the glories of Atlantis and of
her present Ruler. He narrated from the beginning' the history
of the Earth, from when the huge egg formed in the surround-
ing dark waters, impregnated by demons and monsters, product
of Neptsis. ix He sang of the beauty of Azta and the ladies of
the Court, the prowess of the Tzantans and warriors, while
strains of sympathetic minstrelsy added an undertone to his

a This doctrine of the Mundane egg indicates what, for want of a better word,
I must call Turanian ideas, and belongs to the most archaic cosmogonies. The
egg is a common mythical element, found in Egypt, Phoenicia, India, China,
Finland, and Polynesia, but wherever such is found it may be traced to that old
•* Turanian" cosmogony which makes the world resemble an egg, formed in the
water. To our day the old veneration lingers in the Easter egg, symbolical of
the Resurrection.

The idea of an aqueous origin of everything is also very old. Lenormant tells
us that the Akkads, whose mythology passed into that of the Semitic Babylonians,
"considered the humid element as the vehicle of all life, the source of all genera-
tion;" and several myths, of which the sea-birth of Venus is the best known,
testify to the prevalence of the idea. The Frog symbol and the creative Frog
Ptah of Egypt undoubtedly indicate the same.

F"or later science of the subject see Appendix § 23.

261

ATLANTIS.

song. Likewise accompanying himself upon a one-stringed
instrument of music, he stirred up the easy enthusiasm of the
audience with songs of loves and battles, the mythical amours
of Neptsis and yEther, and the warlike procession of the Last-
Created.

He gave place to jugglers who played with balls and knives,
blowing long tongues of flame through their nostrils the while,
and dancing girls who kept step with weird music, and whose
graceful movements and significant gestures won the riotous
applause of the drunken throngs, lying forgetful even of eating
in the joy of watching. And while this progressed, one was
sent to the Circus to bid the jailors bring along the oil-fed
captives for the horrid amusement of the mob.

262

CAP. XVI.

"O TERQUE QUATERQUE BEATI— ! "

From under the cold star-light, driven in chains, they came;
scores of wretched captives, into the menacing red glow of the
fires and the merciless presence of those whose positions would
have been reversed with reversed Fate. One who fainted was
cast upon a bonfire, and with their devilish appetites aroused
the crowds bared their teeth and waited in anticipation for what
was to come.

And what followed I scarce can write, for so much the more
as I partook of the nature of man so also greater did the
tortures of the Clay affect my soul, and yet on such occasions
was I unable to do aught but watch and suffer. O accursed
man who can so rejoice over the pain inflicted joyfully on
another, who will dare the curse of the injured for the devil's
satisfaction of witnessing suffering! Would that I could have
stopped that horror ; yet I knew it was part of the damnation
that man should work to his own undoing and of his own
Heaven-free volition.

And so I watched, sick at heart with what I scarce knew
was coming; and while shuddering wretches were being bound
to the crosses and saturated with fat and oil, a captive, chained
to a negro guard, was led into the clear space among the
viands before the dais.

Tall and of an ashen pallor, this was Shar-Jatal, whom Toltiah
did not know, but to Azta he brought back vividly the last
time that she had eaten in that hall. Again she appeared to
feel the curious sensation of impending catastrophe, and looked
around as she had done then to see if anyone else shared her
fear.

It was the same scene ! There were the gaudy frescoes, the

263

ATLANTIS.

blight reflecting mirrors, the wreck of viands and the great
vessels, the slaves, the flashing arms and jewels, the wanton
indolence of the sprawling drunkards. But where now was
mighty Tekthah? where Huitza and Rhadaman? where Colosse,
Teta, Semaia, Amal and many others?

A sudden flash of a jade spear-head aroused her, and she
looked to where the captive stood with his mutilated limb
hanging to his side. At his feet the jailor lay in his death-
struggles, for it was deemed too great a hindrance to release
the fetters, and also that a slave should not live to boast of
such a connection.

The chief's eyes sought Azta's with an agonized entreaty,
but cries and jeers drowned his wild appeal for mercy. The
jewels in his teeth were brutally jeered at as the ornaments
of female vanity, and a woman threw a small bone at his face,
which hung entangled in his beard; whereupon another plucked
it forth with a handful of hair, saying that it was a pity to
waste good food on so craven a warrior; and Marisa, whose
rage flared up at remembrance of the deadly repulse of her
attack, struck him in the foot with her spear, crying out that
she would that he were able to face her with arms and buckler.

Then Azta spoke, her fury rising as she recited his deeds of
insolence to herself and of cruelty to others, his imprisonment
of her and daring pressure of an abhorred suit, his ready aid
in the massacre, and in the murder of his lord, the Tzan
Tekthah. His upstart seizure of the sacred Throne and audacity
in resisting the risen Huitza and slaying his loyal warriors
deserved more punishment than they could inflict upon him.
He should be sent to wander far from Zul to meet the full
award of a coward and a murderer, despatched thither by such
poor means as could be devised.

Abuse and insults were heaped upon the trembling wretch.
the women goading themselves into an access of frenzy by
crying out the names of warriors slain upon the walls, and a
drunken Tzantan applied a torch to his long matted beard.
The scorching flames rose swiftly, enveloping his head and
burning his eyes out, and roaring with the agony, he plunged
as far as his fetters would permit, falling with a crash

264

"O TERQUE QUATERQUE BEATI — !"

Marisa laughed a bitter scornful laugh, echoed by her followers
and all the crowd, the silvery mocking merriment of the women
rising above the rest. And what followed I cannot say, for
it is not well to consider too fully the cramping horror of
maltreated muscles ; but with consumed entrails, lying prone
between strong fastenings, he died; and the panting butchers
returned to their couches to watch the burning of the victims
upon the crosses, and those which writhed upon the stakes.

The lions roared deeply, gcenting blood, but unheeding, the
revellers plunged their heads into the wine-vessels, swilling with
deep, stupefying draughts. Many lay helpless, and others, un-
aware of their surroundings, shouted atrocious songs, brandishing
their weapons dangerously.

The remains of Shar-Jatal were carried out to be cast upon
a furnace, a warrior hacking a portion of flesh from a limb as
the body passed, and devouring it with a ferocious jest. The
Amazons chanted a weird song as tremulous lights shot up
from the crucified victims without, fired at the feet by long
torches, reminding each other of the torture of their comrades.

In front of this array of victims and facing towards the hall,
Pocatepa hung, the heavy bronze cage enclosing her head tied
by a rope to the top of the cross, so that she could see all in
front of her; and, stripped of the mystic insignia of priestess
of Neptsis, various degradations were put upon her, because
that, being a married woman, she had defiled the shrine of the
goddess. By her sides were Bel and Arioch, and these were
to be left to the last, with the golden skewers of slaves thrust
through their nostrils, their eyes rolling awfully as the storm
of horrid shrieks arose all round them, and the flare of the
leaping flames cast wavering cross-bars of light on the terrace,
flung lightning-like by the writhings and confined plungings of
the living torches. Choking sounds were uttered, sharp shrieks
and growling yells of the most intense torture, the uncontrollable
cries of staked and burning wretches. The large-bodied warriors
shook the crosses with their frantic struggles, and sometimes a
half-consumed limb would be torn ofi" in the death-throes, the
awful writhings of the semi-released and fiercely burning creature
adding horror to the awful scene.

265

ATLANTIS.

The spectators watched silently in a dense crowd, the trees
being swarmed with them, shuddering occasionally, and with
nerves at a high tension, crying out with terror when any
burning clot of oil was flung near them. Azta's yellow eyes
flared like a tigers, Toltiah, nigh overcome with wine, watched
with expanded nostrils, and Ham and Japheth murmured the
disapproval they dared not utter.

One of the feasters crashed his head open by falling drunk
on the edge of an amphora, and a tall Amazon, terribly excited
by the scene, cleft a slave to the jaws for an insulting remark.
Yet these things passed unnoticed in the face of that flaming
Horror, and even two men fought one another to the death
over the possession of a woman and none scarce perceived it.

Now a body fell, hanging by one arm, and swung in gyrating
movements; another dropped, half-consumed, amid a puff of
flame and sooty smoke. Blood burst from attenuated cuticles,
and the sputter and hiss sounded amid the roar of the flames.
From burst skulls jets of smoke rose in spiral columns, bones ,
crackled and more bodies fell, some with the consumed crosses.
The shrieks had fallen to a few shuddering moans, and the
dreadful people began to cry for the bodies to be added to
the bonfires and more living ones put up.

Many drunken wretches fell from the trees and were killed,
and there were not a few fights, while such as were on the
outskirts of the crowd committed violent deeds. The stench
of burning hair and flesh was fearful, and the eyes smarted
with the pungent smoke. The executioners bound fresh victims
to the smoking poles, oil was poured over them and fired ;
the impaled victims were lifted and placed upon crosses, others
being raised upon the bloody stakes ; and again arose the
horrid cries, a tempest of awful sound that drowned and
quenched all else. One or two stout men plunged like impaled
porpoises, so that their vessels burst and let fall a hail of
splashing blood. Consumed abdomens permitted the long entrails
to gush forth, while from the shivering bodies the burning oil
was shaken as a rain of liquid fire.

A large drop flew upon Arioch, and instantly he was alight,
plunging and tearing furiously and roaring like an impaled lion

266

" O TERQUE QUATERQUE BEATI — I "

in the intensity of his sufferings, as his long beard and massy
mane shrivelled in a breath, the smoke enveloping his head as
with a cloud. The burning splashes of oil fell upon Pocatepa
and wreathing flames sprang about her, enwrapping her rounded
figure in their embrace; while Bel similarly leaped into the
similitude of a genius of fire, and shrieked horribly until he
died. Yet Pocatepa moved not nor uttered a sound, and those
nearest her perceived her to be already dead. On her arm
the coiled snake wriggled in the flames with jaws widely
distended and forked tongue tremulating, but its hisses were
unheard in the inferno of sound. All there, knowing her
repute as a sorceress, expected to witness something extraordinary,
and a cry of terror arose when the bronze cage, breaking
from its calcined lashings, fell forward, and tearing the half-
consumed Hmbs from the arms of the cross caused the body
to hang suspended by the legs; when the head, with its lava-
Hke mass of burnt hair, torn from the body and drowned in a
rushing cascade of blood, fell from the burning mass.

A cry burst from all who witnessed the sight, and the crowd
began to tire of its awful sport as the calcined crosses fell,
carrying others with them. Yet in that horror one dared to
obtain possession of the head of Pocatepa that the emeralds
in the teeth be obtained. Captives, chained together, were
fired in groups, the drunken murderers yelling with mirth to
see their opposing struggles; but suddenly three mangled
wretches broke away, and maddened by their fiery torments,
ran like demons among their tormenlors, catching up weapons
and slaying incapable wretches right and left; nor were they
killed until over fifty people had fallen before their justly
avenging fury.

Enraged, the mob fell upon the rest, and most of them died
a merciful death beneath knives, spears and swords. Inside,
Azta arose and drank a full horn to " the warriors of Atlantis,"
such as were able to move staggering to their feet with a shout
of salute, Toltiah among the rest. Amphoras were drained, and
some of the more sober went outside and returned hauling survivors
of the prisoners by their chains, whose throats they cut over
large vessels and savagely drank hot blood. They broke open

267

ATLANTIS.

the skulls to devour the brains, and tearing out the quivering
hearts, raised them upon their spear-points in derision and then
devoured them likewise. Their eyes swam with maddest excesses,
and their mighty limbs were almost beyond control.

The work of slaughter continued until not one of the hapless
prisoners remained alive, and well might those tortured wretches
envy the fate of those who fell on the walls and in the fierce
battles before Zul, and cry aloud with great yEneas yet long
unborn: "O thrice and four times happy, whose fate it waste
fall before your fathers' eyes by those high walls!"

O terquc quaterqiie beatil

268

CAP. XVII.

THE INFERNAL COUNCIL.

It was when everyone lay prone upon the ground and no
sound save of prowling beasts broke the silence, that Amaziel,
sitting upright where he was, spake unto Nezca :

"Hail, Hesorio ! Look thou and say, have not we done well?''
And Nezca (whom aforetimes I knew to be of no earthly
mould) answered him :

''Great Leira, have we not ever done well?"
Hesorio was that sarcastic Spirit that ridiculed all, who after
invented the prayer- wheel and the rosary; one of those which
fell by a dire ambition that threatened to wreck Heaven,
among whom also was Leira. Which one had I not foreseen
in the person of Amaziel, but now, perceiving, feared. Also I
now understood Mah to be one of the fallen, like unto Leira,
yet of a grosser nature ; and was greatly distressed to think
upon the latter's words and of how the powers of Heaven fought
against the Earth for to destroy it. x^nd this one strove hard
to recover from the blasting oblivion into which he had been
plunged, and had in a great measure recovered some of the
past glory by which he could farther work the will of the
master-mind of great Satan in the undermining of Heaven.

For although I will not, nor indeed could I, tell of the stu-
pendous economy of God, yet there is the perfection of tiniest
atoms that which builds up the grand whole, and who may tell
how far a canker will spread ? And in this dire plot to wreck
Earth was a danger, menacing indeed, that could not be sup-
ported, and my thoughts sped out with eager wings to find
the reasons of why such could be permitted and why sin could
be allowed, and returned trembling to see the certain end of
it all.

269

ATLANTIS.

What was Man that he should endanger Heaven, and the
lust of man that could shake universes unimagined? The un-
governed passion that longed for union with any strange thing,
and devised all manner of confusion to gratify its furious ends,
gave to the sons of Heaven the means that they desired by
which they might regain that which none but God could hold
or wield. And to man was it granted a power to mould his
own destiny 1 And now, his evil increased by the perceptions of
Archangels, what sweeping calamity must fall upon him. O Azta !

Among the dark forms and the wreckage of the meal which
a few touches lighted, the two fiends sat with crossed knees in
the shadows of the vast gloomy hall. Their sinister orbs were
bent upon the debauched figures lying with far-extended limbs,
and they sighed while yet they triumphed, silently regarding
those whom they made the vessels of their designs.

"Now does our great work begin to gather force," said Leira;
" and yet I fear the Wrath that may again descend upon us and
sweep us still farther from our end. Hast marked Asia, whidi
was sent to mitigate the evil of this race beloved of the Angels?
Ttruth, none served me better than yon fair Azta, in that she
hath led the would-be captor captive ! "

" Thou sayest well, as ever, great Leira. We have revenged
ourselves upon this Creation preferred before us and have made
of it a stepping-stone to our desire. The leavening Adam,
which was to have led all the nations to a glorious height, with
reversed steps leads them down to Hell ; and in place of a
wisdom that would grow with immortality and reach the skies,
has forsaken it in our favour and welcomed Death, preferring
the fevered joys of Earth to the calmer ecstasy of Heaven.
O generous Man, that we should treat him sol"

Leira frowned darkly. '• It is not all to us that he is evil
and possessed of such libidinous fury," he said sullenly.

" Our measures greatly coincide with his," said Hesorio,
with a bitter sneer. " And yet are we also bitten by him in
that we love. And by reason of our own confusion by accursed
forgetfulness of sovereign power our sweet Loves die and go
from us, and their enlightened Spirits loathe us which drag them
from the light."

270

THE INFERNAL COUNCIL.

Leira sighed, and a tear fell from his eyes. " Thy words are
bitter," he said, "yet to our great end nought could have worked
better than that Azta had been born to me, for I fear the might
of Asia. And had not that accursed Shar-Jatal, whom I have
undone, slain my son Huitza by his foul designing, he would
have overcome the Earth by force of bloody arms, and falling
into some fair devil's power have spread a veil of ruin over all."

" Yet Azta loved him well and would have taken him to
herself? "

"Truth! and in good time they twain would have wrought a
mighty evil when the arms of Atlantis were carried in red
victory to the ends of the Earth, and the race of Adam, weakened
by wars and intermarriage, should no longer be of use for a
leaven of holiness and wisdom. But then came Asia, and for
him I reserved Azta, to hold him in chains lest he wreck
our plans."

They sat and gazed, the one upon the other, and in the great
shadows I perceived many forms that lowered above the un-
conscious multitude. Couldst thou have seen thy doom, O Man 1
And, my Love, didst thou know thy dread descent and of what
awful sin came this offspring of ours?

I had wrought confusion with the daughter of a devil, and
upon my soul the accursed knowledge fell as a thunderbolt.

"And where hast hidden Mah?" asked Hesorio.

" Pholia rests in Zul. Too ambitious ever is he for Earthly
glory ; yet he serves."

" And thus we work ! and in my friendly care Toltiah rests
in careless trust, subservient to my secret councils which have
caused my mortal guards to fall from the high path that they
would wish to tread."

They both laughed scornfully, their merriment echoing in the
spaces of the vaulted roofs and around the walls.

"This great child of Asia's will aid us bravely," said Leira,
glancing to where Toltiah lay on Emarna's breast, breathing
with an unseemly noise in his heavy sleep, " witlj his own soul
and body of man and woman shall he enslave the high lords
and ladies, holding them in restraint, while Azta shall reign in
deed and in truth, and by her womanly weakness countenance

271

ATLANTIS.

all confusion, afraid of rousing the nation against her cherished
supremacy. Rulers with alien blood in their veins shall rule
over cities and states, and the nation shall fall beneath our arts."

*' Such shall be, and more," said Hesorio; and together they
discussed such things as I may not tell of, whereat my wrath
arose greatly. Yet was not I as bad, though not wishing to
be? I dared not disclose myself when under my eyes lay the
sin that I myself had wrought, wringing my heart with its
unkind witness. In the silence where sat those two awful figures
I watched, horrified, self-reproachful and despairing, and heard
there the plans for the destruction of a world of Souls in which
I, not all unwilling, aided. Oh the terror of weakness that fell
upon me, the horrid rebellion of feelings ! I could not forego
my love ; with a despairing insistence it clung to me and did
but raise a storm of furious emotions that cried to me to do
anything to uphold it and strive to attain my end at the same
time. In a terrible chaos of wrecked emotions I stood, for I
could not give up my Love, whom, nevertheless, I knew loved
me not, and }et how would she act as Ruler of the land?

Between me and Paradise she stood, holding in her hand
the sword of the Vengeance of Jehovah. In a vision I saw
it, where a great black cloud slowly parted in the middle
before the mystic Gates that no mortal comprehends, before
which stood Azta chained by the lightning so that I might not
pass. The atoms of Earth, pregnant with awful lust, dared
impiously to mingle with the terrors of Heaven, dared because
not comprehended ; vaunting their power before the inviolable
purity of God ; and blinded by these I stumbled from the light,
repulsed by a power that charmed while it resisted. Around
me stretched unknown expanses of gray shadows, and in my
bursting heart was a great feeling of reproach and a knowledge
that although I suffered so by my own volition, yet it was also
through someone else. Before me was the pure beauty of
Heaven, closed against me by the dark barrier of Forgetful-
ness, intangible yet insurmountable ; I knew I had become
imbued with Earth, whose greater discoveries open up greater
fields of marvel which, reached, disclose immeasurably greater,
to which is no end. I saw and knew the wonders of unending

272

THE INFERNAL COUNCIL.

mystery, limitless, boundless, awful ! And then I marvelled if
those two fiends yet realized the wonder of it all and dreamed
of the ruinous horror that they strove to drag down upon
themselves.

And then before my eyes entered a vast beautiful presence,
refulgent in flaming light, and I perceived the dread glory of
Satan, the potential Power-of-Evil in manifested form. A horrid
beauty enwrapped the godless Angel, and upon his broad fore-
head shone redly the scar where the lightning-sword of Michael
had smitten him with disaster, closing upon him the gates of
further knowledge through which he had dared to steal.
Tremendous in infernal power he strode, the acknowledged Lord
of Hell and Father of Confusion, reckless in war and fertile
yet of dread councils, awful in power of evil and corruption.

Prostrate before him fell the inferior fiends, yet growing in
fiery volume under the eyes of their great master.

"Arise," he spoke, "ye have done well;" and his eyes
floated upon them with the fire of bright stars, cold as the
glittering ice, while his arms, like two columns of marble, over-
spread the sleeping crowds in malediction. Upon them he cast
a light of such brightness that all appeared as spirits gazing
upon him with terrified fascination and trembling before his
countenance, which, serene and majestic, was turned upon
them. Before the awful Angel in transparent nakedness they
lay, tiny and insignificant before that great Evil, the embodied
wisdom of countless ages that had dared to compete with God ;
and I marvelled how Man could possess such self-esteem, save
but that he believed his tiny horizon to hold all things.

"Who made Earth?" asked the Wonder of Sin in a voice
that touched the Infinite, and a myriad voices answered him :

"Partly we made it!"

"It is well spoken ; and but for lack of constant faith had we
accomplished more," said the great Spirit. " Remember, ever
remember for your strengthening, that it was by hesitance we
lost, by doubt our backsliding gathered force until in hideous
rout we fell. Remember our former power and unshaken
strength of will, and how shook the Heavens before our great
imagining! Then had we won, but suddenly a doubt of our

273 18

ATLANTIS.

powers seized us — it grew, resistless, numbing our faculties,
intruding beyond hindrance and increasing with its first knowledge
— and power slipped from our command. Our noble efforts to
recover our proud confidence nigh succeeded— wavered — hesitated

IN BAFFLED FURY RETIRED.

— gave way with one fell rush of deadly fright and terror — and
in tremendous amaze cast headlong, we were reduced to this. Stand
firmly and trust in me, and step by step we will regain our heights ! "

And the voices answered: "We trust! Our power is upon
the Earth 1"

A dreadful smile hovered like a shadow on those dire lips;

274

THE INFERNAL COUNCIL.

"Our leaven overcomes," he said; and from far distances,
rolling as muffled thunder, came the triumphant shout :
"It is ours I Man is our tool and Earth is ours!"
In the infernal brightness those dread hands were over-
stretched upon Azta and Toltiah and the demon voices cried:
"Strike!" But with great emotions that drove my spirit as
one before the rush of a mighty wave I stood forth, crying :
"Strike not, dark angel, or dread the wrath of Jehovah ! "

Amazed, the shining triad stood, quailing before the bright-
ness that even now overcame theirs, and powerless before the
sword of celestial fire. In baflfled fury they retired ; while,
awaking as from a horror of the night, men rose up trembling,
nor deemed that they had slumbered beneath the wings of
Doom.

275

CAP. XVIII.

THE VISION OF THE EARTH.

Some time rolled on and I began to be possessed of new
ideas as I looked upon Azta and considered her. An enthusi-
astic fury seized upon me. I would take this one, daughter
of a fiend, Love of an Archangel, and raise her in all her
splendid majesty and beauty to a height of glory and of mighty
knowledge, so that she should perceive all, and, perceiving, act
justly.

For as the days sped, so much the more the throne of
Atlantis leaned to Azta. The people rebelled in their hearts.
against their new Ruler, for under his government the lands
were taxed heavily, regardless of all statutes, and the Lords
of territories followed the example and became greatly oppressive.

The promised aid of the capital was withheld from the re-
builders of those towns of Hava and of Tek-Ra, which had
been destroyed, to the great discontent of such as were inter-
ested in it; and Iru, the Lord of Tek-Ra, scarce restrained
his annoyance and rebellion. The grossest superstitions fell on all,
and abominations were set up to be worshipped ; for, while Man
never gives up religion of some sort by reason of his frailty,
yet in a degraded state of existence the symbols become like-
wise degraded. How sad is the lot of that land whose appoint-
ed king is weak and indolent, and evil men wax fat on its un-
happy people !

Such now was becoming Atlantis, the people solacing them-
selves unchecked by unequalled excesses, while the savage
tribes around raided their lands, destroying villages and out-
lying cities and carrying off the women, untroubled by the
plumed legions who quartered themselves on the inhabitants
of large cities and spent their time in violence and lust.

276

THE VISION OF thp: p:arth.

The nation fell into despair. No other Huitza would arise
to free them from an increased yoke, and as what they sowed
to-day would be reaped by a tyrant's hand to morrow, they
ceased to give thought to the future and revelled in evils that
were forcibly obtained.

Noah and his family were looked upon with disfavour in Zul
because that they held themselves apart from evil. The patri-
arch did not hesitate to boldly rebuke Toltiah, who would have
stood such from none other, yet his words were of no effect.
Surrounded by concubines and favorites the young chief led a
voluptuous existence, and Azta, cold, continent and masterful,
was the real leader in Zul ; for although at every festival
Toltiah occupied the chief place, yet everyone recognised with
reverence the Ruler in the majestic woman with the eyes of
fire who was so terrible and unearthly, and every one of the
arrogant chiefs and superb queens, believing they perceived a
being of supernatural endowments, feared her.

The throne of Atlantis was hers ! As the Lady of Zul her
name was powerful in the land, and filled with the triumph of
it, she was happy for awhile. And then the old nature came
forth, the ambition, the craving for something more, the wish
to fill the chaotic sphere in which she moved surrounded by
gorgeous works of art and magnificence of luxury, of vast dor-
mant powers uncomprehended and possibilities that made her
brain reel to contemplate. Also I knew that although Toltiah's
lethargy permitted her to rule, yet was her Ideal fallen and
degraded, and it caused her to become very hasty of speech
and of a biting tongue. Alone, she would have ruled bravely,
but the knowledge that her supremacy was but through the
degradation of one she loved so strangely, caused her to waver
and to wish at times that he would assert his own supreme
power.

In such humour I found her, and, full of my thought, hasten-
ed to approach her.

" Now art thou in very truth Queen of Atlantis," I said ;
"yet art satisfied.''"

"Nay, my Asia," she replied; "but can there not be satis-
faction save under such conditions?"

277

ATLANTIS.

''There is never full happiness, it bethinks me, Love. Either
is there remorse for what thou hast done to obtain the coveted
prize, or disappointment that such, reached, is but the end of
all the hopes that kept joy alive. Only is there satisfaction
in Knowledge and in obtaining it; for it causes no envy to
give thee pain, thou dost not wound thy friends in its possess-
ing, the more thou hast the greater the horizons open around
thee, and what is thine none can rob thee of."

" How great a thing, then, is Knowledge ! "

"Great indeed. Beloved. In its pursuit is no sleep-destroying
scheme, in its possession no armed guard is needed to protect
thee, for it commands high reverence and no envy. Know-
ledge is the steps of the Throne of God which few mortals
climb to do Him obeisance. Mystery is its pleasing spouse,
never forsaken nor tired of, for as a good wife she has ever
fresh charms to display."

"By Zul, my lord, thou art in truth a philosopher!"

"It is the philosophy of Experience, fair lady; besides which*
nought permits us to act with that moderation befitting one
who would rule men."

She sat and thought for a while and then turned swiftly to
me, laying her hand on mine with a bright smile on her face.

" Show me what is Knowledge," she said, " and tell me of
Mystery, for I love such. And much have I thought upon it
and regarded the life of mortals and the wonder of Earth.

" Dear Love," I said, embracing her, " I could tell thee of
Worlds more wondrous than this, and of greater mysteries
that walk as unconcerned as thou, not comprehending the awful
marvel that makes them mysterious. Thou canst not tell of
what or whence thou art or whither thou goest, yet to thee
is given a power to raise or wreck many souls. Come thou
with me, my Love, and see thy heart quail not ! "

She clung to me, and raising her up I kissed her on the
lips, and again my whole soul went out to her. Once more
she gave me that questioning glance that she had bestowed
upon me when we first met, an agonized searching for some-
thing that should fill a great void.

" Were but thy name Huitza!" she said, with an intense passion.

278

THE VISION OF THE EARTH.

*' My name is what thou choosest," I answered.

*' But, O my Beloved, what is that which fascinates before
speech in the outer person, the entering fire of the eye that
we have never seen before, that binds the soul to itself?"

" It is the love of Earth, perchance unknown and unacknow-
ledged, that strangely binds the mortal eye by its revelation
of the Hfe of Heaven. But, as all of Earth, it lessens ; or is
only given by one of the two who loves with a better love.
Seldom indeed, two mortals love equally."

" My Ideal, then, was a reflection of something far away ;
methinks thou thyself, for strangely at times my soul mingles
with thine in more perfect happiness than words can tell. Say,
art thou my Love?"

I folded her to my breast. "How can I answer thee?" I
cried.

"Show me thy wisdom," she implored, looking into my eyes.

I kissed her lips. "What shall I show thee?" I asked.

" Show me the Earth," she said.

For awhile I pondered. Not for me was it to show those
mysteries which have never been spoken, nor to say under
what form this thing moves, or that. Nevertheless I consented,
and in visions taking her hand we moved from where we stood,
going from the busy sounds of life to a place where a great
silence reigned : a place of awful silence, where the soul feared
to move. From very far seemed to come the sounds of roar-
ing tempests as together we swept through unlimited space.
Yet now was a horror of sadness within me and a fear that
my Love would not fulfil that which should save us both.

I showed her the far places of the stars, and where spirits
of fire lived in a heaven of dew where wondrous opals formed,
and upon whose boundaries hovered arcs of very bright coloured
light, of which long tongues ran in corruscating splendour
through the flashing spaces : a moist life more congenial to
atoms of Earth than those limitless depths of outer darkness
where the cold is terrible and no atom moves to generate light
and warmth.

In a marvel of concentration she looked upon the Earth,
suspended in middle void, and knew and understood all that

279

ATLANTIS.

she saw. In unfathomable emptiness her spirit hovered as upon
her pressed the sensation of unknown aeons of Time past and
swiftly passing, while in the midst the World of Earth rotated
in a sea of fire. Eruptions, that filled the depths with sound,
convulsed it, whirling as a bright star in the night, for it was
dark all around ; and in a long, slow circle, yet moving with
terrific speed, it travelled with the noise of a great storm.
Far, very far, moved other starry points of light, and in the
movement of the Earth a wind sprang up to cool the burning
mass. X The encircling fire died and a steamy vapour, born of
moisture surrounding, rolled in vapoury clouds and hid the wonder,
as the revolving periods gave the Sun and the Moon their form
and mission, the Sun a centre of wondrous attraction for other
spheres rolling in their appointed paths. Ever and ever on-
wards rolled the swift wheels of Time as vast worlds of celestial
magnitude revolved, system within system, without knowledge
of limit; and in the ages passing a dazzling Moon lighted the
terrestrial vapours with a blaze of glory, itself to die in the
wonder of the centuries and reflect the light from the appoint-
ed Sun.

And ever His works praised the Creator, and living angels
praised the mighty Father, nor impiously considered the Source
of Life.

The crust of Earth hardened, the surrounding vapours cooled,
condensed themselves and fell, forming one vast sea of warm
water, boiling upon the burning Earth with great tossing waves.
By reason of the living fire within, earthquakes convulsed the
sphere and mountains of lava rushed forth ; the rocks formed
and evolved ; this fell in the periods that remained ; and as
the Ivarth grew cooler and cooler, seas and oceans formed in
the hollows made by the rising of the dry land.

The Creator breathed upon it and the atoms of Life leaped
forth at his bidding, and a carpet of verdure covered the
uncomely nakedness of the rocks.

Strange indeed appeared the planet ! In the silent emptiness
it rolled its mass, as yet not fully lighted by the nebulous Sun,

X The I-'iniiameul:

280

THE VISION OF THE EARTH.

and in the vast solitudes, undisturbed by aught of life, save
that of the herbage and the great warm oceans, it lay in a
twilight of a monotonous sombre hue, pregnant with embryo
Ufe of huge uncouth dimensions, as of the rough-hewn stone
that will become a beauteous statue. Terrific shocks and cata-
clysms modelled the new Sphere ; palms and ferns grew, nour-
ished by the unceasing downfall of waters from above, whose
atoms, mingling with those of Earth, filled her with teeming
embryo particles awaiting the Word of Life. From the strand
of the continents a warm silent sea stretched to the dark horizon
without a movement, and the still atmosphere hung like a pall
over everything.

Evolution on evolution ; change on change ; and after a twi-
light of untroubled ages the great Sun's appointed task began
and the world became light by turn, and dark, with the Moon
to shine upon her. The planet, as yet not in her ordered
path, rotated slowly, and the long bright periods of sunlight
of increasing life and warmth coloured the pale Earth and filled
her with growing beauty. Long days were those, and there
were long nights when the Moon cast back the reflected light
into an untroubled world, and the young life slept. And then
came the winds, rushing to fill the airy vacuums, roaring with
the voices of storms that rolled the ocean billows upon the
coasts ot rock. The atmosphere was charged and the inner
places received the grateful air, the herbage was shaken and
its seeds scattered. Tides began in seas and rivers, that, attracted
by the near mass of the Moon, arose and heaped up their
waters until the central attraction of their own sphere arrested
them ; cascades fell over rocks, and the Sun lifted the waters
in vapour to cast them back in rain that the solid portions of
the earth might be moistened; forests sank and others grew
above them, the buried growths forming new strata — reservoirs
for needs in the far, far future.

Then appeared living things that moved apart from the earth,
and the life grew stronger and more distinct. The deep seas
produced living things in countless numbers, and marine animals
of huge bulk and fearful aspect disported themselves in the
waters. Great insects crawled and flew, and birds traversed the

281

ATLANTIS.

skies; weird creatures flew in the heavens and all life was
strange and vast, the half-formed progenitors of more shapely
forms to come, living on one another and on the vegetable life
around, increasing and multiplying in the quiet ages and form-
ing earth-structures with their bodies. Their mother Earth was
changing likewise, and in her various strata preserving the
remains of uncouth early forms — a museum for the instruction
of future students, an unwritten record of those old days when
Man calls the earth young.

Mammalian life appeared in forms that rivalled the marine
monsters. Mastodons and mammoths, x shaking the ground
beneath them, devoured the forests and slaked their thirst in
the rivers, companions of uncouth hairy monsters hideous of
shape, and gigantic reptiles, amphibious and terrestrial.

Evolving more perfect forms or suffered to discontinue, the
terrific creatures disappeared, and a Thing, unrecognisable save
but by the knowledge of it, appeared. This was man, last-
created of living beings, huge and terrible, with uncurbed lusts^
driven by primitive ideas and vague desires. This one was
cruel by the instinctive knowledge of mysterious and wonderful
life and the pleasing horror of extinguishing it, violent by the
realization of breathing and living power, evil for the gratifica-
tion of defiance and challenge and sovereignty; developing and
evolving newer and more perfect forms of both sexes ; perish-
ing in violent cataclysms and earthquakes as the Earth changed
her surface together with the dependant creatures. He was
made weaker and of limited powers, to check the working of
confusion by the exercise of lusts too powerful to be controlled,
lusts formed of vague desires that never formed themselves into
conductors for organised effort, being too visionary and immense.
And then the Word spake: "Let us make man in Our image;"
and there came the first man of a new and godlike race, great
Adam, last and most perfect being of Earth, pure and moderate
in his desires which were less of Earth than of Heaven. To
him was given thought and immortality and the gift of perfect
speech and power that he might go among all the races of

u. Read for these, "huge pachyderms," of the earlier species.

282

THE VISION OF TH?: EARTH.

Man and civilize them, teaching them of God and many arts.

And now Azta perceived the mission of the Last-created race
and of the fall thereof, and I said to her: "Behold, the desire
of knowing and attempting more than was good came unto this
one also, as unto thy people, and the order to Cease was
spoken, for where Progression stops. Decay begins."

And I showed her where righteous Abel lay dead beneath his
brother's hand, the first of his race to die: "And thus in death
shall all of Earth depart," I said, "and when the appointed
time comes nought can save him, nor aught, save the decree
of One, can remove the curse that One has spoken. Nor
tears shall avail, nor anguish of spirit, nor crying of the heart ;
the Word of God endureth for ever inviolable, unswerving and
unheeding, and the abominable thing shall be blotted out from
before His face. Anguish comes and is gone, but Progress
moves on for ever, and in the tears of millions the Empire
rises; for as gold grows bright and hard and beautiful in the
furnace and under the hammer, so in the furnace of suffering
and under the pitiless blows of affliction grow the Souls,
polished and rounded by friction in the sea of Time like pebbles
of the ocean. And look not on thy high towers and walls and
boast thyself safe, for it shall come to thee as the reality of
a dream that nought shall stand of Earth before the Word."

And I showed her where Cain went forth and taught the
nations eastward of Eden the arts of many things, yet not of
God; and where the sons of Adam increased and multiplied,
what time the angels ministered to Man in form of winged
bull or brazen seraph, cc

X The meaning of this sentence appears obscure. Winged bulls, sculptured in
stone, and other creatures at the gate of an Assyrian temple or palace were called
Kirubu, (whence the Hebrew Kenibhn^ English "Cherubim",) and represented
guardian spirits.

In Numbers XXI 6, the word "Seraphim"' is used of a kind of serpent, not
■^ fiery", but burning, meaning poisonous. In Isa. XIV. 29 and XXX. 6 the singular
sataph occurs with the epithet "flying". Arabian legend speaks of white flying
serpents (Agh., XX. 135, 30) Ency. Brit.

A long treatise might be written as to the connection between the serpent and
the Seraphim, as to whether there may have been spiritual manifestations in ser-

283

ATLANTIS.

"And why," she asked, "was all this life that died and was
tormented in the living? Tell me, what is Life?"

" Life is Love, the Being of God ; the power of creation that
ever lives and begets more life, wherein Evil wars with Good,
causing suffering and some joy. The finer the Soul, the more
capable of feeling and of more fiery life. There is nought
around thee but lives ; and see, from the dead comes life, for
there is no death, it is but a transposition of atoms to increase
yet the more."

"Why need there be what Man calls death?"

" It is the disintegration of the atoms when he has accom-
plished his allotted time, wherein he has enough knowledge of
that which is permitted, (in the overstepping of which bounds
has this race sinned so grievously), to farther the march of
Progress. For all of Earth, clever but by hereditary perception,
and not by any means continuing their fathers' wisdom from
that point at which they themselves emerged into the life of
FLarth, have to learn of their suffering the experiences that,
render their hoary sires so terrible and mighty, looking down
from their high seats of knowledge. Neither could they indeed

pentiii'; form, like we are told of Satan when he templed Eve, to account for the
>traiij,'c liold which the reptile obtained over the minds of men, (see footnote, cap. l).
The serpent was the emblem of Christ as well as of Satan, of Esculapius as of
the Gorgon.

Of ("herubim, Dr. J. Kelly Cheyne, Oriel Prof, of Interpretation of Scripture,
tells us :

•• The Psalmist gives a version that the Cherub was either an eagle or a quad-
ruped with eagle's wings: (Ps. XVIII. lo and precisely the same 2 Sam. XXII. ii).
This would seem to justify connecting the word with the Assyrian Kiirubu^ a
synonym of Kurukkii or Karakkii^ the "circling" bird, i.e.^ according to Friedrich
Delitisch. the vulture. But elsewhere the Cherub is described more as the attend-
ant and guard than as the bearer of duty (Gen. III. 24).

•• Kinihu is a synonym for the Steer-god, the winged bull. We should therefore
connect the word Chcruli primarily with the Assyrian Kirttbu^ but also with
A'uriihu."

So mucli for Dr. Cheyne. The vulture, as we have seen in Cap. ii. lib I, was
regarded as sacred, whether in connection with Cherubim or not I cannot say. It
is very curious that the names of two of the orders of angels should be given to
two animals of earth — or rather, should be connected with them— especially if the
footnote of Cap. i. lib i. is correct in the statement that these two orders are not
only the lii;,die-,l. but have no communication with the earth. Hut the statement
of the te.\t is very significant.

2S4

THE VISION OF THE EARTH.

learn of another's teaching, for the elder cannot tell the young-
er every little thing that has built the sure foundations of
his power by careful trial and collecting from all places ; and
if he could, mere words, untried and untested by the pupil,
would be forgotten or found of no account by lack of practice.
Thus each one starts anew, nor will profit by aforetime ex-
perience, for such is spoken, seeing that there is otherwise no
limit to Man's rebellious arrogance. Nay, ask me no more,
curious Spirit ! I know not why Man was made, save but as
another step in the progression ; but hereafter a yet more
glorious being shall be created until sin shall cease through
him and Jehovah behold there the Triumph of Holiness in-
carnate, the power of Good that shall conquer all. But it is
not yet, for the lust of Evil is too strong in this Last-created,
and the Consummation is far off. Poor Man ! Poor, poor ex-
perimental creature! For it was known in Heaven that sin
must be, yet woe to the sinner !"

"Alas, poor sinner!"

"Yet can the pure in spirit live, for he hath fulfilled his part
well and aided a tittle in the forwarding : Yet also is a circle
not complete until the ends meet. These are hard things to
understand."

"But where is the justice of God that such can be?"

"The justice of God is too instantaneously comprehensive to
be at all thought of by Man, who, indeed, cannot be just
because his nature is bent to a strong line of action. I will
show thee things among thine own people concerning this."

Now there was a governor named Sapalel, which one was
also a judge over the people, and to him was offered certain
desirable things to tempt him to do that which was unjust.
The which he would have refused save but for the sake of his
wife and children, (he not being a rich man). But in the sight
of Man there was nought to mitigate so great a crime, they
saying he sold his conscience : which perchance he did. Yet
who could judge him but God, who weighs the littlest thought?

And I showed her in spirit where Myra wept for the love
of Alam, the governor of Talascan, who once loved her with
so great a love, yet she not knowing aught of such feeling

285

ATLANTIS.

until he went to join Toltiah before Zul. And now he had
grown cold towards her by force of training to despite her.
Because this human heart could never, by force of reason,
punish justly, being hardened in the punishing and never re-
lapsing from that added harshness that permitted such punish-
ment, in the span of short life. So that, although when this
one loved him, after long indifiference, she received from his
hardened hands the punishment she gave in the period of that
indifiference, yet he never at all returned that love ; which caused
that punishment to be very great because of remorse on her
part, and too late perception of what might have been.

286

CAP. XIX.

THE HEART OF THE WORLD.

Verily was Toltiah a curse unto me by reason of his evil,
and his restraint over Azta ! For she, loving him, but yearned
to see him rule, yet would not influence him to her own
detriment. Towards me, his father, he manifested a great
impatience, gazing upon me with a sinister expression that spoke
of repulsion, questioning and fear, at such times that we were
together; as a very Spirit of evil that upbraided and scorned,
the while challenging and forbidding. And towards him my
mind ever appeared as though separated by a great gulf that
no thought nor speech could bridge over, neither was I able
to attempt to lead him from the evil which I was ever com-
pelled to helplessly witness. And at times this strange being,
as an angel taking his pleasures equally with man or woman,
born in the carnal manifestation of an hermaphrodite and dis-
charging the functions of both earthly sexes, I say this strange
being affrighted me. And gleefully aiding him in frowardness,
the great lords committed all manner of wantonness, while to
secure them to her support Azta permitted their allegiances, so
that there were many jealous quarrels. The Court became one
wild whirl of devilry and the whole city followed suit, an ex-
ample that farther corrupted all the land ; so that all day the
people slept, and all night they danced in fevered vice, abandon-
ing the temple services save when a hecatomb of victims brought
the crowds to witness it. They believed large offerings were
as acceptable to the gods as their presences, and indeed it
mattered nought if they worshipped such or refrained.

The more degraded had scarcely the energy to eat or drink,
and lay about in the streets in obscenity and drunkenness,
worried by dogs and vultures and robbed by the legionaries,

287

ATLANTIS.

who left their posts and women at the battlements to promen-
ade the city for drunken people. Any resistance was followed
by murder, and corpses lay in many of the streets until eaten
by the brutes. Alas, that I could not tear myself from thee,
O Azta, and fly afar in hiding and repentance ! For nought
could save this people from the sink of iniquity into which
they had fallen but the most rigorous measures ; and if I could
not bring thee under my entire sway, what would befall? Eheu 1
that I should have imposed so weighty and profitless a task
upon myself, and taken a pillar of clay to work the redemp-
tion of Man ! I, which was of Heaven.

Yet ah 1 the fevered grandeur of that strange time of Earth,
when Man at the zenith of his youth, with the great, vague,
untried ideas of youngness, strove mightily to compass works of
wonder and awe, excited by competition and success. Com-
panion of devils, with the fearful experiences of long perverted
life, how wast thou suffered at all before Heaven? O vision
of shadowy cyclopean halls rising in their painted arrogance,
from pavements of crushed and dead flowers, echoing the crash-
ing minstrelsy that roared in blasphemy to the skies I O
splendid mortals whose dishonoured clay was all too beauteous
and worthy for such dreadful spirits, congregating in such
bravery of magnificence round thy fatal Chief, with attendant
trains and armed guards gorgeously apparelled 1 O splendour
of combination of subtle imagery and vast effect, where strain-
ing thoughts of ages sought to burst from all restraint and,
disappointed, rolled in monstrous sins !

Yet could I not go from my Love. Her eyes commanded
my soul, every action but drew me closer to her : her form
entranced me with the subtle beauty of its swelling curves and
the poetry of its every move, and the perception of her soft-
ness and lovliness enwrapped me in a charming fire from which
there was no escape. By her side I felt the sensation of a
vast emptiness that might be filled with marvels could I but
remove the awful incubus that held us back, which I know
was Sin.

I took her afar to where mountains rose in grandeur to the
skies, and bade her consider the work of the Creator in the

288

THE HEART OF THE WORLD,

yet untainted wilderness, where the golden sunlight bathed the
Earth in warm beauty, and butterflies flitted about, large with
their flashing wings. A wild dove flew into a vine overhead,
beneath which lay an ocelot, delicately licking its velvet paws
and washing its round face.

" It is beautiful, my lord," she said, with a sigh ; but I re-
proved her.

" Call me not thy lord, Beloved ; he is but thy lord who can
command thy heart. It is not I."

She looked quickly upon me. I laid my hand very gently
upon her head, and she caught it and clung to it.

"O pity me that I love another," she wept, "for of a truth
I love thee well, also. Thou knowest I love theel"

" Love that will not give up all is not love ; and, alas ! that
I love thee, for because that thou hast been preferred before
Heaven am I accursed ; and I, who love with the passion of
souls, cannot be satisfied, and burn in the fire that I have
lighted."

For a space she was silent, then she said very softly : " What
is love?"

"Thou askest 'What is love?'" I said; "love is an instinct,
which is to say a sensation of the spirit, my Beloved, not only
an enthusiasm of the mind born of contiguity. Love dreams
ever of its object, nor absence can dull it; because the spirit
is there. It is the mystery of amalgamation, the union that
begets life, and everything must love, for without it comes lust
and disorder. Hadst thou loved as I, perchance would it have
been well, but thou, not loving, shouldst not have suffered me ;
for also I have sinned in this thing, my Azta, and punishment
is upon us. Yet canst thou save thyself and me perchance,
and to this end I am minded to show thee what manner of
love thou bearest for another."

Her eyes blazed and her face lighted up — with what emotions
I knew not. " Show me more of thy great wisdom," she cried,
" and fill me with power that I may rule the land in wisdom
and raise it from its sin."

"Sweet Spirit," I cried with joy, "I would take thee to
where from the centre of the Thought of God spring in un-

289 19

ATI.ANTIS.

ending legions the sons of Life, running in ceaseless evolutions,
form within form, circle within circle, until the wheels of cre-
ation whirl in stupendous wonder, perfect in infinite detail,
marvellous in awful immensity ; in perfect order tending to their
great sire, simplicity of simplicity, complication of undreamed-of
complication, springing still from an atom until their innumer-
able legions people empyrean depths beyond thought to con-
ceive in magnificence of splendid immensity formed of perfec-
tion of detail. I would take thee to where burning worlds
revolve in seas of molten gold, as much greater to thine Earth
as itself is to the tiniest grain of sand upon it; to where Suns
roll in splendours of heavenly light unseen but of God and of
the Archangels, and where, in awful space, the thoughts lose
themselves and the spirit faints in terror. I would take thee
from North to South and East to West, farther than thy dreams
could whisper to thee, and show thee therein things that have
never been thought of by man, nor ever could be."

Thus spoke 1, vaunting; yet in my heart I feared to look
upon these and dared not participate in their love, for vanished
was the intensity of vision and the power of wing, and methinks
did I but encounter the glance of the Almighty I should fall,
blinded and helpless, being evil.

"O mighty!" cried Azta, "my soul yearns to know what
thou knowest and to see these wonders."

" O curious and desperate ! and O wonder that thou wouldst
make such demand of a lover to do that which would cause
direst misgivings should an offspring attempt! Verily, Love is
the child of admiration!"

"Wilt thou say me nay, my Lover" she asked, with such
pretty pleading as held me her slave.

"Come; thou shalt again see the Earth and know its mys-
teries which have never yet been known of Man, yet of the
love I bear thee it shall be revealed."

Now there was a vast gorge of black dread and unknown
depth which divided two mountains, and in which the winds
ever heaved as a stormy sea of air, with a great draught and
turbulence. Which same we traversed, and the Spirit of my
Love reeled in the embrace of a wild fervour of horror and

290

THE hf:art of the world.

delight, a dream of another Hfe, a fearful wish to look on for-
bidden things though worlds should fall before the sin of it.

The shade of Eve stood with hand outstretched against her
in warning, and bright things flashed across the path in bewild-
ering convolutions, mysterious and terrifying. An exalted fear
possessed her, an impious arrogance that rejoiced in its own
evil and raised her to the level of an Angel, exulting and
defiant.

Light and darkness and twilight covered the path, fearful
sensations of changing shadows. There was a cavernous place,
black and terrible, where the winds swept in roaring gusts that
now drew and now repelled, moaning and shrieking and eddying.
Nebulous wan bodies appeared and passed like phantasms of
a dream, dark streams as of lightning traversed the black amor-
phous place; and then came flashes of light, reflected glimmers
that tremulated awfully, while a draught of increasing potency
drew all towards it. The fitful lights grew stronger and more
vivid, and leaping from their striking-points seemed to ride down
the gusts of furious wind that sped like armies of shrieking
larvae from all directions, breaking in multicoloured blazes of
glory where the shattering echoes met.

Now there was a splendour of glowing light, and life leaped
with an almost overpowering intensity. Azta breathed not, yet
air pervaded her as though she were air itself. There opened
out a cavy chamber of colossal wonder and mystery, filled with
an intense glow that seemed to breathe and Hve. Blood-red
rivers flowed, bearing living things in their rushing currents,
vomiting subtle flames, and among which the winds mingled:
falling, returning, circling with a giddy rush and casting a re-
fulgent glow. A sound as of crashing wheels rolled in the
wake of fiery serpents, as though Seraphim rode in chariots of
thunder through the grandeur of the liquid furnace that lifted
its waves of horror in mountainous storms. Pulsating with awful
regularity, the circles of Life revolved and mingled with the
sound of a mighty tempest, dazzling and ineffably sublime in
majesty.

In the midst of the Wonder stood a Being, terrible beyond
all that Azta had seen, winged with falling cascades of quiver-

291

ATLxVNTIS.

ing and expanding fire. Like to the bright Vision she had
seen on the palace roof that had flashed from Heaven on the
swift lightning, this had the same animated features and super-
abundant life, and the glowing eyes burned with a wonder of
perception that was terrible to encounter. The nostrils, expand-
ed, exhaled pure flame, and around the whole figure was a light
of most subtle and most wondrous splendour. Never still for
an instant, the form undulated and swayed, clothed in that
transcendent light that enwrapped it as with a mantle, and about
its feet the swift lightnings flashed incessantly as the rosy waves
encircled it.

"Is it well, Asia?" thundered a voice. I answered not.
Azta gazed, terrified and exalted, yet feeling tiny beyond all
description and frightened at her own temerity, scarce daring
to lift her eyes. Hosts of flies assailed her, passing on in
swarms to the glory of light and perishing in the fiery Wonder
in a breath. She slapped at them, but if she hit one it vanish-
ed, and a new terror paralyzed her spirit, a horror of mystery. ^

"Whence come these swarming Spirits?" enquired the awful
voice, so stern and terrible that in my soul I trembled, and in
fright v\zta shuddered as the buzzing legions passed, A mighty
gust of wind appeared to seize her and sweep her towards the
glory, a nearly irresistible draught of living air, enveloping her
with a potential embrace. Voices roared and shrieked, and
terrible shapes rolled from the brightness and vanished around
her in giddy evolutions, as she struggled, incapable of speech.
Again came the fearful draught ot air, a mighty inrush that
absorbed her in itself, and in an agony of terror she fought
against it, the bright terrible waves rolling in their endless
pulsations at her very feet. In the intensity of her horror she
shrieked, echo on echo mocking her from whirlpool and wave
and whirling grandeur, and seized as by a strong arm she was
drawn backwards and away from the rolling thunder-wheels
of Life.

The glorious light waved and vanished and before her stretch-
ed a black immensity. Beneath yawned unknown depths peo-
pled by horrible forms that were swayed like clouds by the
roaring winds, torn, shattered, swirHng and eddying; a vast

292

MULTICOLOURED BLAZES OF GLORY WHERE THE SHATTERING ECHOES MET.

ATLANTIS.

and sudden change from the grandeur of light to a fearful
world of gray shadows rolling in sickening coils as serpents
of huge size, or displayed as appearing and vanishing larvae.
Nameless Things of horror gazed upon us, and there were
dreadful sounds as of one who would speak yet is not able
to ; and ever the wild winds moaned and swept past in their
rushing courses.

There appeared a little baby, soft and beautiful, that gazed
with its fearless eyes upon the Horror, and Azta would fain
have gathered it to her bosom ; but a loathly form enveloped
it and it was no more; but in its place was a great skull, and in
and out of the hollow eyes crawled a worm of fire with a
devil's head. From all the great spaces, borne on the winds,
came the sound of a weird laugh, that echoed and reechoed in
a myriad mocking cries from where the seas of air dashed
in resounding billows upon unknown boundaries. Lighter grew
the waves of shadow, as, rising in adamantine splendour from
darkness to darkness, appeared columns and vaulted roofs stretch- '
ing in gloomy awe beyond perception. Azta cried out as she
perceived these to be formed of the bones and skulls of men,
cemented with blood, in vast number, building a palace of
heroic size. In the midst rose a throne of dark adamant and upon
it rested a cloud, and I may not tell the horror of perception
that swept over us twain as, unaware, we stood within the
C()lumn(,'d hall of darkness athrob with a dire, intangible life
emanating from every atom.

Upon my thigh hung a sword, yet it was as weighty lead,
and my thoughts and wishes were as the gauzy meshes of an
hearth-Spirit's wing soaked and weighted with mire in the presence
of that Evil that was yet pure, and not beastly as of Earth.
Hut indignation raised me, and scorn that I might perchance
have sunk unknowingly to such depths where Lust dared not
face Evil, and turning, I took my Love and we went forth through
passage, hall and columned terrace overlooking places of fire.

"Now behold," I said, "my dear Love, after what fashion
thou lovest, for here will I show thee one who will enlighten thee."

And a small cloud .nrose from the place of fire, floating slowly
upward and growing darker, shaped like an egg. Azta watched

294

THE HEART OF THE WORLD.

with parted lips and white face, her glorious beauty more etherial
than aught of wholly mortal could be, as the vapoury wonder
rose and grew large in the lurid atmosphere. It burst and there
stood revealed a beautiful woman of majesty nigh unto herself,
and very wondrous as she stood in quivering light before us.
It was that Atlace, bride of Tekthah, who, in evil compliance
to Leira, had cheated her lord and wrought confusion. Of a
truth, beautiful she was, a very Queen of Hell ; and small wonder
that Angels should stoop to crave the regards of such!

" Behold the mother of Huitza ! " I cried, " and thy mother 1 "

"My mother!"

"The same!"

Azta reeled for a moment and placed her hands to her heart.
Then she laughed, a little mocking laugh with a note of triumph
and challenge in it, and in despair and rage I cast the flashing
lightning upon the Shade and by a whirlwind conveyed my
abandoned Love from the place.

■ i:

295

CAP. XX.

THE THRONE OF ATLANTIS.

Woman, how unfitted art thou for government! Either too
severe or too melting tender, never consistent or inflexible, ever
biassed or impulsive. And thou, Azta, for whom I gave up
all, thou woman of women, hast dragged down the Heavens in
judgment upon thee and upon me. Wonder of Love, that
can work such evil ! And for my love to thee and thine to
another hath it come that Sin is enthroned greater than all the
times before; and woe is me!

What madness caused the both of us to love one who regarded
us not in full measure, nor striving after an impossible goal
could see the dire results of force? Can one kindle flame from
iron, or will it do aught but glow with heat in the furnace
itself? Would one strive to cause the leaping flames to burst in
splendour from such until it were consumed ? Nathless we strive
to breed a love where no love is, and groan in pain and astonish-
ment that we never succeed ; and, mystery of God ! I who knew
this yet strove !

And Azta now, unrestrained by awe or reverence, took on
a great arrogance and dismayed all by her supernatural bearing
and the wonder of her surroundings. To me she manifested a
wild, clinging passion, appearing as though she would kill the
old love by her violent will ; and I, disappointed and dismayed,
yet loving her for her protestations of love to me, waited in
uneasy horror and indolent dalliance, compelled to remain as
a ship that has lost it rudder and all guidance, lying helpless
and water-logged. All day long in those wicked halls, and
indeed, most of the night, arose the sounds of music and revelling,
where fair wantons danced to the sound of drum and whistle
for the amusement of their licentious masters, whom they were

296

THE THRONE OF ATLANTIS.

interested in serving for hope of advancements. The queen levie
had been taken from among such by reason of her beauty;
and as dancing-girls were always greatly sought after, many pretty
children were stolen to be early instructed, and girls of more
mature age also.

It became a part of every-day life and none gave any
thought to such acts ; and Azta, like a being of two worlds,
lived in an exalted atmosphere and was ministered to by many
dreadful rites that pertained not to Earth. She greatly favoured
the magicians, showing them out of arrogance many new
things; so that a very daring knowledge sprang up among the
people, who were overwhelmed by the glory and wonder of the
Capital.

She caused the pyramid which was the tomb of Atlace to
be wondrously converted into a temple, maintaining a retinue
of priestesses and surpassing Zul in mystery and grandeur, being
surrounded by a colonnade at the corners of which four tall
pylons sent the smoke of their fires to Heaven, while a four-
sided symbol of the love of Night and Neptsis crowned the
pyramid itself. And ever went on the reeking sins of Zul
where dark Amaziel offered human victims to the elements in
dread insolence, where human hearts smoked on the abominable
altars and the anguished groans of victims rose to the observant
Heaven in the column of undying flame. And less guilty was
the idolatrous worship of the lower peoples than the worship
of untold things in the red palace, where Heaven-born Toltiah
lay in wantonness and infamous adultery and corrupted still
more the nobles and wealthy citizens, from whose luxurious
mansions arose the wail of many an abducted maiden or the
swiftly-silenced shriek of a mistress whose wantonness was suddenly
cut short by a sudden death.

All in vain were the exhortations and rebukes of Noah, who
perceived his charge, from whom he had hoped so much, leading
the nation still farther astray. Also was his heart fearful for
his own sons, who lived in their palaces and attended at court,
lest they might fall before the many temptations by which they
were surrounded. Angry and dismayed, he spake boldly, threaten-
ing the judgment of Heaven upon the palace and upon the

297

ATLANTIS.

accursed pile whose fire blazed to the glorification of Sin and
whose priests encouraged the people in their evil. The brazen
challenge of this den of corruption would reach the Throne of
God — from the midnight Market-place, where nude debauchees
whirled in drunken dances round the bonfire-illuminated idols
that shamed them by at least their silence — from the Circus, where
holocausts and obscene plays held weary audiences enwrapped
for awhile and lent fresh ideas — from the temples, where awful
mysteries were unfolded to the lewd minds of blasphemous
schemers who dared to mingle them with rites of Earth — from
the battlements, where innocent blood removed traces of a night's
revels and would-be avengers dared utter no complaint — from
the Imperial palace, where kidnapped girls were forced to minister
to the lusts of a ruler whose sin was increased by the splendour
of his birth, and whose dire example, untempered by any
interference, dragged the fallen to deeper depths — from the whole
land. where Sin bowed its scarlet head in undreamed-of oceans
of drunkenness and scarce had strength to wish for more.

Scarce with his life had the patriarch escaped his temerity
save but for the helplessness of his audience ; but he was laughed
to scorn, and Toltiah, in merry mood, laughed loudest of all,
shouting that the old man was becoming a child, and hurling
all manner of insults upon him. And I feared for the gray-
beard, for I knew Nezca was scheming against him, and only
for that he was loved of Heaven had he escaped thus far.

For myself, my revelation of Atlace to Azta, which had not
checked her love, but made of it a sin by knowledge, recoiled
ui)on myself; for half she believed myself to be her father; as,
loving her, I should also have loved Atlace for such great
resemblance. And, 1 luitza being my son, I should seek to perpet-
uate him in such manner, which was confusion and abomination
and brought such punishment.

Thus she verily believed Toltiah to be Huitza, and in apathetic
misery I had to endure the judgment of Heaven upon my choice
and weakness, which caused as much awful sin. For Azta,
unabashed, looked upon him as a lover and at times wished
to rid him of his brutal indifference and roughness, grieving
that he loved her not nor was in a trifle tender ; and, wielding

298

THE THRONE OF ATLANTIS.

the supreme power, and that power being as wrongfully applied,
could wonder be that the land sank into a horror of sin ! None
dared cross her path, for her guards were ever with her, the
tall women-warriors who could fight on equal terms with men.
For now it was with respect that the people watched them as
they stalked proudly through the city with their great axes
beneath the wolf-skin shields, splendid Marisa not deigning to
notice the populace, despising their manners and softness of
living.

With unavaiHng passion Toltiah pressed his suit to her, yet
now to Azta's jealousy. The Amazon, beyond her personal
attractions, however, gave her no cause for complaint, but
became restless; for, as most of her warriors, tiring of a life
that had no attractions, she wished to depart. Soon they would
set forth, when certain schemes for passing without hindrance
should be ready, and the city could revel and dance as it
pleased and sigh to its mistresses in cushioned halls and on
the floating gardens swinging at anchor upon their huge rafts,
by which also lay the useless warships, turned into floating
palaces.

Yet to the people those days of pleasant, unchecked evil were
not without cares, for rumours of frontier raids and massacres
reached as far as the capital, and a startling appearance of a
new and terrible people aroused the languid interest for a while.
These raiders were described as a combination of horse and
man, fearful to look upon, swift and reckless, and, it seemed to
the people, a living prototype of the stone and wooden mockeries
that their debased minds had created. But so far from dealing
leniently with those who might be supposed to worship them,
these equine beings carried deadly warfare into their midst,
murdering men and children and taking away the women with
the same desires as any of themselves, and it was this touch
of human nature that alleviated the first superstitious fear that
the report of their appearance caused. The only places that
they respected were the cities, for they feared the high walls,
and fortified places were believed to be safe from their attacks ;
yet the people were terrified by them, not comprehending them
nor agreeing as to their appearance, but it was said that they

299

ATLANTIS.

were dreadful to look upon as they sped like a storm across
the plains, enveloped in rolling smoke that hung on their demon
squadrons in clouds. From the dark womb of Mount Axatlan
they came to carry desolation over the land, while in sympathy
with this myriad-membered birth the great cone became more
violent, and the reports of the dull fury of the fires rolling in
a dark red column of dread in the night aroused uneasiness.
All over the land the debauched people would be terrified into
sobriety by a movement of the earth, that heaved with a sickening
movement as though a monster wave ran beneath it. These
movements increased, and one night in Zul the idols were shaken
down and the people cried out with terror; yet there were
never wanting many who feared neither god nor man, to jest
at the fallen state of the carven abortions, and, plucking them
by the limbs, raise them in their great arms in mockery to
the sky; so that the people, perceiving no sudden death to
fall upon these sacrilegious ones, gathered heart and continued
as wickedly as before. And there were some among the
merchants who bred degraded people for the sacrifices, herding
them with the lower animals ; others who reared large-bodied
slaves for the Circus, and hybrid creatures of great size and
strength.

To attract the nobles Azta held many brilliant gatherings in
the Hall of the Throne, compeUing homage to be rendered to
herself and Toltiah from the wish of perceiving a vast concourse
to bow the knee ; and her proud bosom heaved with joy as
mighty chieftains and princes and superb ladies swept in between
the huge lions and bent low in reverence upon the golden step
of the first terrace. Between the dark columns and braziers the
minstrelsy crashed, as right and left the crowds spread from
the throne, blazing in armour of jewels and flashing weapons,
their brilliant galaxies crowned by tiaras and helmets, nodding
plumes of ostrich and flamingo, and the gorgeous feathers of
the peacock. Which last, although aforetimes counted of ill-
omen, was now greatly prized in daring challenge to evil powers,
notwithstanding its significance.

Toltiah, giving full sway to every lust, and full of arrogance,
caused blue stones to be set in his teeth and wore huge gems

300

THE THRONE OF ATLANTIS.

and gold dust in his hair, sitting like a dark king of the lower
world above the awed crowds, upon which he gazed with a
dreadful sarcasm, jealous at any preference being granted to
Azta. Furious at any restraint, vain and debased, he always
held the orbed sceptre ; but Azta was the one who commanded
real obeisance. From her yellow flamy hair a halo of light
appeared to scintillate, pale and mysterious, while ever in her
stormy eyes the sombre lightnings lay, as her gaze wandered
indolently over the splendid throngs, awed to a certain extent,
yet encouraged by their mighty rulers. But towards Toltiah
there spread a feeling of disgust save when his splendid presence
compelled respect and admiration ; for his godlike stature was
in truth beautiful with its vast proportions as softly rounded as
a woman's. Yet not alone was he a thing of awe, for there were
also many among the nobles of Celestial descent, which ones did
not scruple to commit the most terrible excesses and were the
most fertile in magic, teaching arts to their mistresses and showing
the meaning of the watery larvae which came from the Sun and
Moon — misty embryos of fertilizing potency which dwelt in mois-
ture. Also conjointures of animals and plants, whereby galls were
formed ; of the pregnancy of clouds and the mystery of Amal-
gamation; of the power of Heavenly bodies upon rocky parts
of Earth from which were born precious metals and gemmy
bodies and foetal Things that sprang forth from the womb of
Earth in the dark upward flashes of lightning. And the Demons
which dwelt among them for the satisfaction of their earthly
lusts excitated perfumes which encouraged madness in their
mistresses and the propagation of strange memories and clear
vision, using also to the same end very subtle chords of mystic
music ; so that there was no end to their wickedness or to the
increasing sin of Man, whom the most extraordinary ideas
possessed, (having all he could wish for).

The people esteemed • themselves gods, believing themselves
to be invincible, and greatly encouraged by their rulers. This
Huitza had returned from the regions of Death, and Amaziel
preached that none could die but for a space, while he brought
forth Mah in the person of a slave-dealer whose mistresses
spread knowledge of confusion far and wide. A wild idea

301

ATLANTIS.

occurred to many that they should turn and reenter that land
of T^den x whence their race had been expelled; the couch of
the bright Sun, from which he arose each day to smile upon
them, and to which he would surely welcome Azta, his beloved.

X According to n plausible theory jnU forward by a distinguished Egyptologist
some years ago, the territory of Eden, of which the '• garden " formed but a por-
tion, is identified with the great watershed of Central Africa; where the immense plateau
of a most remarkaljle river system, quadruple in form by the Zambesi, Niger, Bahr-el-
(Ihazal. and Congo, has its parallel in no other portion of the globe. Three of
the greatest naturalists of our time, Darwin. Wallace and Broca. have all suggested
Africa as the prol)able birthplace of the human race. It is indeed a wonderful
lanil : there was ilie great empire of Egypt, there the longest river of the world,
tliere the largest examples of life. The elephant, the giraffe, rhinoceros, gorilla,
chim|>anzee. lion, leopard, camel, buffalo, ostrich, antelope, all are the largest of
their species: and there are also the ordinary examples in the zebra and all kinds
of birds, as well as some to be found nowhere else, as the gnu.

CAP. XXI.

THE DEAFNESS OF THE NATION.

Still afar Axatlan belched flames and equine devils, and
rivers of boiling pitch and flying hordes of supernatural raiders
terrified the people; yet heedless of the woes of their coun-
trymen, those of Zul ate, drank and blasphemed, licentious and
unbridled in their madness, toasting their mistresses on the
altars of the temples and worshipping images of them with
obscene rites.

The sons of Noah looked with a mixture of feelings on the
conduct of Toltiah, who had ever been as a younger brother
to them, instructed by them in everything from the time he
was a small child; and now they had to bow before him and
suffer condescension and hard words and sneers, which became
unendurable. Shem was the most moderate in his ideas, but
Ham beat upon his deep chest with his fists and murmured
rebelliously, and Japheth dreamed in like wise.

The people hated these in their hearts, yet, because of their
power, bowed before their nodding plumes as they stalked
through them in their unimpaired manhood. Tall and goodly
men were they, with bold bright eyes that never dropped for
shame of aught they had committed, the only sober ones in a
foul nest of revelry upon which they looked with disfavour,
never having soiled their souls with its awful wickedness.

Now Ham had designed a great bath to be built in the
city, upon the hill near by the palace, which would be filled
from the reservoirs of water near the temple of Zul that sup-
plied the smaller reservoirs on the terraces; and for this work
numbers of slaves were employed, huge blocks of stones being
piled up for the building. And the deep excavations revealed
a mass of curious skulls and bones, that Ham delivered up to

303

ATLANTIS.

Shcni, which one, studious and thoughtful, bent long over with
Noali, scrutinising and hazarding guesses as to their origin.
No such remains could belong to any peoples they knew of,
and the mode of sepulture was executed in deep and careful
style ; while, most interesting of all, were curiously graven
stones laid there.

For long they observed them, asking themselves were they
Divine histories of the past ages or individual biographies.
Not yet could they understand the stories, believing them to
be of the first man of their race, or even of the progress of
Celestial beings, the birth of Heaven and of the worlds, the
first inspiration of the creation of the Earth.

Susi, lost in dreams, clasped her hands in visionary contem-
plation. To her pure mind arose the figures of angels working
with care the pictured records of a young world that her
imagination presented to her as very bright and fair. She of
all her family loved best the contemplation of that God to whom
the sire directed their minds, and it was with the most disinter-
ested sorrow that she perceived her Imperial foster-brother's
manner of ruling the people over whom he was set as king,
and was secretly terrified by his increasing regards for herself.
For, satisfied, and desirous of something new, the unnatural
libertine oft looked lustfully upon her, enraged that she should
scorn his embraces. Nor would he have hesitated to gratify
his passion but for the fear of the patriarch, whom also to an
extent the people revered.

Yet perhaps more than for this one Susi grieved for Azta,
the Queen-mother, the wonderful woman who could influence
for so much good and who appeared to her to be so de-
sperately wicked ; and as she sat and looked upon the palmy
gardens, drinking with her eyes the sun-lights in the atmos-
phere, a shy thought arose in her mind of making an appeal
to her and striving to influence her towards reformation before
the vengeance of Heaven should sweep the nation from the
Earth and only their records should be found, telling, like those
early gravings perchance, of creation, rebellion and its punish-
ment— death.

The project of returning to Eden began to take root in the

304

THE DEAt-NESS OF THE NATION.

minds of all, terrified by the burning mountain and of other
hills that arose and vomited flames. Toltiah gave much thought
to it, his temper becoming morose and savage as gleamings
of something terrible about to happen made him plunge yet
more desperately into evil instead of curbing him ; for with in-
tuitions hereditary he dimly perceived the intoxicating inward-
ness of things. Urged on by pride and fear he listened to mad
schemes propounded by Nezca, and oft consulted Amaziel ;
having his ideas greatly strengthened thereby, as also by the
magician Gorgia.

The schemes grew, as imaginations, more and more inflamed
by the wildest stories and conjectures, pictured its fulfilment.
Toltiah, flushed with wine and excesses, dreamed with visions
of a greater grandeur and vaster enjoyment than Atlantis could
give, newer and more glorious ; and inflamed by Gorgia he
perceived the Tree of Life whose fruit is Immortality.

Reclining in all the bravery of gold and gems, dreadful by
reason of his appearance and the blue stones in his teeth, at
the evening meal, in the midst of his favorites and voluptuous
queens with their heavy hips and great eyes like antelopes', he
bethought him of Noah and of the wisdom that he had, and
sent him an urgent message to appear before him. And when
the patriarch came, grand in his rugged godliness, (yet not
being great of stature), the young man insolently demanded of
him as to what he knew of such country, and concerning how
they might obtain possession of it, being terrified by the earth-
quakes and rumours of the wrath of the volcanoes.

And looking around upon the wanton assembly and the
obscene imageries upon the walls, the patriarch was vexed.

" I know not of such place," he said, " neither would it become
Man to strive to force that which God hath closed against him,"

Toltiah laughed scornfully, handing his pipe to the bearer,
that he might the better converse. " Old father," quoth he,
"thy gray hairs cover a cautious brain. Do not the wise ones
tell of a Tree of Life, which, being possessed of, how can aught
hurt us? There is our birthright, old one, and who more fit
to lead the warriors of Atlantis than 1 1 What when I reign
thence — thou shalt see!"

305 20

ATLANTIS.

A great shouting answered him, and loud laughter. And
the spirit of a great wrath shook the patriarch, so that he raised
his voice boldly.

"O inexperienced!" he cried, " darest thou disregard the
doom of banishment which was pronounced by God for the
disobedience of His Word? A greater vengeance shall befall
for a worse continuation of the same sin ; and perchance wouldst
thou find that Eden to be of Heaven and not of the Earth,
and the revolving sword of fire to be the Gate of Memory
through which none may enter, being banished. Enough there
is for thee to perform as leader of the God-created race, to
direct them back into the path from which they have wickedly
strayed. And look thou well into thyself. Ruler of Atlantis,
for thou hast sinned in that, having the chief power, thou hast
raised the rebellious head to Heaven and would presume to
strive with the Almighty, which is the Creator of all. Worst
of all hast thou sinned, seeing that not only hast thou com-
mitted evil in thyself, but hast caused a nation to err; and as
fungus spreads upon a tree so has deadly sin spread upon the
land and soon will there be nought but weeping and death 1"

The words caused a great commotion among all, yet before
a hand could be raised against him the patriarch turned with a
commanding gesture to the company.

"Ye lords and ladies," he cried in a thrilling voice, "now
shall your blindness recoil in confusion upon your heads because
of your readiness to follow Evil under a disguise. For behold,
this one, your ruler, is not Huitza, but a monster, which is
neither a man nor a woman, whom therefore ye ignorantly
declare a god, yet born of woman even as all of you are born, who
hath conspired to lead you astray, too willing to follow. For
Huitza is dead and shall so remain, and this Toltiah is born
of Azta, in manner common to all mankind, and wickedly imposes
upon your too compliant minds. To me he came, helpless and
a fugitive, upon the day when Tekthah died, and had I known
what devil's spawn lay beneath my hand, that day had he
died also! "

A gasp of astonishment passed round the crowd, lying as
petrified. The fan-bearers moved backward the heavy windy

306

The deafness of the natIoN.

fans as Toltiah, rousing as a tiger, cried to the guards to seize
the daring man ; aad then had it fared ill for the patriarch but
that by his side suddenly appeared a shining figure of dreadful
majesty, having within his hand a drawn sword of fire. And
the Name by which he appeared was Arsayalalyur, Angel of
the Wrath of God. A sudden great gloom fell over all, and
when it had passed Noah had gone, and likewise his sons with
him ; neither could they be found by the swift ones sent after
them, nor was any vestige of them to be found.

And a wonderment sat upon the hearts of the people because
of this and of his words, yet so abandoned were they and so
shameless that it passed and nought remained of it in remembrance.

And Azta lay by me in her arbour, dreaming wild dreams
and smiling with satisfied desire as I caressed her in my arms.

" Thou dost not look so like Heaven as when we first met,
my Asia," she said, with a little sorrow in her voice ; and with
a sad reproach I kissed her lips, yet feeling in my heart that
I sinned, she loving another. And such another!

"Methinks thy love is waning," she murmured, her hot breath
intoxicating my senses, subdued by the restful sighing of the
waves and the tinkle of the nightingale-wooed fountains.

"Ah, say not sol" I cried in passion, "never did I love thee
more, my dearest Love!" For very dear to all hearts is that
which causes pain and sorrow in the sweet nurture, and greater joy
is there in Heaven over a sinner forgiven than over the just,
for he hath caused much sorrow.

" Beloved, I doubt thee not," she whispered, seeing my passion ;
" beautiful that thou art, how could I ? Yet is a woman's heart
ever anxious, my Asia, and love is as water to a flower."

Sighing softly, she lay in my arms, looking forth over the
sea that lay calm and motionless as a lake of silver under the
full moon. So bright it was that every ripple could be seen,
and afar it stretched to where the dark veily sky met the line
of the horizon, clear and lovely. Full of the soft beauty of the
scene we gazed, full of the mystery of the quietness that seemed
to hang above the Earth, pregnant with a great significance.
A voice was in the silence, and an accumulating soft thrill of
electricity ; and slowly, far out at sea, a vast body rose where

307

ATLANTIS.

a monster of the great deeps protruded his length above the
wave and rolled over, the water swirling and sucking down
the immense thing as it wallowed, and spreading over the calm
expanse in glittering wavelets and hoops of light. Over on the
horizon a rolling sound was audible, echoing from north to
south, and the placid water tremulated as though the earth
beneath it had shivered. It was an awful phenomenon ; the deep
rumbling, faint but vast, appearing to shake the sea to its lowest
depths; and suddenly a long low wave broke on the shore in
a rush of creamy foam.

Shouts arose, and the masts of shipping rolled in circles against
the sky, while a storm of flapping wings told of seabirds dis-
turbed from their rocks and holders amid the refuse of the harbour.

Azta nestled closely to me, and I felt her gracious form tremble
in my embrace. I also trembled, for I perceived in the dark
Heavens that which she could not see; yet I felt the thrill of
the fair woman's glorious beauty, more lovely in her abandon-
ment because so unconscious. Mine was the joy of the splendidly
rounded limbs, the beauty of the full round breasts that heaved
so tumultuously upon her swelling bosom, spreading in its white
glory to the throbbing ivory-tinted neck, as a column rising from
a garden of lotus-flowers ; and in the midst of that mystic fear
I was nigh absorbed in delighted contemplation of her plump
beauty, my eyes feasting themselves on the perfection of the
luxuriously rounded curves, in all the beauty of defined outline,
on the tinted pallor of her cheeks surrounded by the flamy
masses of hair, with the bewitchment of the shaded little soft
lines and dimples; and the thriUing pressure of her soft moist
palm appealing to my power filled my soul with ecstasy. I,
pressed her closely to my bosom in a warm tender embrace
but a terrible fear lay like a pall over my heart at what I saw
and knew. Azta hid her head on my breast ; did she, too, perceive ?

Above waved the flame on Zul, yet it burned lower than
was its wont, and the other fires flickered all over the city. A
noise was abroad, an uneasy sound of moving crowds in com-
motion, above which arose an occasional whoop or shout.

"What means this?" whispered my Love, fearfully, turning
her dilating eyes upon me, luminous in the twilight of the night.

308

SUDDENLY A LONG, LOW WAVE BROKE ON THE SHORE.

ATLANTIS.

"I know not, Beloved," I answered; "yet suffer me to take
from thine hair the moulded pin, for it is wrongful in the sight
of Heaven."

She suffered me meekly. It was but an emblem of what
she worshipped without being greatly moved, and I cast it afar
so that it dropped into the sea.

There were sounds of conflict at the main port of the city,
but they ceased as the first dawn of day began to appear ; and
as the fire- tower of Zul flashed into light the drum rolled its
reverberating echoes like thunder from the skies, reassuring and
emboldening. Reechoed from the other temples, from Neptsis,
the Moon, and a score of others, the sounds aroused the whole
city, awakening such as slept.

Rut few attended the services, for on all hearts the feeling
of superstitious dread mocked the futility of hypocritical cere-
monies. Unrest was in the atmosphere, and all believed the demons
from Axatlan to be the spell-workers ; the fear of their rumour
now increased by another, concerning a vast lurid cloud that «
hung above the burning mountain.

In the palace Toltiah lay bound and ashamed, a hindered
interloper, in Marisa's apartments. The Queen had gone with
her warriors, passing through the city and away by force of
arms. Her armlet glittered on Toltiah's wrist, a token and a
keepsake, and her mighty axe had lain by his head all night,
significant of what could have been done.

By the waterway the shipping was in confusion, the warships,
with dragged anchors, grinding their sides in the midst of skiffs
and ruined raft-gardens. The beach was strewn with a ghastly
line of skeletons and bones, among which two or three large
sharks, not yet dead, lay grounded and monstrous; while above
the waves the Fish-god was leaning dangerously, with the arm
that held the model of the Tacoatlanta lying, with its burden,
in pieces at its feet.

Later, an overpowering stench drew crowds to witness a
marine mass that lay among some half-submerged rocks. It
was a poulp of enormous size, the grisly tentacles waving in
the water as it heaved, scaring the birds that had settled on
it to cat out its great saucer-like eyes with their oblong pupils.

310

THE DEAFNESS OF THE NATION.

Eels and serpents ravened the musky flesh, leaping to reach to
where, from the gaping mandibles, hung the body of a woman
with lank trailing hair, and features on which a dreadful doom
had placed its mark, having been cast to the sea after some
brutal festival, as useless, or that no after vengeance should
befall through her. It was a sickening sight where the writhing
creatures fought, giant congers barking as they plunged their
thick bodies up through the tangle to tear at that white flesh,
pressing back the elegant serpents that sculled with flattened
tails and wriggled in the mass where the limp figure lay on
that dread couch in all the beauty of its lissom curves ; mute
witness of Earth's violence, an unheeded warning of the vengeance
of Heaven.

311

CAP. XXII.

SUSI.

Yet Susi, the wife of Shem, coming as a last warning from
Heaven, returned to the Imperial palace to obtain an audience
of Azta.

Unopposed she climbed the flights of red steps guarded by
the andro-sphinxes, and beneath the shadow of one she turned
and gazed slowly around over the pleasant gardens, perceiving
with fear a subterranean conflict shake the sartreels. Led by
her righteous instinct the fair woman entered the portals of the
first pylon, nor heeded the colossi that appeared to gaze in-^
tently upon her, nor the gaudy frescoes. Through courts and
galleries, columned, vaulted and of stupendous gorgeousness,
the soft footfall echoed, not causing to cease the songs of
caged birds, nor disturbing gentle domestic animals. Up flights
of steps flanked by flowery colonnades and shadowed by beautiful
arches echoing the ripple of fountains, she went with a sweet
gravity, her face, as that of an angel, full of an inspired lovliness.

As I reclined by Azta, striving to subdue her heart that it
might be impressionable, the woman entered without hindrance,
and as I gazed upon her beautiful features a great wave of holy
enthusiasm swept over me.

Yet her regards went out to Azta, tall, serene and glorious,
reclining on a couch of ostrich-feathers, who turned her mystic
eyes and pale, immovable features upon the sweet, shy woman
so suddenly and unwarned confronting her in all her fresh
young lovliness, looking, with her pure countenance, of a most
etherial beauty. It was not the first time Azta had seen her
closely, yet she started faintly as she observed the expression
in her face, while Susi's blue eyes looked as though fascinated
into her yellow orbs, and dilated largely.

312

SUSI.

Azta suffered her long lashes to fall slowly, willing to exer-
cise her charms and desirous of admiration with a longing that
was the passion of her soul, although perchance she knew it
not. Even from this one she desired homage, and indeed,
obtained it. To Susi she appeared the most wonderful being
that she had ever seen, and beautiful beyond all that report
had said of her ; nor less the apartment, with its mirrors and
furniture, heightened her majestic personality and spread a
sublime spell about her.

Dropping her blue eyes, thereby causing it to appear as
though the sunlight had gone from two bright lakes, Susi made
obeisance; and by her lissom grace created a more tender
feehng, removing the sensation of hauteur to one whose family
held so aloof from royal and popular failings and thereby con-
veying a reproach (to Azta).

" And who is this that would seek an audience in such sudden
wise?" asked the Empress, with so gracious an intonation and
yet with some astonished arrogance in it that the young woman
looked up swiftly, feeling the temper of her mistress with sen-
sitive intuition.

" I am Susi, the wife of Shem," she said modestly, in a
voice so sweet and musical that, with the memories of past
indebtedness, Azta's heart went out to her with a great friend-
ship, so that her manner was singularly tender as she hastened to
convey her feelings to the shy petitioner and set her at ease.

"Sit on my footstool," she said, smiling upon her with the
flash of red rubies; "in my apartments thou mayest suffer all
restraint to vanish; for see, I am a woman also as thyself ; fear
not to speak that which is in thy heart, sweetest of our subjects."

"Mighty Azta," Susi answered, "gracious is thy speech, for
who could help but fear thee! and of a truth, I fear greatly.
Yet suffer me to kneel at thy feet; and be kind to me, for it
is a great matter of which I would speak ; neither am I as
thou art, nor is my woman's heart braver than belongs to our
sex in this thing."

Now Azta was disturbed, believing it had something to do
with Toltiah in some fashion, and restless until she should know
what it was.

ATLANTIS.

"Nay, nay, child!" she said swiftly. "I have told thee that
I am a woman too, with a woman's heart, and I will help
thee. Is it of some false beloved that thou wouldst speak?
Confide in me, sweet one, I will help thee."

Susi's face flushed a rosy red of embarrassment and annoyance.

" Ah nay 1 " she said, " I love but one man and have never
suffered any but my lord ! " At which words Azta loved her
yet the more, looking upon her very softly and wistfully in
silence for a short space.

"Speak on, fair one, after what fashion thou wilt," she said;
and then, happening to cast her eyes upon me and observing
with how much attention I gazed on Susi, a petulance fell upon
her and a hardening of the heart.

Susi cast her eyes around, now upon the walls, now upon
the ceiling. Half she started, then halted, and, blushing deeply,
fell into tears. The feeling that it was presumptuous for her
to correct so great a one, her superior in age and estate, nearly
overcame her. But before Azta, sullen and jealous, could offer,
her tardy encouragement, a song-bird of surpassing beauty flew
into the room and warbled wondrously.

Looking steadfastly upon it, the rosy woman seemed to gather
within herself inspiration and courage, and a majesty that was
impressive gathered about her as, raising her starry eyes to
Heaven, she drew herself up like a prophetess, her sweet young
face setting solemnly and firmly and her body tense and straight.

One glance she gave to me, so full of sad reproach and ad-
monition that my soul melted within me ; and then in a voice
measured and beautiful she spoke as though rehearsing from a
document; and although at first her dark fringy lashes quivered,
soon even this sign of weakness passed, and she spoke as an
Angel.

"O Queen," she said, "when the first forefathers of our race
were created, the Lord Jehovah gave to them the gift of Life
immortal, placing them higher in rank than the bright sons of
Heaven ; and unto them was created Woman, which being of
more spiritual mould might lead the soul of Man without straying.
And, as the teachers know, this one disobeyed the command
of the Creator and did that which was unseemly in the sight

314

SUSI.

of Heaven, in that she came to know more than was ordained
for her to know, not possessing government to withstand such
knowledge. The which, with an immortal existence, would have
wrought confusion ; and for this prevention the gift of Life was
greatly decreased ; and while forgetfulness was bestowed upon
each one, that experience would have to be begun afresh,
punishment fell also upon the evil doers, of such sort as to
hinder too great sin and render painful that which was necessary.
Desire supplanted Love, and, as the rose, tore the hand that
plucked it ; yet man preferred the pleasures of Earth to those
of Heaven, nor did woman aid his soul longer ; for, falling, and
of more spiritual mould, she fell deeper than he, for the greater
the height the greater also the fall. And it is told of sin in-
creasing and growing more abominable and evil, for to aid the
forbidden knowledge of Earth does Woman suffer the sons of
Heaven to approach her, pulling the ruin of Evil still deeper
over herself, and them also."

Azta's bosom heaved and an angry light gathered in her
eyes ; but she was silent, not knowing by what power Susi
spoke, and being greatly impressed by her utterance.

" And these were souls with which she played," continued the in-
spired voice, " and with the same fatal spirit that caused the first
sin, she cast them aside for others, that she might know them
also. And moral Man was as wax in her hands, and physical
Man in poor avenge enslaved her body by force to compel her
to his will in this. And she bore offspring to celestial lovers,
which by reason of sin and being of finer mould sinned yet more
deeply, until Mankind becomes an eyesore and a menace to
Heaven."

"Stop!" cried Azta in a terrible voice, not being able to
support such things being put before her in set speech. " To
what end is this?" she said in an insufferable voice; yet Susi
quailed not.

"Thou askest. To what end?" she cried, with splendid fire,
her brave blue eyes meeting Azta's unflinchingly now, and the
high beauty of an Angel in her face. " Hearken ! Thou art the
ruler of Atlantis, strong in thy power and the wonder of thy
presence ; thou, O Queen, canst cause the sin of the land to

315

ATLANTIS.

cease. By a woman came death ; by a woman can come redemp-
tion. Ay," she cried, in a thrilling voice, " by a woman redemp-
tion will come 1 To Woman shall it be to conceive the lovliest
Thing of Earth, to know it and believe in it so strongly that it
shall come forth, Love Undying, in the time appointed ; pregnant
with the renewed gift of Life immortal to conquer Sin and Death
and lead back Man to the old worship. Mediator between God
and Man shall Woman be, Medium of Heaven and Earth, body
of Man and soul of Angel 1"

Her arms were raised, and her eyes, marvellously beautiful,
seemed to pierce the sky. She appeared not to breathe, and
a subtle light surrounded her and kissed her red lips into a
divine smile of rapture and prophecy, as she stood scarce resting
upon her feet.

Azta gazed half in fear, yet the poison of jealousy of her
fair teacher cooled any enthusiasm, and she but felt angered
that such should reproach her who had seen the hidden things
and was so great and powerful. Therefore she said coldly,.
" Thou art presumptuous."

" Forgive me, my Queen," said Susi, with majestic dignity,
"if my words are unpalatable; I do but speak with the voice
of the Spirit within me, and willingly would I lay down my
life for thine honorable promise of reformation."

"Child!" cried the lady, leaning forward, impatient and
annoyed, "thou hast said enough. Now gol"

Susi looked at her with her beautiful eyes full of sorrow,
and with a bitter cry of grief slowly sank down, embracing
her knees.

"My sweet lady, harden not thy heart to me," she sobbed;
"didst thou but know how I regard thee and the faith I have
in thy power and influence, thou wouldst not spurn me. For
the souls of thy people, hear me! For thine own soul, hear!"

"I will consider," said Azta softly. "Gol"

Susi arose slowly, and never can I forget the look of those
heavenly eyes that besought, adjured, warned. One long gaze
she cast on all around, one last long look on Azta, and then
she was gone,

The F2mpress shook herself as one who would cast off a gar-

316

SUSI.

ment, and laughed. "Little fooH " she said; yet the words
found no echo in her heart.

Susi retraced her silent steps through hall and corridor,
accompanied by the bright bird that had sung so wondrously,
which left her as she passed through into the outer court. Stand-
ing in the midst of the great terraces of steps, she gazed upon
the inscrutable face of one of the andro-sphinxes that looked so
impassively into space.

"What dost thou see?" she whispered.

A great voice at her elbow startled her, saying, " And so my
shy sweetheart has come to visit me?"

She looked round quickly, and perceived Toltiah, beautiful
in his vast symmetry and majestic in his godlike carriage and
presence, as an Infernal god in might; and behind him came
his pipe-bearer. The startled woman gazed long, unable to
remove her eyes from the great ruddy mane and turquoise-
studded teeth and the orbs that were so like Azta's.

The reniembrance of former persecutions and knowledge of his
terrible character filled her with dread, even as a small antelope
quails before the swift ocelot, and her eyes sought the terraces
and colonnades for aid. The giant, perceiving her terror, smiled,
a drear grin of horror, waving away the slave.

"Art afraid of thine old playmate?" he said in jest, albeit
his voice was very rich and strong, yet falling as a note of doom.

" I am going to my husband," answered Susi, with a desperate
fear in her eyes, seeking vainly for help, while her tongue clave
unto her throat.

"Sweet Susi, thou wert ever wayward! Why fear me? Behold,
I will give thee gifts suitable for a queen, and load thee with
gems," he said; yet perceiving how her frightened eyes roamed,
he became angry.

"Fool that thou art to spurn my lovel" he cried. " By Zul,
thou shalt repent it, and now!"

"Toltiah, remember that thou art a man and I but a weak
woman. Force me not against my will, for no good will come
of it; for I have a husband, and there are others far more
suited to thee than I."

"Sweet fool, what are others to me?" he cried, his passion

317

ATLANTIS.

but aroused by dalliance. " I love thee, Susi, and sure 'twere
not to be despised what I offer."

With the words he laid his hand on her soft round arm, and
shook it angrily as he felt her tremble.

"Think, think!" she cried piteously. "I have a husband

Jf 1 * ^ / jr J

rh "X

;

^>''Py^

> i 1

*^\iii

\_j\ ] J

Jr^^

\ Jj

K==i-^ vV

'S^SS*^^'^

^ 0

THE GIANT, PERCEIVING HER TERROR, SMILED.

and love none but him. Shame not thyself and me, ruler of
7\tlantis! What am I for such as thee?"

"I love thee!" he cried in a fury; "it is enough; I honour
whom I choose."

Drawing her to him rudely, he imprinted an unchaste kiss
on her lips. She shrieked and gasped, and, fainting, would
have fallen, but the chief boisterously lifted her up into his

318

SUSI.

great arms, gloating over her charms and his mastery over her.

He kissed her again and again ferociously, crushing her soft body
against his and still willing to play more with the lovely victim.

A stifled sob burst from her, and a terrified wail of anguish,
as she cried to Heaven to save her, struggling desperately in
the brutal arms of her captor. Toltiah but laughed grimly and
scanned her hssom form with delight, baring his teeth and
smacking his lips in lewd enjoyment.

A dull rumbling sound shook the atmosphere and caused a
sickening sensation of dread and premonition of coming peril.
The earth rolled, and a noise, increasing to the appalling roar
of heaviest thunder, swayed it with a heaving movement. The
terrified chieftain dropped his victim, as a dreadful convulsion
rent the terraces in sunder; there puffing up from the dread
chasm a cloud of dust that darkened the air. As the heaving
waves of the sea the ground rocked, and distant confused sounds
of panic and uproar arose, with crashing sounds of falling masses.
Then a flash of dark lightning leaped upwards from the cavernous
gulf and all was still.

The dust settled and the sky was clear but for a small heavy
cloud that rose up and up swiftly. Toltiah lay prone and
terrified upon an edge of the dark pit, on the opposite side of
which stood Susi.

"Farewell," she said, with a world of sadness in her voice
as she slowly departed; and, without a single backward glance,
disappeared.

319

LIBER III

THEEND OF ALL- FLESH
IS COME BEFORE- ME- FOR
THE-EARTH IS FILLED
WITH -VIOLENCE -THROUGH
THEM AND BEHOLD I WILL
DESTROY THEM WITH THE
EARTH

GEN VI 13

321 21

CAP. I.

THE CLOUD ON THE

EDGE OF THE

STORM.

YMBOLS of the Wrath
of God ! Bottomless
vessels of His will 1
Is it that vengeance
shall never be ap-
peased, and that for
the offender is no
forgiveness? Look,
Elohi, upon the Earth,
lying upon the fleecy
clouds, bride of the
Elements, and say
why is sin within her,
O Sinless Creator I
Look where the
breezes kiss her
cheeks like velvet on which the beauteous dimples spread, and
the light of the Sun discovers her watery girdle as spread with
flashing gems. Prostitute is she, yet fair indeed; but what is
beauty before Thee, who searchest hearts, nor sufferest Thy gifts
to be used unpunished for evil ends?

O God 1 O God ! Why is denied the eloquence that could tell
the deep, deep feelings and knowledge of the heart, the know-
ledge of Heaven and of hidden things, that sees so awfully
clearly, but that cannot speak in tongues of man, and is speech-

323

ATLANTIS.

less before its own depths of sight! That sees, but cannot,
cannot describe !

Because, even as the visions pass the power of remembrance

0 DEPTHS OF HORROR OF SILENT KNOWLEDGE!

and of descriptive speech fades away, nor tongue can ever tell
the spiritual inwardness of it.

O horror of incapacity of expression 1 0 depths of horror of
silent knozvledge that could zvreck universes 1

324

THE CLOUD ON THE EDGE OF THE STORM.

But Man must choose by his own volition ; and again, O
God! that that volition should be so subservient to varying
moods and spiritual sight ! For at times Man sees clearly, and
again, his mind is dull and empty. And no inspired speech
can move the soul that Earth has laid a touch upon, that,
anon, would weep at aught, yet transiently. Here in all its
burning horror, and 7iozv gone! Gone I and Joy reigns where
Sorrow stood triumphant, and the impression of Now lies over
and obliterates utterly the impression of Then.

So and forever. And even now speech fails me that might
warn a world that may receive no lasting warning; for each
atom must work its own end, which is the curse.

Now it came that because of the fulness of time and of the
sin of Man that certain revolutions were accomplished, and the
Heavens, moving under the Word, caused signs to be seen of
Earth and great perturbation thereby. And a mighty Comet oc,
exercising certain power, moved in the Heavens to the upsetting of
just balances, and sickness befel, and a great part of all flesh died.

And how can I tell the fears that assailed me. Father of
mercy ! my love tore my bosom and rendered me suffering
beyond all speech, mingled with the awful knowledge that for
no recompense had I sinned more damnably than any of the
evil ones. The great love that should have exalted Heaven
and saved Earth fell in its unconquerable might into evil paths,
begetting sin and more great confusion ; and now I looked upon
the beginning of Judgment with a heart burning with reproachful

X This statement perhaps elucidates a vexed question as to the cause of the
Flood, and would explain it even without the cooperation of other forces if
Lalande's calculation may be taken as correct — that the approach of a Comet of
the same size as the Earth within 13,290 miles would raise the ocean 2000 fathoms
and thereby produce a deluge.

It is probable that some great disturbance took place by which the balance of
the earth was upset, for as we hear of the Rainbow being manifested for the
first time at the period of the Flood, we may imagine that the Sun was brought
into a position to cause the rays to refract upon falling drops of water, visible at
an angle hitherto unattained, and cause the wonderful coloured circles, which phe-
nomenon disappears when the luminary is more than 40° above the horizon.

The question as to the dependence of heavenly bodies upon one another is of
the greatest intei'est, and some brief information as to the electrical communion
between the Earth and Sun will be found in note «, p. 355.

ATLANTIS.

agony of rebellion and sorrow, and, wandering up and down in
all places, pondered upon many things, considering ways by
which haply I might save my Love. Now, securely hidden
near Axatlan, among the mountains, was a small village of huts
where abode the patriarch Noah and his three sons with their
wives and families and servants, apart from all human inter-
course. A few leagues to the north arose the mighty cone of
the volcano ; around them rugged peaks lifted their heads to
the clouds, above forests of tall trees that sheltered the wild
doves and myriads of apes and large bats, and among which
ran the tusked boar and the lithe and beautiful ocelot, while
by cool lakes and rivulets the anaconda coiled in deadly length
its folds of yellow body, disputing its prey with great animals
that had hard spikes upon their scaly harness, and huge teeth,
akin to the monsters of the Hilen, In caves lived fierce bears,
and soaring eagles built on the higher peaks, swooping upon
rabbits and small animals below for their sustenance.

In the more southern forests lived baboons and enormous
apes, and serpents as large as trees ; flocks of brilliant macaws
rivalled the flowers in colour, and pelicans, flamingoes and swans
lived in the pools. Myriads of scorpions, spiders, humming
birds and fire-flies haunted the groves, food for hideous tortoises
and uncouth animals, unwotting of the sin of Man in a great
measure.

I'^ields of wild maize stretched in golden glory afar, shaded
by stately palms and great forest trees, where chamelions ran
on the borders of deserts. Pine-apples and melons grew in
their varying localities, oranges hung their golden globes among
the green leaves, and bunches of the wholesome banana hung,
food for the mammoth and many other animals. Sugar-canes
yielded their luscious sap, tempting huge ants and bees ; from
every woodland temple rose the songs of birds to Heaven, and
insects, that of a night rivalled the light of stars, flitted in
countless legions of brightness around.

In this (juiet spot where lay the village, all was peaceful, yet
the wondrous Heavenly appearances began to aflray the in-
habitants in their solitudes, and the gentle women trembled at
the shock of the earthquake and the lurid coronet of Axatlan

THE CLOUD ON THE EDGE OF THE STORM,

quivering in the night in rolling awfulness and lighting the
clouds that gathered above it. The growing youths with delight
kept the larder supplied with fresh fruits, pleased to live un-
trammelled in such a place, where forests full of animals stretched
afar and fish leaped in every stream, and the younger children
gambolled among the rocks and ran over the plateaux with
shouts of baby mirth.

P'air little beings they, in all the beauteous unconsciousness
of displayed lovliness and charming innocence, on whom Earth
had not as yet laid a taint, whose arts wooed Love for Love's
own sake ; exulting in the indescribable joy of Heaven from
which their spirits had but newly come and whom Angels
delighted to watch and guard. Dear little souls with their
sinless eyes that looked so fearlessly upon everything, nor
dropped for shame of aught, unknowing of such I Ah, could
they but remain in their baby lovliness, purifying instead of
defiling, with their pure innocence reminding Man of the state
from which he came ! And beyond, in the great world, were
sins they dreamed not of; awful confusion, wrought by Man
in defiance of high Heaven, that left nought uncontaminated,
spreading and increasing and heaping up a mass of ruin that
would fall and crush him.

That son of Ham, which was named Mizraim, wished to
build there a city in place of their small huts, wherefrom to
sally forth and establish a kingdom; yet now over all was a
tentative feeling of waiting and a wonderment at the tarrying
there and the signs in the Heavens. Near the village, in a
natural basin, lay a huge structure of wood, of appearance like
to a great dwelling, and every day the inhabitants of the huts
crowded about it, and, although engaged on raising it, not
comprehending its meaning or use. The young ones ran glee-
fully over the long baulks of timber while the women stood
pensively watching, with wonder in their big soft eyes, the men
wielding heavy mallets and adzes and sweating at the mighty
beams to push them into position. Strange it was to perceive
there in the wilderness, and living in huts, beings clothed in
the beautiful stuffs of an advanced civilization, dwelling in com-
liness, with hair meetly^ attended to and secured with gold pins;

327

CAP. II.

THE k:y warning of doom.

Day by day the structure grew. Solid and vast, careful in
every detail and little part, it progressed slowly but surely,
surrounded by splinters and fragments and exhaling a fresh
resinous odour. Three hundred cubits in length it stretched, and
the proudest giants of the western forests made that length.
Right and left it lay for fifty cubits, a mammoth house, tower-
ing thirty cubits high from the earth x, the joints secured by
wooden pins and sturdy thongs of leather, whose responsibilities
were lightened by nice balance of straining angles. The form
took that of a boat, slanting upwards from its base and over-
hanging at the ends and sides, (as a vessel is built to lessen
the submersion caused by a roll or pitch). Rough ladders gave
access to the topmost timbers secured from side to side by
great beams, knees and staunchions holding the ribs to the
bottom, and as long tendrils the pulley-ropes hung about the
skeleton, like the coloured festoons of climbing plants in the
valleys and groves of trees.

Long timbers, fitted with care, began to cover up the inter-
lacing view of crossed beams with smooth white walls of wood,
on one side a scjuare door being left, near the top, and the long
windows for permission of air, through which, when the Sun

« 'I'lie measure I call a cubit, remenihering the Mosaic description, with which
it would tally. This, t.akeii at eighteen inches, would make the ark of Noah four
huiidied and t^ifty feet long hy seventy-five hroad and forty-five feet high.

I >r. J. Muehleisen Arnold in ''Genesis and Science" says: — Lest it should he
dccincd that those ilivinely-given proportions were offensive to the eye it may he
added that all the normal proportions of the human body can he tracetl in it.
The length is to the breadth as six to one. and the breadth to the height as five
to three, so that the ark alloat upon the waters represented the form and dimen-
sions of the human liody in a lying ])osition.

THE ICY WARNING OF DOOM.

had set and the flame of Axatlan became visible, the children
would peep, shrinking with pleasant fear as they perceived the
dark vault within, where they dared not venture save in the
brightness of the day.

Inside the large structure foundations were laid for two floors,
huge solid columns of wood forming the strong supports being
wedged up and fixed securely under the unhesitating directions
of the two advisers, whose mandates were implicitly obeyed.

And, although hidden within their modest bosoms, the cu-
riosity of the women was intense concerning this thing, nor was
it by any means lessened by their husbands' protestations that
they were equally ignorant as to its ultimate end. It appeared
to be a large ship ; yet they deemed a ship as of no conceiv-
able use amidst the mountains, and but marvelled so much the
more. Ham, jeering and insolent, suggested that perchance it
was granted to them to be the forerunners of their nation and
sail through the sky to Eden, but the sire sternly reproved
his levity.

The wonder of it was upon all, pleasing and terrifying by
turns, and imparting a tentative feeling of sojourning until some-
thing great should happen ; and many would wish to return to
Zul and be among the crowds of their fellows, and away from
here, from Axatlan and from the terrifying signs of Heaven
and vague fear of what the building portended.

And especially the women sighed for the palaces and gorgeous
sights they had been constrained to leave behind, and per-
chance there were regretful memories of courtly admirers whose
smiles left favourable impressions. Well they remembered that
their own blooming charms were superior to the faded roses
of the beauties of Zul, and what woman could forego admira-
tion without a sigh?

So they dreamed of the past as they watched the progress
of the great wooden structure, shyly and blushing at their own
thoughts, pertimes half-guiltily, and again relieved that here
were no temptations. So insidious is sin and the contemplation
of itl Still upon their round limbs glittered the golden rings,
heavy and curiously wrought, set with precious stones that had
been found in digging foundations, and supposed to be born

331

ATLANTIS.

of sunbeams by the coloured rocks ; and round the evening fire
they wrapped around them the grand cloaks that would have
graced the painted halls of Zul, and with them the men here
preferred to cover their heads instead of with massy helmets.

Occasionally tremors shook the earth, causing dismay and
terror, and an icy breath went abroad over the world, such as
had never been known of before. From the north and from the
east came that cold terror, with the legions of the hail and the
pains of death, so that many died and all were afraid. To these
workers in the mountains also came great fear, perceiving how
the leaves of the trees withered and the sartreels and ferns and
palms and roses died, but the strangers reassured the frightened
people and urged on the workmen. The long floors were placed
on their foundations and secured, each having apertures through
which a gentle slope led to the lower storey, faintly illumined
by the light through the apertures. Every part was finished
with the utmost care ; it was for life they worked, and no haste
must imperil it. And the more they wondered as the work
progressed, and the two floors divided the internal space into
three storeys, dark and mysterious, while the deck-like roof
began to close over the whole, sloping like a turtle's back, or
like that of the monsters of the deep that wallowed upon the
waves occasionally. In the centre of the deck also another
window was formed, a hatchway that rose above the white
exi)anse. There was no confusion, no hesitation as to the plan.
The strangers advised and directed, and Japheth designed, him-
self working with the rest, splitting wood and adzing the planks,
lifting, pulling, hammering and fixing. And every night came
that cold breath, causing a veil of gleaming silver to spread
over all things, and sealing up the fountains of water. And
being so strange it caused uneasiness and no small discomfort,
and the ship-like building also was covered with that white
beauty. x

On every seventh day the workers rested from their labours,
and led by the sire raised their voices in prayer and praise.
They prayed for Atlantis, for Zul, for all those gay princes and

a. For theory as to probable approach of glacial epoch see Appendix § 5-

THE ICY WARNING OF DOOM.

ladies, and Susi prayed for Azta. She believed her to be cap-
able of anything, regarding her (as indeed did everyone else)
as a supernatural being who could influence any way she chose.
She prayed for Toltiah and pleaded his high birth before Hea-
ven ; and raised her sweet petition for me, which was so
unworthy of such pure regard. She prayed that if by her death
the sins of the nation might be forgiven that Heaven would
take her soul.

Upon Saria, the younger stranger, she turned her dewy eyes,
her features suffused with a modest blush.

"Sir," she said, "could aught atone for the sins of a nation r "

" Sweet mortal," answered the heavenly prince, with a look
of chaste love, "thy words are heard in Heaven, yet not by
thy blood nor by any other's could sin be checked ; not though
the Seraphim descended to the Earth could the confusion be
ended. By blasphemies that thou couldst never understand and
by sins that have grown on other iniquities has man sealed
his doom, and behold it is spoken that he must cease, for that
his sins shake the firmament. A new race shall arise, sprung
from a chosen few, whose seed shall replenish the Earth and
perchance lead the heathen to the light of Heaven; yet still
shall sin never cease."

Greatly saddened, Susi hung her head, and abashed at her
boldness in striving with one whom she perceived to be of
Celestial mould, said softly : " Is there no hope for these created? "

I saw the bright eyes of Saria dwell with love upon the
beauteous woman, yet not for long, and gazing steadfastly upward,
he answered :

"Too long has mercy been extended, O thou fair pleader.
Perchance 'twere better had the sword of mighty Gabriel been
suffered to fall on the first offenders of the race than indulgence
have been granted. For now the cry of nameless Sin roars in
awful blasphemy in the ears of Heaven, and words are spoken
that cannot be reversed."

"Is it then hopeless?"

" Hopeless in truth : yet pitying eyes look sadly on a doomed
race and weep for a misguided and potential volition that ever
leans to sin and that even the Creator cannot check. Pray for

333

ATLANTIS.

thyself, dear lady, and for thy people, for sin is not far from
some among you."

Startled at these words Susi looked up, fear dilating her starry
eyes ; but encountered a glance so beautiful and holy and full
of heavenly love that she ceased her fear and dropped her lashes
with modest joy.

The stranger went forth and Susi pondered long and deeply
upon his words. On her knees she considered, yet not daring
to pray now, neither to strive against the spoken Word. Her
mind, innocent as a child's, dwelt in awe upon these things, and
she was silent.

Abstractedly she gazed out to where in the evening glow
stretched the long mysterious building of wood, shadowy and
leviathan. Yet how could she guess for what purpose it was
for, up among the mountains I As a refuge against any sent to
take them it would have been but of little avail, being readily
consumable by fire. But so much the more the inflexible reality
of some dread purpose overcame her with fear, and for a space-
her mind reeled beneath the certainty of doom, and her eyes,
large and vague, rolled round in horror.

At the evening meal when they gathered round the wel-
come fire she recounted the words of the stranger, that were
so pregnant with implacable vengeance upon Man; and the sire,
listening with his eyes closed and brows contracted with pain
under the white cowl of his robe secured round his head, caressed
the brown hair of his favourite in silence. But her words caused
uneasiness, and confirmation of a suspicion came with sensations
of terror upon all.

Ham laughed defiantly, yet not with mirth ; butShem andjapheth
were silent and the women paled with fear. The shadow stayed
with them, and Susi's tragic words cast a gloom over the little
tribe. What was happening now in Zul? Did those gorgeous
halls still reecho the wanton laugh and drunken altercation, the
shouts of warriors and the silvery merriment of the fair ladies }
Did the magicians still dare to show the hidden mysteries and
the dreadful crowds still dance in the Market-place round their
fires, in the face of dread signs in the Heavens and upheavals
of the Earth? Could their terrible human nature still dare? Did

334

THE ICY WARNING OF DOOM.

martyrs still die on Zul's bloody altars in horrors of torment
when the elements smote down their victims in scores all around
by the terror of cold and hail and lightning?

Sadly I considered the fate whereby I had seen Azta; for
centuries here or there would have mattered nought to me, and
none other could have compelled that strange wild adoration
that she received so carelessly; but I blamed myself bitterly
for having stayed when I first observed, and for not considering
the deepness of the quagmire into which I had permitted my-
self to be led.

335

CAP. III.

THE FOLLY OF THE LAND.

TilK more I saw of Susi the more I grieved that my Love
was not as she, fitter to be the Love of Angel than of an Earthly
being. Sorrowfully I looked upon all my career since I had
forsaken the guidance of Heaven and had attempted to interfere
in that which God Himself could not direct, chaining myself
with an Earthly alliance that was proving so disastrous. I looked
back on all my madness, on deeds that I had frustrated by.
misdirected efforts, that would have been better left to their proper
workers, and on others again that I had weakly allowed to proceed.

I looked upon the gathering culmination with dire forebodings ;
with an injurious eye to Mankind and a wild reproach to Azta
who was so wickedly froward. As a wild bull caught in a net
I plunged in spirit, roaring with rage and pain, blaming all
things, and myself as well, for the torments I endured and those
vague horrors to come. Only in this quiet spot could I support
my soul at all, and I oft gazed with love upon Zula and Saria,
longing to reveal myself unto them, yet not daring; quietly
watching the progress of the great wooden building and wondering
for why it was being prepared.

One night upon the cold high deck Susi stood alone, gazing
upon the surrounding scenery, noting where the glow of the camp-
fire lighted upon dark dead ferns and trees, and how curiously
the unusual clouds formed themselves. A low weird song came
to her ears from below, from where one of the women hushed
her babe to sleep, but save for that and the chirp of a cricket
all was still and silent. Afar to the east she thought she perceived
a faint light, and, standing unperceived by her, my mind with
hers pictured the great dark temple crowning the hill with its
walls and towers and steps, rising storey above storey up to where

336

THE FOLLY OF THE LAND.

the evil flame waved ; and in fancy stood revealed the torch-
lighted hall of the palace, the roar of wanton voices and the
occasional growl of the lions. There recHned Azta and Toltiah,
and outside lay those stony figures with the mute impassive
features. If they could but speak — but warnl

A slight cry from Susi caused me to awake from the painful
dream. She was gazing to the north, to Mount Axatlan, with
a terrified trembling, and moved by her distress I revealed my-
self, and bade her fear not, remembering how Heaven would
protect her. And so, holding the hand of the fair being, we
watched; and as we gazed a huge splendid meteor traversed
the sky and rested over the burning mountain, lighting the whole
Earth with a wonderous glamour of brightness, while among the
clouds the echoing thunders rolled. Upon the path of that bright
glory hung a veily cloud, still and motionless, and thence also
arrived the sound of shattering explosions that shook the firm
Earth.

And now the sullen flame of the volcano appeared to assume
a human form of colossal dimensions, and the countenance was
vivid and animated. The Hps opened eagerly with a great import,
but a hand flashed forth and the finger sealed those fateful lips :
the countenance became as those of the stone lions, immovable,
serene and placid, yet with an expression of awful solemnity.

How gazed that Majesty of Flame ! The woman's eyes could
not withstand the might of observation that rested upon us, and
the orbs of horror that met my reproachful and defiant challenge.
But for my supporting arm she would have fallen, her eyes
closed and her bosom rising and falling quickly.

The voice of Arsayalalyur the Archangel bade her be of
good courage and watch; and as, fearfully, she looked upon
the distant glory, my eyes met his that were full of a great
sorrow and compassion.

"What dost thou here, Asia?" he asked.

"I look upon the Future," I answered, "and it is very dark."

Perchance the despair in my voice answered more than any
words. The bright Angel was silent, courteously deprecating
his interference with a wave of the hand. It seemed as though
three of Us stood there, so ethereal was Susi ; the destroyer,

337 "

ATLANTIS.

the rescuer, the mourner. Nor penitent was I, for a dreadful
turmoil burned my spirit in its heaving waves of fire. But
the woman gazed upon us longingly, and, " Would I were as
you," she said, enraptured, " for the Earth is very small com-
pared to Heaven, and how tiny its affairs 1 "

But Arsayalalyur spake: "O thou sweet mortal! Even thou
art not all good, and see, how can such be contemptible that
can arouse Heaven to such stern movement .f^ There is that in
the amalgamation of Earth and Heaven which is very terrible,
and who can fathom it.^"<35

Susi dropped her eyes, and in sympathy with her confusion
I bent down and kissed her forehead, protecting her with my
arm and the kinship of my feelings, so that she looked up and
thanked me with a sweet look. The storm burst over our heads,
and upon Axatlan the Form of flame unsheathed from its hip
a sword that flashed with living light, and whirled it beneath
the clouds over all the land. A fan of lightning swept from it,
of blinding magnificence and volume, and then the darknesg.
rolled down intensely, wrapping the world in ebon obscurity.

I felt the soft form in my arms tremble.

"O sorrow!" she cried, "that such punishment must come.
And thou, who sat with Azta and art an holy Angel, could'st
thou not stay the sin that causes such vengeance ? "

I felt as though before this pure being I was a sinner indeed,
and fain would I have cast myself down and told her with
passionate grief how I had erred and been chained in spirit,
watching with agony that which I had caused beyond all pre-
vention, yet still remaining stiff-necked and rebellious. Yet I
but groaned and was speechless.

Susi was of smaller frame than Azta, and I felt to her all
the tenderness of a father as I comforted her fears and restored
her to her frightened relatives, bidding the recital of all that
she had seen that they might be the more ready to conform
to whatsoever the future might bring to them.

« We may here consider the agony of our Lord as the time for his approaching
physical death drew nigh. What but the mystic meaning of the above words
could cause the Son of God to fear a doom of earth? We cannot guess what
tile words mean; we can only l)elieve that the mystery is "very terrible".

THE FOLLY OF THE LAND.

And afterwards the building of the great vessel progressed
more readily, all understanding that for their lives they builded;
yet being ignorant of the cause of such preparation. The deck
covered wholly the structure, topped by the square hatchway,
to the fitting of which door and of the door appertaining to the
way in the side the nicest attention and care was given, that
they should bar ingress of aught. The strangers inspected
all the workmanship, and showed where lakes of bitumen lay,
from which was taken sufficient to pitch the structure within
and without. Stopping was hammered into any crevices, and
from large hollows in the earth, heated by surrounding fires,
the boiling fluid was placed upon the wood by means of bundles
of soft material on the end of poles.

And there was war among the Elements by reason that
balances were disturbed, and this attracted and that repulsed
more than was meet. And watery worlds which revolved in
certain dark places in the firmament ran together in confusion,
wherein great meteors plunged in glory, yet scarce perceived
of Earth. From Mount Axatlan came a storm of black dust
lasting many days, falling even within the streets of Zul and
lying like an ebon pall upon the sea, and many Spirits strove
together in the air and rode with shouts upon the north wind.
The unwonted cold rendered the peoples uneasy, and by reason
of it also the flocks and herds perished and the trees withered.
But the little place in the hills was secure from harm, being
well sheltered, and the tempests which bowed the forests sped
harmlessly over the village wherein dwelt the beloved of God.

Yet even now was no account made of the great signs in
the Heavens, and I wept with despair to perceive the idolatry
of the peoples of the land, which rather grew in frenzy than
abated. For by chance one day I came to a place where w^as
a tall hill in the midst of a great tribe which had cities and
mighty men, and aforetimes knew the name of Jehovah. And
upon the hill lay a mighty semblance of a serpent, built of
earth and stones, which stretched between the east and west,
and whereof the middle was of the height of a man and con-
taining a temple wherein burned a fire. Before its gaping jaws
rose a circular mound, and the interpretation was that of the

339

ATLANTIS.

Earth being cast forth by the serpent, which was worshipped
in the temple, all the people which stood therein looking towards
the Sunrise and worshipping the beast. And at certain seasons
were offered little children, which were placed within the fur-
nace, and whose spirits were believed to guard the place from
improper or injurious intrusion; which sacrifices were made the
occasion of great celebrations ; and live serpents were cast among
the people, and any who were bitten by them were esteemed
to be beloved of the god. The birds and beasts also, which
preyed upon these reptiles, were destroyed, so that their num-
bers were very great, and those who died of their poison were
cast upon the furnace. Nor were there few of such, and at
the season when the serpents by reason of nature were full
of frenzy, the people held great festivals and died in numbers;
and he who killed a snake by accident or design was hamstrung
and placed in a certain spot where dwelt a great white anaconda
which all believed to be the Spirit of the image upon the hill,
that it might deal with him as it pleased. .

And when these people observed the signs which were over
all the Earth they believed the god to be angry with them,
and making themselves drunk with the juice of the vines (which
grew abundantly about them), they offered monstrous sacrifices
to the earth-formed image, sacrificing their children and mis-
tresses with dreadful rites, burying some alive within it and
burning others. Their imaginations conceived nameless horrors ;
and with a curse upon their frowardness I went from the place,
wandering in dismay over the land and discovering nought but
abominations of evil, perceiving how celestial imaginations had
caused the committal of atrocious crimes among man and beast.
The grand temples with their outbuildings and fountained courts
were but monuments of sin, and the fair cities, palm-shaded
and far-stretching in glories of massive architecture, held but a
hive of devils, goodly to look upon, but debased and prostituted
beyond aid or hindrance, bowing the knee, with that strange
instinct of man to worship a tangible something, to creations
that would have shocked even them could they have com-
prehended their hideous enormity.

With a sad pleasure I looked upon the family of Noah the

340

THE FOLI.Y OF THE LAND.

Righteous, gathered around their frowning wooden palace and
raising their regards to Heaven, pure-minded because that their
hearts ever dwelt upon the Beautiful and were pleased with
the contemplation of it. By the command of Zula the great
vessel was named the Mexiah, and to its structure no more
was added. The little ones were not so pleased with their
playground now, for, in place of long beams and cross-stays,
there were but smooth bare walls, and the large dark interior
frayed them. Still they ran merrily over the expanse of deck,
and held no fear, like their elders, of impending doom, and
no momentary dread that those who were now regarded as
enemies would discover and enslave them or put them to the torture.
Neither yet had sin cast its dark shadow over their minds, and
as long as they had plenty of food they lacked nought. Such
happy little mites were they with their Angel natures, and it
gave me pleasure to watch how they disported themselves with-
out a thought of care or sorrow. They never dreamed that
this great house was the saving ark of a nation, nor that they
themselves were the future responsible forefathers who should
people the new world with countless myriads of living souls.

341

CAP. IV.

THE CURSE OF ATLANTIS.

With the earthquake that had separated Toltiah and Susi
the change had come over the seasons. Terrific omens were
abroad in Zul; strangers of terrible aspect were seen, coming
from where no man knew and disappearing mysteriously; a
great dark bird had extinguished the flame on the temple, and
simultaneously the fires on the temples of Neptsis, the Serpent,
Winged Things, and all the others had expired ; a leviathan
had appeared off the coast for some days, fearful of aspect and
prodigious of bulk; while the black storm from Axatlan had
covered the city and the waves with ashes, and there were
rumours of many new volcanoes and appearances of meteors.

Toltiah associated these things with the curse of Noah, and,
mad with a feminine terror and fury, caused the guards of the
gates to be massacred to a man, supposing them to have slept
while he passed forth.

The earth tremor was followed by two others, so that half
the great city was nearly in ruins. From the walls every idol
had been shaken down, and the Fish-god by the landing-stage
in the harbour lay submerged in the deep water, appearing by
the movement of the surface and the refraction of shadows to
move and writhe. Everywhere stretched long fissures, in places
dividing houses in halves and piling up masses of debris with
columns and beams. The magician Gorgia died in agony among
the ruins, where, scalped and pinned down by a vast column,
some embers from a fire fell upon him continually ; and in the
lingering torture of a slow furnace and the stings of clouds of
flies he died; and also in like manner many perished.

The unfinished building of the Baths was not touched, although
its great reservoirs of water were shaken, but the temple of

342

THE CURSE OF ATLANTIS.

Winged Things was levelled to the ground, falling in thundrous
ruins, and the Pyramid of Atlace was despoiled of its crowning
symbol. A gloom was over all the city and dismay sat in
every heart ; and now of a night the far clouds were seen redly
illumined by some mysterious fire that added fear to the terrify-
ing things around.

The red palace had suffered severely, a fissure parting the
terraced steps from top to bottom and dividing the Hall of
Feasting one-third from the remaining part. Upon the main
roof an anaconda lay coiled, yet how it came there none knew,
nor did any dare approach it. And Toltiah was greatly moved
thereby, remembering that great serpent which had come to
him in a vision when he lay with his army before the walls,
which had bade him go back, nor dare the anger of the gods.
But Azta killed it with Marisa's axe. And much damage was
wrought to the colonnades and statuary, and a continual earthy
dust arose, carrying with its strange odour a feeling of depression
and fear.

And I saw where Amaziel wrestled in Zul with a portentious
Spirit in the chamber where he dwelt, both striving for mastery
with great gaspings, while from communicating dark chambers
came many other Spirits to watch in those days of the beginning
of vengeance. And the portentious Spirit broke away and fled
downwards through the place of the colossi, and downwards
past where the three vast idols looked upon the lake of fire,
disappearing therein.

And, hfting up my eyes from afar, I perceived in the night
a long line of bats issuing forth from the temple in swift flight.
And more came forth, and yet more, and there was no end to
the silent exodus of the small people which wheeled up and up
into the sky and departed over the sea with such silent ordering.
As I watched I marvelled, and ever issued the winged shadows,
without squeak or any sort of sound, and the mystery of it lay
heavily upon me. Also the sea moved with a different fashion
to its usual wont, hurling great waves to the shore and swirling
in vast eddies ; while from it seemed to rise unceasingly a
moaning and weeping sound, and the dense clouds covered all
the sky with darkness, and a leaden horror of night.

343

THE SMALL PEOPLE WHICH WKEELEDj^UP AND UP INTO THE SKY.

THE CURSE OF ATLANTIS.

Azta I found dismayed by all such things, for having seen
more than the rest she also feared more; and in her terror my
heart went out to her with a love made greater by absence
that was all unavailing to make me forget her or to keep
from her.

How could we but sorrow! Partners in sin we stood looking
forth from the western colonnade, the shadow upon us deepening
as a low heavy roll of thunder muttered from the clouds and
a great light became visible, illuminating Earth and. sky for a
long while. And it was night.

"O my Love!" Azta wept, clinging to me, "what shall befall
us? For when I think upon all the wonders that my eyes have
looked within, my mind becomes but a bewildering chaos of
mystification, in which I perceive but an ungovernable vastness
of living terrors without possessing any knowledge of a power
that could direct and restrain the unutterable immensity of awful
creation. I shrink in terror from my thoughts. Beloved ! Would
that my impious mind had never gazed upon those mysteries!"

"Alas, poor Love," I answered her, sadly enough, for my
soul was also distraught with fear ; " would that I might
comfort thee 1"

"Ay, comfort me!" she implored; and the bright moon
flashed forth upon her, lighting her wild eyes and her face that
was deadly pale, and showing where the mocking chaplets of
roses hung beneath her uncovered breasts — the wanton decora-
tions of a late feast that seemed to shrink before the terror of
the elements. "Comfort me! For my senses swim with horror
at times, and my thoughts helplessly stagger from infinity to
infinity. Would I were as the lower animals that think not!"

I pressed her to my heart, and front to front our two hearts
beat with pain and anguish ; while, dismayed, I perceived that
again Azta wore in her hair the golden symbol of a butterfly
and her eyes were red with wine as they looked into mine.

A sort of horrible calmness fell upon my spirit, with a feeling
that this surpassingly lovely wanton deserved some punishment
then a rebellious rage against Heaven, that such should need to
be at all, possessed me, together with a blasting scorn against
myself. With a strange coldness I held the beautiful being in

345

ATLANTIS.

my arms, noting, with no enthusiasm, her splendour of form, and
criticising with calm eyes the glory of her features upturned to
mine. What Wonder was this that I held, this last of created
beings? Was It of Earth or Heaven?

I gazed at her almost in terror as the thought came to me
(that had come once before): Who is master? Myself, or she?
and for a moment I wished I had not returned to her, but
wandered in solitude afar until all was inevitably accomplished.

" Behold, thy love is gone from me !" she cried bitterly,
" and I shall die ! Wilt thou forsake me now that the Sun is
hid and darkness is over all? Long hast thou been absent, and
my heart has waited in sorrow for thee, my Beloved."

She wept and clung about me, and in grievous pity for her
I wept also. Whereat she took courage and said, " If thou
lovest me as thou hast said, it is well."

These words struck my mind in such fashion that I laughed
with scorn and blaspheming merriment.

"Yea, in very truth, it is well!" I cried; " Love is the greatest^
thing in Earth and Heaven; it creates and then ruins, and
laughs at the wreck. Love sits in Heaven and nourishes the
Earth, making it large and fat for the sacrifice, punishing aught
that unwittingly crosses its caprices with unrelenting hate. We
two can laugh at all that may come, because we love ; soaring
above a world whose regards rise no higher than its belly ;
hand in hand can we go to the gates of Paradise and claim
admission, because we do very fully that which we were instructed
to do; and if in ought we have sinned, and crave upon our
mouldering knees for forgiveness, surely He who is Love and
Mercy will forgive! There can be no Hell for us: how can there
be Hell where love is? Of a surety we are blessed, thou and 1 1 "

Azta looked at me and trembled as she gazed.

" Thou jestest, Asia," she whispered fearfully.

"And why not?" I asked in savage bitterness, tormented and
horror-stricken. "It is permitted to celestial beings to indulge
in mirth, even as Azazel provoked the laughter of Heaven by
creating a Platypus ; and when the heart is full of mirth the
jest will arise. Was not merriment created for good, in order
that the gloom might fall yet the deeper and more bitter for

346

THE CURSE OF ATLANTIS.

that light from the Paradise of fools 1 Accursed, aye, and twice
and thrice accursed be the Love that can so destroy its own
children and drive them from the brightness of morning to the
dark of night! Accursed be the Love that can see its penitent
worshippers writhe in flames of Hell and take no heed of their
remorseful sufferings! Accursed be that Heaven that can create
and continue creating evil for to destroy it in weltering misery,
that can raise its own chaste head above the abominations of
its womb and trample its own creations under foot I "

A great voice checked the torrent of my fury and my impious
words.

"Peace, O Asia, thou fallen being!" it thundered: "Thou
knowest that sin is not of Heaven, but of volition. There is
no sin too powerful to be overcome if the will is there, and
why dost thou farther insult the ear of Heaven by thy curses?"

And there stood against me the leader of the Seraphim, great
Chrison, whom formerly I loved ; and now, strong in my de-
spair and not quailing before his celestial splendour I confronted
him with upright carriage.

"I have sinned," I cried, "and bitterly am I punished these
long whiles without cessation or hope of aught. Yet get thee
from before me, thou who art holy, and taunt not one who has
known more suffering than thyself Perchance my woes shall
crown me with a brighter, if sterner, diadem than any that thy
smooth path of righteousness could bestow, and pain uplift the
spirit to a higher level than sin has lost. Perchance He who
has known the sting of disappointment — even the sinless One —
may lean in the fellowship of kindred woe to me in the time
that shall be appointed."

I stood alone, save but that the prostrate form of Azta lay
by me. And as, looking upon her, my anger softened, I raised
her up and took her in my arms.

" O my Love, how I love thee 1 " I cried, with intense passion.

The woman wept and our tears mingled, terrible burning drops
as of hot lava.

"What can I say to thee?" she sobbed desperately.

" Love, no word of thine could remove the dread fiat of sin,"
I said ; " nought now that thou couldst say might blot out the

347

ATLANTIS.

past, the period of sin that has left its mark upon us both, nor
bring back that which can never be restored. For even couldst
thou love me now, yet couldst thou never restore the peace of
mind that was aforetime, and the purity of the past before sin had
passed over, nor fully remove all doubts which prey upon the soul."

Azta wept in despair, and I could but love her for it, and
spoke words to comfort her.

" I know not what portends, yet know that whatever shall
come, to thee am I ever true, and doubt not that I love thee
more than my own immortal soul, O my fair Love. Too well
I love thee, too well for both of us ; yet blame me not that
my love is so great, for I will never leave thee. Though Earth
shall consume in smoke, and the Heavens roll away and depart,
yet where thou art there also am I ; and should aught perchance
separate us I will wait for thee, through all the bitter pain of
knowing that thou wouldst follow another, until haply we meet
again. I live in Hell for thy sake, nor will I, craven, enter
Heaven without thee. Kiss me, my dear Love, and let us not .
spend the shortness of time in such sad misery."

She lay back in my arms, regarding me with half-closed
eyes, her hands clasping me.

"How wonderful thou art!" she murmured.

I kissed her fondly, and, embracing one another, we sat watching
the strange sky.

"Thou rememberest Susi, of the family of Noah ?" asked Azta.

I bowed solemnly, for the fair woman ever appeared to me
as an Angel of Earth.

" That night of the earthquake she came to me and spoke
in serious fashion, and her words have never left my mind.
Surely thou weit also there 1 and thou didst mark the strange
bird that sang by her?"

" Aye, Beloved. Better had her words found good result,
yet it is I which am to blame, and not thou. For behold in
the youth Toltiah is the curse of Atlantis, and I, myself, have
wrought this thing in the sight of Heaven."

Azta was silent, horror-struck by her perception of things.

" Yet." she said, slowly, as one who would persuade her
conscience, " yet has he been in the companionship of righteous

THE CURSE OF ATLANTIS.

Noah and of his people, and thou, his father, art holy. What
better examples could he have? For I, even I, am not as most."

"Alas, poor Love," I answered her; "it is nought to do with
example ; nor has example any power, methinks, save evil example.
Yet if thou sowest tares, (and also if thou sowest them not,)
tares arise in abundance, but the beauteous sartreels require a
certain care, and also the roses, and even then they may never
appear. But here it was the previous error that but reaped
its sure harvest."

Azta perceived as in the unravelling of a skein the process
of sin, where a fallen Angel and a fallen mortal had raised a
being who caused the nation to stray more than all the times
before. She perceived approaching the vengeance of God upon
the fearful mixture of the sins of mind and body, and simply
and despairingly she said, " We have both erred."

I answered not. I only drew her head on to my breast and
in silence we sat down and looked forth upon the night.

349

CAP. V.

THE SHAME OF ZUL.

There came a day when by the advice of Amaziel and the
command of Toltiah, nor less by their own fearful inclinations,
the people of Zul propitiated the Lord of Light with gorgeous
ceremonies, and word was sent to all the cities of the land to
worship and seek atonement. Vast crowds gathered, and pallid
eunuch priests and yellow-robed priestesses wound their way
up Zul's dark height with humble mien and weird chants,
followed by all the great ones of the city; such as could find
no room upon the roofs crowding the courts and outlying^
pylons. From every temple arose the roll of gongs and drums,
and tlironging myriads gathered in fear to try and propitiate
the god to whom they believed they owed the terrors that
beset them, carrying with them all manner of things for sacrifice.

h>very person in the city came to swell the vast throng,
wrapped up in warm garments to protect themselves from the
passing downpours of hail that melted in pools among the
ruined places ; and the gaily-clothed thousands stood in grim
contrast to their estate, uneasy, as dire forebodings lay upon
all, and a sense of the urgent need of a united propitiation that
should ease them of the catastrophes that were befalling.
Warriors, merchants, nobles, mothers with children, all gathered
in hopeful concourse, gazing dismayed upon the ruins and
shivering in the strange cold. Nevertheless, they cried aloud
to the god, prostituting themselves before the hidden divinity
in unseemliness and frenzied exhortation, and shrieking aloud
for him to appear. They exposed their broad bosoms, gashing
them with knives and spears and tearing them in bloody fur-
rows with their own fingers, so that they were dreadful sights
to behold, while with frantic cries the priests ran among

350

THE SHAME OF ZUL.

them, horrible with self-inflicted wounds and far-streaming hair ;
those with black robes exhorting the multitudes, gradually
working themselves up to a like pitch of frenzy, to sacrifice,
asking for children to be delivered up to them as ofierings
to the god.

An uproar broke forth continually, pierced by epileptic shrieks
of some wretches in fits through excesses. With a loud rustling
of garments and clang of armour the throngs fell upon their
faces, as, outlined against the sky, Amaziel stretched his arms
in supplication to the hidden Sun and invoked the deity.

"Come forth!" he cried, "scatter the clouds which lie before
thy face and shine upon thy servants. Behold the Earth stretches
abroad her arms to thee her lord, eager for thine embrace, com-
fortless without thy warmth, and atones to thee with great sacrifice."

And all the priests at the sound of the drum shouted in a
loud voice; "Hear, O Zul, and forsake not thine espoused 1"

The victims emerged upon the platform, where stood the
noblest of the land, and a long echoing shriek fell upon the
ears of the nearer thousands as the first poor wretch was
slaughtered and his heart upraised to the sky. Kas, a noble
of the western side of the city, stepped forward and demanded
to be sacrificed for the good of the land, and inflamed by his
example others did likewise, among them being a priestess of
Neptsis. The blood began to run in streams on the golden
floor, and the worshippers smeared it upon their foreheads ;
while, catching the awful frenzy of those above them, the crowds
commenced to murder their mistresses and children, encouraged
by the priests and magicians who ran like devils above their
prostrate bodies, shrieking and exhorting. Alas, that beings of
such intelligence and arts could fall to such as this 1

Little children were disembowelled alive and passed into the
abominable flame, their dismal cries and fainting screams of
agony drowned by the loud chanting of the priestesses and
the shrill voices of the eunuch priests. One of the furious
women, foaming at the mouth and maddened by the spirit of
sacrifice, suddenly shrieked aloud, and then stepping to the
edge of the platform, cast herself headlong into space and was
dashed to pieces upon the lowest roof. The High Priest foamed

351

ATLANTIS.

likewise at the mouth, roUing his eyes and waving his arms,
red with blood to the elbows, frantically in the air.

Azta, standing in the midst of a group, among whom were
also Toltiah, Nezca, Chanoc, Adar, Tua, Emarna and other
great ones, watched with a slight sneer upon her face while
the bloody work continued, frowning occasionally when some
pretty chubby infant was murdered. Her heart felt very dark
and evil ; more than all this wickedness was it evil. For on the
part of those around her and of the crowds beneath it was but
wild, unthinking wrong, while her heart spoke to her of delib-
erate spiritual sin and a wantonly strangled conscience.

A slight tremor shook the earth and a quavering moan of
fear rose like a long muffled roll of thunder, echoing for miles
from every quarter of the vast city. In the great spaces beneath
the temple that weird cry of fright vibrated fearfully in the close
atmosphere, rising and falling in mournful cadence, and by
reason of the varying distances obtaining a marvellous effect.

Amaziel brought out from the central tower the sacred symbol
of Atlantis, the four-armed Cross, that had led the nation under
great Tekthah to its victorious empire, and with a shout lifted
it towards the sky.

A deafening roar of mingled import reached him. There was
horror and frenzied approbation in that assent of a nation that
their symbol should be sacrificed, all who perceived knowing and
understanding that by such thing a nation signified its surrender
to a Divinity whose power they did not comprehend, and which,
their suddenly-strung consciences told them, was not the God
of their fathers. This was Devil-worship 1 But the hope of
protection for the wicked present overcame every scruple, and
also the knowledge of unstemable and unatonable sin made them
turn for aid to the Divinity they had followed most.

Therefore an echoing, approving shout bade the High Priest
consummate the blasphemy, and in the blood-fed flame the
symbol of a nation's victorious greatness was consumed in wicked
sacrifice.

And now it appeared that a great relief spread through their
hearts, as having humbled themselves to the god and become
his slaves they believed that they would be under his protection ;

352

THE SHAME OF ZUL.

and even such as should have been instructed differently by
the excellence of their minds, felt this consoling reflection.

The reaction from fear to a feeling of security rendered the
populace jubilant with a shameful joy. They need fear no
lower fall, for there was none; and overcome by their acts
they indulged in terrible excesses with an abandonment that
was fearful in its lowest degradation. A very monster of crime
brooded over the land, and those who had offered up tender
babies with tortures too vile for utterance would scarce hesitate
at aught. Incestuous beings, sunk beneath the level of brutes,
cried their shame aloud, nor was any enormity too gross for
them ; believing that by prostituting their souls and bodies they
engendered a blood-alliance with the Sun, and rejoicing with a
vast drunken pride in their shame.

There was a great running to and fro, and much searching
among debris for aught of value ; while stores of food- stuffs were
sacked by hungry crowds, and there was no order at all. The
people shouted continually, mocking the idols that had been
shaken from walls and pedestals and heaping insults upon them ;
and as with night great bonfires were ignited in the Market-
place, they cast the graven figures thereon, howling with joy
as the flames licked around the fat and oil soaked abominations-
Having surrendered themselves to the Sun, they had no need
of these deities, and cried out with glee and much mocking
talk as explosions rent the grotesque figures, until the huge idol
of Increase, a monstrous figure of obscenity, suddenly terrified
them by emitting a volume of coloured flame from its jaws,
whose beastly lips disclosed long pointed teeth. And, to terrify
more the vile audience, an owl fell headlong into the flames
and died in screeching torments; while from the terrible and
blasphemous group of the Conception of Love sprang an ana-
conda, a tempest of hisses sounding as it writhed with widely-
distended jaws and popping eyes in the flames, revolving in
swift coils and swishing like a Titanic whip among the embers
from which it hurled burning spHnters and logs in all directions.
Cries of fright arose as the onlookers fled in a dire panic,
fearful of its onslaught; but it perished where it writhed, and
such as worshipped serpents were greatly dismayed. From

353 23

ATLANTIS.

all the idols came forth vermin in swarms, which had fattened
upon the libations and offerings ; and great centipedes, scorpions
and spiders dashed madly over the burning embers to fall and
wriggle and leap, crackling and agonising, in the flames.

But after a time any misgivings were lost in the frenzy of
wine and excitement, as the deviHsh priests bade them fear
only Zul. There were great vats full of wine placed at different
spots, and from these the people drank, dancing and shouting
and falling upon the ground. The gathering was the greater
for the reason that many houses were untenable, and the level-
ling influence of the terror and sacrifices caused many of the
princes and nobles to mingle with the mad throngs of warriors,
traders, merchants and women. These last were greater in number
than the men, and being more abandoned increased the evil of
all, flashing their wanton eyes among the dark masses of hair that
in most instances, despite the cold, was their only protection
from the lewd eyes that ever unsatisfied gazed upon them.
Maddened by the whirling limbs, the glittering jewellery, the
flash of arms and lenient presences of nobles, they abandoned
themselves to every passing desire, fair fiends of darkness,
urging and encouraging the men in all wickedness.

Several died through excesses, crying blasphemies to the end
in a fever of evil desire, and there were many furious brawls
and murders. Bodies of armed men ran through the crowds,
killing as many as they could, and so dreadful at length became
the uproar that Nahuasco at the head of three legions attacked
the debauchees, the warriors charging with a shout and deaHng
heavy blows with spear-shafts in all directions, regardless of
age and sex.

Curses were showered upon them, and the newly-created
Lord of Trocoatla was furiously assailed in turn, so that the
riot became a pitched battle. But the veteran prevailed ; the
crowds were broken up and dispersed, many people being
wantonly pushed into the great fires and causing merriment to
their murderers by the way they shrieked and plunged amidst
the embers.

Azta in a cynical rage had ordered this attack to be made,
as she still remained upon the temple roof, ministered to by

354

THE SHAME OF ZUL.

Amaziel. Now alone she stood, and far below upon the one hand
was the moaning sea, upon the other the moving bonfire-lighted
brawlers. Above, the low clouds rolled awfully in vast evolu-
tions, and thunder, audible at intervals, sounded in sublime
contrast to the howls and shrieks below that filled Azta's spirit
with a great unrest to hear. Her eyes glowered red from her
shadowy form, and were as lions' eyes in the dark, nought but
two round discs of flame that looked out over the far crowds
and flashed at the sounds of martial strife as Nahuasco dispersed
them by violence.

Below, the sound of the wind among the dead trees sounded
Hke weeping voices, and the woman, gazing into the darker
shadows of land and sky and sea, thought she perceived legions
of dreadful figures and forms of monstrous shapes. To her
came the horror of the central cavern where lay the Heart of
the World as she watched them where weirdly they swayed
and amalgamated, floating high above the Earth, their eyes,
as saurians, filmy and vague, seeming to gaze towards her.

Then the moon shone out, and as in a dread vision the
forms changed into clouds, through which the scenery below
showed as through a veil. The walls and towers and pylons of
the palace sprang like unearthly monuments from the darkness,
and all the vast architecture of the matchless city was visible in
distance- fading array, wondrous and enormous. A sound smote the
quick ear of Azta, and looking, she perceived a large dark crea-
ture of hideous shape drag itself above the edge of the roof
and advance towards her, the attenuated Hmbs scarce able to
support its gross trunk. Exaggerated by the light to large
dimensions, it gasped loudly with a whining cry, and scarce
had it attained the roof than it appeared to give birth to an
offspring with a diflficulty whose consummation was apparently
fatal.

Azta, disgusted, retreated to the farthest edge, watching with
straining eyes the new creation, which, endowed with great
vigour, rose up, and, growing visibly, displayed a monstrous form
of indistinguishable hideousness. The woman gazed upon this
terrific creature with a horrible curiosity, unable to define aught,
and marking with disgust the hog-like yet half human gruntings,

355

ATLANTIS.

while she now perceived the mother to be a large hound. But
what the offspring was she could not see, and but entertained hor-
rified suspicions of it, shuddering as the abortion stretched itself
out with a hideous yell as though racked with pain, and then
fell furiously upon the prostrate parent, biting and clawing at
it and finally devouring it.

Azta hid her face in horror and nausea, and the beast reared
itself up and stood upon two legs, tearing at the bloody remains
hanging from its jaws with claw-like hands. A great light caused
her to look up, and she perceived a form of fire descend swiftly
upon the lightning. From its outstretched hand flew a bolt that
fell upon the dark horror, consuming it with a crackling sound
until only a heap of ashes lay in its place.

So bright was the splendid figure and so wondrous in its
world of heavenly light, that, all the city perceiving it, the
revels ceased in terror. Beneath its feet a cloud of intense
blackness rolled, and its countenance was awful in stern majesty
and displeasure, as with far-reaching arms spread abroad beneat^i
two winged canopies of light illumining the sky even to the highest
clouds, it hurled the swift lightnings from either hand, while
crash on crash of thunder rolling from the depths shook the
Earth to its deep foundations.

A flash of light flew towards where Azta stood, consuming
her garments in a breath, so that she stood out before the eyes
of Heaven and of Earth naked but for the robe of glory that
wrapped her perfect form in brilliant light. Thus she stood, in
plain view of the amazed crowds, flawless and perfect, her hands
crossed over her bosom in mute terror. And then a swift stroke
blasted the ornament which upheld her massy hair, and with
the shadowy fall of the tresses the light vanished and black
night brooded in horror above the city.

356

CAP. VI.

THE WAR OF THE SPIRIT,

Invisible, I looked upon the Earth, rolling in far spaces;
surveying the shadow world from the hot womb of the tropics
to where the illuminate electricity floated in wavy bands above
the poles and the mystic axis, oc I looked upon Atlantis, a
torment of thought in my mind, as I felt the fever of unanswer-
able riddles, and suffering that could not be analyzed ; the
bitterness of self-inflicted torture and a terrible yearning for
what could never be. Alone, in the Infinite, came to me sen-
sations more than visions, of depths of shadow through which
neither eye nor thought could pierce, and over all a dread
feeling of remorse and hatred, and the ever-present embittering
knowledge that although I suffered through my own fault yet
also someone else had done it to me. Allured by the Earth
and impregnated with its knowledge, pleasing yet dreadful to
my clear perceptions, I rolled in the meshes that encompassed
me about, yet would not cast them away.

What joy the glories of the stars and deeps of ether when
torture preyed upon the sleepless, deathless spirit ! The spirit
destined to live for ever as its own bitter punishment, ever

oc The ''aurora polaris" or "northern lights" are a manifestation of quiet
electrical discharges round either pole, attaining its gi'eatest brilliancy and frequency
near the magnetic poles, which are at some distance from the true geographical
poles.

It is believed that the aurora is a sheet of rays which converge downwards
towards the magnetic axis of the Earth, a kind of luminous collar, the top of
whose arch is as much as 130 miles above the Earth, though parts of it are
l)elieved to be quite near the Earth. It is therefore an electrical discharge taking
place in highly rarified air or vacuum. The aurora is certainly closely connected
with the magnetic condition of the Earth and also of the Suu. When any great
sun-spots appear on the latter orb, the magnetic balance of the Earth is affected,
as shown by the irregular movements of the magnetic needles and the simultaneous
appearance of aurora at both poles. D. Archibald, M..\., R.M.S. Lond.

357

ATLANTIS.

craving and never satisfied ! The more the thoughts strove the
more lost in inextricable problems they were, until the soul
writhed in flame of agony that wrapped it in their fevered
horror — the unquenchable fire of Hell.

I considered the state of the fallen Ones and compared my
ambition with theirs, I thought of them and of their conver-
sation aforetimes, the pondering upon those shadowy vague
ideas of some grand scheme whose glimmering beauties they
thought they could perceive, and the power to execute which
they believed themselves to possess : some grandeur that would
have failed in detail and have collapsed of its unsupported
vastness like a bubble of air. Now I perceived that splendour
of detail, atom on atom perfectly formed, was necessary to
greatness of structure and stability of immensity, the wonder of
the infinitely tiny as of the infinitely great.

Had I offended as they? I cried in my heart, No! yet I thought
that perchance I unhappily had done so. Notwithstanding, a
consciousness of reproachful emotions swept through my heari
that could scarce be expressed even in thought. Why, in the
ordering of things, was sin possible? How could it be that
pure immortal beings like myself could sin? What was that
wondrous instinct of Heaven, inherent by it of Earth, (the Life
that was Love, the Love that was Life,) the instinct of Amalgama-
tion that was pure and holy and could yet be sin? The
meeting of extremes either of awful reverence or of an abo-
mination of blasphemy? What was that tiny step that was an
indescribable sensation dividing good from evil?

Slipping into space I surveyed the Earth, perceiving there
the Unity which was strength exhibited in mortal and tangible
shape that lifted its thoughtless head among the mighty wonders
of the Universe; and saw an instinct, like mine and my compeer's
disastrous one, that aspired not so much for perpetuation of
identity and addition of strength as the wish to perform some-
thing new, a great thing of marvel, good or evil, to cause
wondering of the soul ; unheeding that in holiness union streng-
thens, while in evil it weakens. Therefore in their amalgama-
tion was there sin, which was the sin of disobedience to the
command that no farther enquiry than was permitted should

35«

THE WAR OF THE SPIRIT.

be made into things, lest, knowing more, curiosity should lead
on, unsatisfied, and if unchecked know no bounds to its en-
quiries; and perceiving incomprehensible marvels retreat in
panic and ruin, not comprehending, yet unable to forget what
it had seen. Those fallen Ones by amalgamation sought to
oppose a vast mind to the Creator, but they knew not of some
tiny detail whose omission caused the whole fabric to fall,
neither had they the courage of their daring convictions, being
seized of a fatal doubt.

O Azta, why did I so love thee? What was that feeling
that bound my soul to thee, and what was it to me that thou
wert female; I, a spirit? Save that through our sin came one
who completed the ruin of Earth. I could not solve the wonder
of it and my soul burned with fire; the dulness of Earth,
clogging the deHcate perceptions, making me but see the bit-
terness of the moment, as a mortal man sees.

And then by me stood One looking with contempt upon my
wringing of hands and groaning of spirit, upon whose porten-
tious brows sat the old wisdom of the ages ; appalling in
majesty, subHme in grandeur.

"For why this softness, thou proud one?" he asked.
. A tumult of feelings surged over me at the mocking ques-
tion, which also said, "I am now thy equal and thou canst
but answer me in such wise"; and in bitter irony I made reply:

" Could I but answer thee, thy riddle would be solved."

" Thou shalt never solve the riddle," answered the mighty
Angel firmly; "in the ordering of Life there is no softness nor
pity, else would all ,be confusion. The march of Progress must
go on unflinching and unheeding, nor grieve that weakness fall
in groans and anguish to form a bridge over which the strong
ones of evolution pass to its continuance. Thus triumphed the
Lord of Heaven over our confederate minds containing certain
elements of a fatal weakness. Had all been as I, all had been well."
And sternly he cast about his crystal orbs, whose vivid glances
were as the lightnings ; vaunting before the worlds his dire intent.

"Perchance thou art right," I answered sullenly, envying the
pitiless beauty of my companion, the ascetic purity and in-
flexible will that had made Heaven tremble ; the purity that

359

ATLANTIS;

was as that of the iceberg, cold, hard, unheeding yet beautiful.
I marvelled at the daring ambition that had made the name of
Satan so dire a terror and a menace, and the control of all
emotions that rendered him almost a rival to the Creator.

"Yet," I said, thinking upon this wonder of a created being
having been so created with danger therein, "thou wast formed
as thou art and I was formed as 1 am. How can such sin,
being created holy?"

"We sinned not but by the sin of failure, my Asia," an-
swered the Prince, looking fixedly upon me.

"But had we not failed," I pursued, " what then, great Satan?
Still must there have been things to cause pity and sorrow ; in
our triumph would have been the defeat of another, and sorrow
to us over the sorrow that it caused."

" It is the voice of our failure that speaks, O Asia 1 " cried
the Archangel: "what is sorrow and pain to the attainment of
Perfection? It but helps the consummation, and should not
hinder its march."

"Yet how can there be aught but happiness proceed from
the Omnipotent?" I asked desperately, knowing, notwithstanding,
that sorrow was created and that this one must perforce defend
such creation. " It fears me that Life holds such contradictions
that none could reconcile but Him who rules the worlds, and
a misjudged atom would cause the downfall of a vast fabric."

" Sorrow strengthens and opens up yet more boundless realms
of thought," answered Satan, "and to those whose wisdom is
greater than thine are no contradictions in Life's ordering. But
concerning the cause of sorrow, thou canst not fathom it; for
behold, thou thyself wert sent in all compliance to do good,
but in thyself thou hast sinned. Look upon the Earth and tell
me for what are its mortal beings created? Thou canst not."

I looked upon Mankind. I saw its children, born in sorrow,
sinless save but by the sins of others, yet eagerly embracing
frowardness as soon as the dreadful human nature overcame
the spiritual.

"Are they not but mortal?" he pursued; "and thou hast
given thy love to one of such. Yield it up 1 In the contem-
plation of a mortal is vexation, disappointment, and sadness,

360

THE WAR OF THE SPIRIT.

but in the pursuit of great works is increasing joy and pride.
Recall thine unrequited love and take thou peace of mind,"

" That will 1 never do 1 " I cried in agony and direful wrath.
" Get thee hence, O Prince, nor seek to rob me of that drop of
water that cools the tongue of Hell, and, given up, would leave
me stranded and desperately evil beneath thy governance. I
tell thee it shall yet be well ! and when the mortal atoms return
again to whence they came my Love shall see how I have
loved, and perchance in happier times we shall meet again
before the Throne of Heaven and be forgiven the sin for my
love's sake."

And ah ! the glance that fell upon my spirit, as those eyes
that had looked upon the face of God swept upon me with the
cold fury of a wrath which would have blasted a lesser being.
From his thigh flashed forth the desolating sword, falling amain
upon me through the firmament, and rising in storms his rolling
crest lowered above his buckler seven-fold and vast. But front
to front in elemental war my unslung shield parried the thun-
dering death, and rising high in the might of Heaven, though
sadly dimmed, I cast upon the dread Prince the hissing horrors
of my spear x to which the tallest tree of Earth was but as
a splint of wood to itself.

Through Heaven resounded the dreadful fall, as with shield and
breast plate scarce hindering the bolt the might of Satan was
lowered in reverberating overthrow. Yet rising in bristling dread
and horror, he dashed upon me the circumference of the infernal
buckler in thunder, whereof the sound filled all space with
uproar, and from afar the lightnings hung upon his flashing
sword that sought to bury me beneath its name of Havoc, as
in gathering tempests it wheeled upon me.

With rage o'ercoming fear flew forth my brand, and meeting
the falling ruin in mid air the flaming sparks of light burst
like a torrent of fire in the midst of the universe. The tower-

X The description of this favorite weapon resembles that of Holy Scripture,
where we hear of four sorts of spears. Chanith^ a spear of the largest size, held
in the hand, and carried by Goliath and great warriors such as King Saul, capable
of inflicting a fatal wound even with the butt-end (2 Sam. ii 23): Cidon, or
javelin, carried upon the back when not in action : Romach^ a sort of lance: and
Shelach^ a dart.

361

ATLANTIS.

ing god rising high so that his impious crest touched Heaven,
bore hard upon me. and buckler to buckler we stood with

THE COLD FURY OF A WRATH WHICH WOULD :.]1AVE BLASTED.

stubborn knees advanced, striving by might to obtain the
other's downfall. Bearing the one upon the other in vast con-

362

THE WAR OF THE SPIRIT.

vulsions we swayed, essaying by force of limb to gain the
awful mastery, scattering the storms before our heaving breasts
as we wrestled in level strife. As two great serpents fighting
for mastery, full of fatal venom, so we entwined, watching the
fortuitous moment for striking; when to me came the sudden
knowledge that only my purity of intent, though so mistaken,
permitted me thus to so formidably war, and I staggered beneath
the thought. Then with a vast shout the Prince upreared his
shadowy buckler, thinking to crush me beneath its torrential
weight. Which nathless he had done but that I had seized
his uncovered portion and cast him with dreadful violence upon
his crest so that his arms rang out upon the plain and lay
prone in dire disorder.

Nor words can tell the rage that now filled the bosom of
the fallen god 1 He roared, so that his roaring shook the skies,
and, as world rushing upon world from its forsaken orbit, he
bore full upon me. With foot advanced I stayed his onslaught,
yet but for a space, and then, tottering beneath his might, I
fell in my turn with crashing ruin, so that one half of the stars
were hidden for a while. But rising with renewed force, I stood
against him, marvelling that so I was enabled ; and in furious
seizure we wrestled, now heaving up, now sinking, rolling in
panting fury and wavering mastery, now upon a knee casting
thunders afar, now locked in horrid expectancy.

And the noise of our strife shook Heaven, so that He whom
men call Michael, Captain of the hosts of God, came upon us
who warred so furiously and bade us cease, having with him a
shining guard. And looking up, the courts of Heaven opened
before me, the flaming galleries which rested upon space stretch-
ing in their awful glory beyond vision, court beyond court,
tower above tower, brightness upon brightness. The walls of
amethyst and crystal lay down the slopes of ether to the far
pylons radiant with heavenly hosts, and the steps of light
swept as a bright vision up under the golden shade of columns
whose feet rested on Eternity, supporting the shadowy domes
of the celestial abodes of which none can adequately tell.
Beyond idea or remembrance lay the streets of light, and glory
upon glory rolled in magnificence beyond all thought to imagine.

363

ATLANTIS.

Above the reach of Angel's visions rose that dream of bewil-
dering loveliness where flames sprang into form and shape and
were reflected in wonder in seas and lakes of translucent ether,
rolling in their calm beauty to still more beautiful horizons and
undreamed-of pleasures. A Life, One, yet separable into tiniest
atoms, was the whole of thought, of sensation and of vision ;
and a glory of the knowledge of it, filling all hope and desire
with enravished ecstasy that could rise for ever and never reach
a limit. And therein dwelt the Glory of the Universe, the Lord
of Mysteries, of the Name which cannot be uttered, the Splendour
of Eternity ; before Whom countless worlds ministered, and
flaming Spirits, winged with all knowledge, bowed in adoration.
And there, before the awful purity of my adored Creator and
the sweet pity of ineffable love, I bowed in shame, and burn-
ing shame, and my heart melted before the Glory that once
it was my dearest pleasure to contemplate.

And there was silence in Heaven. Through all the vast ex-
panses not a sound ruffled the awful stillness that lowered before,
the frown of God. But one long look of longing rage my
erstwhile opponent cast upon that bright vision, and then with
routed arms fled as a dark thought flies before the smile of joy.
But I, abashed and irresolute, stayed in my place before the
Presence of Him who cannot be named, the Spirit of the Heart
of Flame, nor dared to raise my eyes to the Holiness ; for the
shadow of my blighted love lay upon my soul in black despair,
and within my memory, graven in letters of fire as a punishment
to me and a condemnation of myself, were the words — the
words spoken by her at that first meeting — " I came not to thee."

Reproach and shame swept over my soul, and my eyes closed
with torment. A sweat which was as of burning drops of fire
rolled from me to stand thus before the eye of Heaven, and
though my heart cried : " I dare to confront Thee though Thou
blast me, purified by the suffering that I undergo, and spurn-
ing immortality that is full of horror," nevertheless I said it
not, neither could I speak there.

And certain enquiries were made concerning me, and the
voice of WAEF, the accuser, said, ''This is Asia;" and I
waited in terror to hear more.

3^4

THE WAK ()]• Till". SI'IKir.

And a voice, more sweet than the music of countless liarps, said :

"And thou also, lk4oved?"

Whereat my soul fainted with sorrow, and I wept with un-
utterable sadness that I had so i;rievcd the Heart of Love:
upon my knees doini;- homage to the Throne.

YET WOULD I NOT RELINQUISH MY LOVE.

i'\nd a<^ain the voice spake, filling- all space with soni^, and
fallini;' with thrilling mournfulness upon my respectful ear.

^'ct ill would it become me to speak of the communications
of Spirits; for thtxse things which are rather expressed in silence
of subtle understanding which is neither of the human heart
or brain, it is not tlccent to frame in speech.

And how canst thou comprehend God, () man! Thou who

ATLANTIS.

doth not know nor understand thy fellow-man, which is mani-
fested in human form before thee?

Thus in silence I stood to plead for my Love and excuse
myself with bowed head and downcast eyes before Mercy and
Comprehension. No words would have excused as that mute
eloquence, no impassioned gestures have pleaded as that bowed
head ; yet I argued an impossibility ; and in the midst of that
Heaven, my home, I remembered my love to that mortal being
and would not relinquish it.

Consumed in flames that purified and purged all evil, the
spirit writhed with moaning anguish in deathless and hopeless
torment, with quivering lips that disdained to cry for palliation
for self. With a heart throbbing with tortures, and desperate
hands wrung in despair, I lay before the face of Heaven and
cursed all things with a hatred that fed on itself, blinded, deliri-
ous and suffering, tossing in fevered horror with dry lips that
cried, and cried in agony, in their unconscious woe, for a little
mercy, a little palliation, as the awfulness deadened the prid^
at length.

Yet would I not relinquish my Love.

3^6

CAP. VII.

THE LEAVEN OF SIN.

In Earthly solitudes I wandered inconsolable, always not very
far from Zul ; and sitting down one night, I buried my head
within my arms and thought. Sure here all was fair, yet there
hung a menace in the atmosphere as amid tumultuous clouds
behind a veil of lava-dust the sun set red, and raising my
countenance I gazed upon the scene.

It was tinted with crimson, as though the wantonly-shed blood
of Man lay there upon it, and among the thick growth of dead
flowers and ferns and stately trees crowding in their luxuriant
array yet brown and pinched by the cold winds, rose tall
broken columns and piles of scattered masonry, thrown thus by
earthquakes and the hand of Man. There were bones and
skeletons and all the wreck of households from which rose
in shattered fragments those dreadful idols that were ever
apparent.

Presently the moon arose, a vast angry globe of light among
the massy clouds; and moving through trees and dead palms
that once shaded the ruined courts with grateful coolness, I
presently arrived upon a river, edged by graceful willows and
whispering rushes, whose waters the rocks and masonry fretted into
silver, where fish leaped and enormous saurians breathed with
their nostrils just above water — their long, slimy bodies lying
on submerged wreckage.

Upon the farther bank two tall figures sat upon pedestals, as
brooding over the scene, which was soothing to my spirit lying
in ruins like those buried steps and temples. In quiet majesty
they sat above their dead, unhurt by the ruin that had spread
over the hither city, and there was no man to disturb them;
but their heads were the heads of eagles which lifted themselves

367

ATLANTIS.

to Heaven, and there was in their expression that gazing beyond
the Earth which all of the statues had.

Fhtting shadows began to move about frequently, caused by
beasts of pre}' which searched among the ruins for food and
at times uttered hideous cries, and bats of large wing flitting
with gleaming eyes like coals of fire. Serpents crawled over the
blocks of masonry and piles of bones, anacondas dragging their
yellow length of columnar body from buried vaults and damp
courts hidden beneath withered vegetable luxuriance, where also
rats and vermin lived in myriads, and upon branches of trees
and tall cross-beams sat rows of roosting vultures.

Thus lay Chuza. And crowning her high places stood the
shadowy figure of a very large lion, motionless and terrific,
watching a moving shape that hovered among the shadows and
paused among a row of columns that marked the outer court
of the temple dedicated aforetimes to the river-god Nop. In
a little while I perceived, despite the grotesque outlines of furry
ears and swinging claw-fringed flaps, the splendid carriage an<4,
presence of the masterpiece of God : Man. It was Ham, the
son of Noah.

Without any signs of fear the monarchs of men and beasts
gazed the one upon the other, and then the lion turned slowly
away and disappeared among the tangle of bush, fern and ruins.

A mass of clouds, tinged with the red of volcanic furies,
were creeping up over the moon. Because of Chuza lying in a
valley the farther mountains could not be perceived, but the fires
threw their weird light on the high clouds, reflected afar, and the
Earth took a certain crimson tint by reason of them. The tall
warrior, holding a spear, came forth and stood upon a crumble
of steps from which he looked long over the shadows as though
expectant of something, surveying with close scrutiny every
point. A long shadow flowed over the heaps from behind him
as he thus stood, and he looked round swiftly to learn the
reason of it, fearing the attack of some beast of prey.

It was a woman who approached, of tall stature and majestic
carriage, with flashing ornaments and costly robes of civilization.

"The moon has passed," she said chidingly, pointing to the
orb of bright light.

368

THE r.EAVEN OF SiN.

Ham laughed with ironical humour. " 'Tis a new thing for
the Lady Emarna to reprove her faithful lover 1" he cried
gaily, tossing back the skull-covering from his massy curls, his
large brilliant eyes rolling as the light of the moon flashed on
their whites, and his arm revealing all its mighty muscles by
the action.

" Would that I could say 'tis a new thing for the lord Ham
to forget his tryst," she answered a little sadly, shivering
with cold.

"Peace, woman!" he cried, seizing her and pressing her to
his bosom and kissing roughly her full lips so that his teeth
clashed against the jewels in her own and she cried for mercy.
"Art satisfied? What would the old ones say, and Ru?"

Emarna frowned at the mention of his wife's name. " Nought
matters to thee," she said, annoyed.

Ham laughed, yet somewhat crestfallen. "And thou hast
come alone to see me, how I have fallen from a lord of Zul
to the follower of a mad old man? Though of a truth," he
said more solemnly, " there is a method in the madness of the
old one, my father,"

" I have come alone to see thee because of the love I bear
thee," answered Emarna, " and in my heart is a great fear by
reason of many things."

"Hast seen aught of signs in the heavens, and wonders?"
enquired the swarth giant, with a certain fear in his voice.

The woman glanced up in apprehension at the masses of
clouds that were lowering about the moon. "There have been
days of terror in Zul, and the face of the Sun is hidden ; by
reason of which the altars of all the temples run with the blood
of endless sacrifices, yet the cold wind breathes with the whisper
of doom, and the flocks and herds are perishing so that there is
but little to eat. Even Huitza is moved and Azta is distressed,
and there are those who would fain lay hands upon Noah and
you, his sons, because of a rumour that 'tis Susi who caused
these things on account of a foolish act of Huitza."

"Let Huitza beware!" cried Ham: "let the shade of Maxo
the Archer whisper in the ear of the foolish one." For Maxo
had secretly disappeared when the army marched upon Zul

369 24

ATLANTIS.

and lay inactive upon tiie banks of the Hilen, being slain by
Ham for an insult.

"Nay, he did her nought of harm," said Emarna; "the gods
delivered her and have never ceased to trouble the people.
Principally have I come to warn thee of the wrath of Huitza.
Yet did not the old Noah say he was not Huitza as all believe?"

The giant laughed grimly, shaking his spear in the air.

"He is not Huitza!" he cried. "Spawn of a Devil is he,
begotten of Azta, and nourished up among us to this end of
evil!" He laughed wildly, not guessing how near the truth
he was; and seizing Emarna rudely, tossed her up as though
she had been an infant, dandling her in his arms, while the
whites of his eyes and his teeth gleamed in his dark face shaded
by black masses of hair.

"Thus would I serve thy warriors, soft mistress!" he cried,
"but I should not catch them. Nay, by the truth of God! I
would cast them down in such wise that they would not want
to rise again." ,

Emarna was frightened by his mood, but presently he placed
her down and demanded to be told more of what transpired
in Zul, enquiring after many of the queens and how they fared.
Yet there was not much to be told that he did not know, save
that there was a great uneasiness beginning to be felt at the
mortality among the herds and the lack of game animals, which
the hunters said were emigrating to the west for some unknown
reason.

The clouds covered the moon and the pair entered one of
the deserted mansions lying in ruins, a broken battering engine
stretching with swinging thongs, like a limbless misshapen mon-
ster, across the debris. The warrior spread his bear-skin mantle
upon the mossy flooring and they reclined upon it, after assuring
themselves that no animals were there in hiding. And now the
man assumed a more lover-like attitude which pleased the queen
better, modulating his loud rude voice to melodious speech ;
and vowing he loved her above all other women, promised to
do whatsoever she might ask of him.

With soft caresses she listened, charming his senses by her
beauty and compliance and enwrapping his moral nature as a

370

THE LEAVEN OF SlN.

serpent, reversing their physical strength with the subtle tact of
a woman, and while ministering to his pleasures enslaving his
regards. No thought of sin restrained the dark chief, no warning
through the woes of others ; in enjoyment of the moment he
disregarded the teachings of his sire, esteeming himself suflfi-
ciently dutiful to have left the capital and his high honours at
his command, neither having indulged in its pleasures as deeply
as he might have done. Perchance the memory of Ru, his
faithful spouse- and mother of his children, at times crossed his
mind trained in the ways of righteousness, but did not check
the enjoyment of Emarna's wanton caresses nor interfere with
her subtle conquest. Well was it for him that unsullied lips
presented his name before the Throne of God, and faithful
hearts, believing him as sinless as themselves, trusted in Heaven
to preserve all their little family.

Emarna made her request, which was that she might follow
her lord whithersoever he might go : and the warrior joyfully
acceded to it, being in soft mood. These mortals heard not
the warning note in the chirrup of beetles among the ruins, nor
did the voice of the frogs perched upon half-submerged masses
by the river sound in other than its accustomed wont. The
Hon, afar, shook the atmosphere with the deep thunder of his
roar, but the hunter slept with his mistress in his arms, snoring
loudly.

And upon them I cast dreams and visions, and behold it
appeared to the warrior that in Zul he entered the Hall of the
Throne of Atlantis and prepared to climb to the seat. But
there sat a figure with hand outstretched against him, and the
face was that of the Accuser. A feeling of anger sprang up
within his heart at the opposition, and then he perceived that
from every brazier sprang up a winged figure and each one
with opposing hand bade him desist from his attempt to mount
the central steps, while WAEF spake thus :

" Thou hast sinned and sin yet : begone and beware ! "

And then came thick darkness through which arose the sound
of flowing waves, and a wind, cold and spray-laden, swept upon
him. Upon an ocean the dawn arose, and on a rock he stood
alone in the midst of the waters.

17^

ATLANTIS.

And then a feeling of terror came upon my own soul as I
perceived my power of weaving the dream to pass from me.
Yet I perceived how that a voice arose from the waves to his
ears and also to my heart. It was soft and sweet and unutter-
ably sad, as only perception of the soul aiding the ear could
make it.

"O Love," it seemed to say, "all is dead, but love remains.
And thou must go and forget, and love must stay and remember,
for ever and for ever. Yet if haply my voice shall speak from
the old days to thy soul, think not hardly of thy Love, for
punishment shall wipe out the sin and purge the crime. Go,
while I have the strength of mind to bid thee go ! And beware 1 "

The voice came from the waves, yet nought was visible.
Amazed, the man looked around. "How can I go?" he said.

Then before him swam the Mexiah, as a saviour upon the
face of the waters; and, as awaking, he perceived the Sun to
rise over a snowy land of forests and mountains, in the midst
of heavy storm-clouds, wakening also the world with its liff
and tinting beauteously the high points. Soon the lower lands
would catch the glow and all would be bright. The warrior
rose up upon his elbow and shivered by reason of many things,
looking to where Emarna slept, her brown bosom rising and
falling regularly under her breathing. His heart being tender
with love for her, he stooped and kissed her lips, sensuously
beautiful and full in their soft curves, and smiling in her sleep
she exposed her gemmy teeth. Yet even as she smiled a sob
arose in her throat, and opening her eyes which were very
large and brown, she sought for her lord where he leaned upon
his elbow regarding her curiously, and much tossed in his mind
concerning her.

"I have dreamed a strange dream," she said, turning and
leaning upon her elbows while the shadows of sleep lay within
her eyes. "I am disturbed because of it, my Love, for in a
vision I saw thee so tall and beautiful, and one came between
us and bade me depart and leave thee."

Her voice rang deep with anguish and her bosom heaved.
She fell upon her side, clasping her breast, the tears gathering
in her eyes and sobs choking her voice.

372

THE LEAVEN OF SIN.

"How can I go, and forget my Love?" she cried; "what
when the darkness of night shall come and I shall stretch abroad
my hands to find him and he is not there 1 Cannot thy God
by my God, and may I not follow thee? How can the world
live without the Sun, and how can the desolate heart live
without the love that bade it rise and look upon lifer"

She turned to Ham, where he sat frowning and plucking at
the fur of the mantle. "Thou art here now, my heart," she
whispered, pitifully touching his garment, "but what when thou
art gone? Wilt thou remember Emarna and of how she left
all to follow thee? How she cherished thee on her bosom and
braided thy hair? Wilt thou think, when thou meetest thy
espoused wife, of another who loves thee more, and will die
when thou art goner"

The man groaned and sank his head. " Thou dost not un-
derstand; thou wilt be happier in Zul," he said.

"I cannot return thither," she said in a despairing whisper;
and then as the knowledge of his feelings came to her sad
heart she fell in a sudden swoon and lay as one dead.

For thus is love, that knows that no return can be forced,
and dies at the thought of its self-raised horrors.

The warrior arose and looked upon her pityingly. He lifted
his spear and turned away, slowly moving forth into the light
of the day and disappearing with but one backward glance over
the frosty ruins.

And I wept that such sad woe should be able to be caused
by so worthless an object.

373

CAP. VIII.

THE ANSWER TO THE CHALLENGE.

How changed now was that Zul from when I first beheld
her greatness ! The bright days had changed to gloom and
terror, the starry nights to dark periods of cold and horror and
dreadful manifestations, where meteors flew through lurid clouds,
with loud explosions. Her palmy courts were covered in debris
and ashes, and her pleasant fountains ceased to sound their
music upon the air : the roses and the water-lilies were dead.
In ruin lay her palaces and temples, and fallen were statues
and columns and shady colonnades, burying many in suffoca-
ting death. -

Everything appeared to have been broken up and a dread
period of alteration to be impending, wherein lives of terror
ended in violent death, nor were there any more services to
any gods. Water from broken cisterns ran down the terraces
and lay in every hollow, hidden under floating coverlets of
black dust covering the putrefying bodies of men and animals.
Many layed violent hands upon themselves to escape the fear
of unknown terrors, a frenzy occasionally shaking the populace
and a depth of despair as all means of atonement failed.
There was a terrible scarcity of food, and half-starved creatures,
naked and wet, gazed with listless foolishness upon the ruins
around or fought for scraps of offal ; and in the black pools
starving children waged war with dogs and vultures for the
carrion remains. Some killed and ate the beasts themselves,
and the more abandoned kidnapped children and devoured
them. Even now were there reckless ones who took advantage
of the terrors to their own advance, entering mansions and
palaces, stealing riches and abducting women whom they after-
wards murdered, and, sitting upon piles of ruins, cast the dice
for division of spoils.

374

THE ANSWER TO THE CHALLENGE.

Couldst thou have but seen this thy night of desolation, O
Last-created Manl The darkness that overpoured in horror,
the famine and the earthquakes, the wreck of proud buildings
reaching to Heaven! The domestic animals had all perished
of divers diseases, and the hunters of meat, not finding more
than was sufficient for their own needs, did but lessen the small
supply ; and the fruitful sea now swarmed with sharks and
terrible monsters, so that the warships had to become fishing
boats after many deaths and disasters in the small vessels.
For even a large raft had been capsized and its crew dragged
down by a beast with arms like serpents, so that the fishers
on the large warships were uneasy, nor made any great catches,
while to increase their fears a most supernatural monster was
reputed to be frequently seen in the deep waters off Astra.
At times it basked on the surface of the waves, and anon it
dived beneath them with a storm of waters round it, and leaving
an eddy that would sink the Tacoatlanta. In shallow water
by Zul it stranded, and awe-struck crowds watched it making
vast efforts to regain the deeps, noting its shape which was
equally saurian, cetacean and serpent.

The ships remained in the harbour, moored to the waterway,
none daring to venture out. No fish save sharks could.be
obtained, and many people driven by hunger to forsake their
congregations, wandered over the land in search of food, and
because of its scarcity and their inexperience in its obtainment,
perished. And beasts of prey and such as fed upon flesh came
to devour them ; and now within sight of the erstwhile proud
walls ran lions and hyaenas and a great number of wolves.

The people, terrified at their own fearful blasphemies and
deeds that, aspiring to Heaven, were now confronted by Heavenly
weapons, degraded, enfeebled and even shocked, were silent
and full of despair. They were but human after all, arid
famine, disease and enfeebled constitutions carried them off to
regions that they had been trained to believe were governed
by a cow, or a serpent, or some horrible malformation, in-
spiring incredulity as to possibility and a chaos of feelings as
they found they really believed in nothing.

Another earthquake came, destroying the southern fortifi-

375

ATLANTIS.

cations and burying many people under falling masses and in
opening chasms. Azta, from the palace, saw the mansions and
temples heave, separate, and fall crashing in a thunder of noise,
enveloped in clouds of smoke and dust, and although her heart
beat wildly, yet it was with a curious feeling of carelessness
that she heard the loud explosions and crashes and the whirl-
wind of shrieks and cries. A wave of water leaped from the
earth, scattering the smoky clouds and impregnated with their
atoms, to fall with a swish and roar, rebounding in resistless
waves in all directions. The earth rocked, and the advancing
upheaval passed between the palace and the higher terrace
on which the crowning temple stood.

The Queen leaned against a statue, and, gazing with dilating
eyes upon the approaching terror, perceived the ground open
horribly with a rending sound, and felt with a creeping of the
skin a suction of air as a draughty rush of atmosphere followed
the opening of the chasm. She saw, with a whirl of giddiness,
the vast mass of the temple shaken as by a mighty hand, an^J
a wind-blown echo of a shriek was borne to her ears on a
violent gust that sent her hair and garments streaming out and
the fire from the tottering tower flying in showers, leaving but
one small brand waving in the sudden tempest, extinguished
but to leap up again.

Toltiah strode forth on to the terrace, followed hastily by
several favorites and ladies, while from every opening streamed
forth terrified menials. The Tzan cast a startled glance at
the great chasm, gazing on the temple that leaned horribly
towards them from a reversing convulsion of the earth. As
he perceived the one little flame a frightful sneer overspread
his features, and. turning, he placed the heel of his sandal upon
a smoking brand that had fallen from the tower, scattering the
dust disdainfully in the face of the Heavens with a loud and
scornful laugh.

A beautiful black-eyed boy clung to his arm and endeavoured
to restrain him. His face of deadly whiteness ashen to the
lips made his great frightened eyes stand forth the more con-
spicuously, and the masses of ebon hair framing his face ap-
peared oppressive in their heavy contrast.

1>7^

THE ANSWER TO THE CHALLENGE.

Azta's fiery glance flitted over the boy and rested with a
piercing look upon Toltiah.

"Fool!" she said, in a deep, terrible voice; and the chief
turned, and dragging after him the black-haired boy, re-entered
the palace.

And Amaziel the high Priest was in the temple before the
earthquake shook it, with him being also that Mah, who, in the
person of a slave-dealer, had wrought much confusion with his
women by leading astray the minds of the men through them.

They spake together slowly and in fear because of the ap-
proaching horrors, not knowing yet what form they would take
or what should happen to themselves. For having taken on so
substantially an Earthly form, each was in a measure greater
or less bound to the Earth and subject to what should befall
it, which was a great fear to them.

"Too far have we provoked Heaven," said Amaziel, which
was Leira ; " and now comes crushing defeat that shall sweep
us for ever from the Earth. For now is the time accomplished,
and now enter the Worlds of fate upon the final revolution of
doom, and for a space is a dread crisis hovering over all life,
the which shall go hard with us. In the revolutions of Uranus
our doom is written, and in the Heavens is hung the Balance."

And Mah, which was also Pholia, a Spirit of small power in
Heaven, was greatly terrified, crying aloud : " Behold, what shall
come to me for the evil which I have wrought!" But Leira
sneered upon him in scorn.

"O brave to sin," he cried, "whence come these tears?
Thou who hast laughed at the woes of others weep now at
thine own. Shame upon thee, craven Spirit ! Who inflicts
should at least be silent at like infliction, nor cower before the
Inevitable which cannot be avoided."

And Pholia turned upon him in rage, crying : " Thou art to
blame for that thou didst lead me and instruct me in all the
ways of evil I And now thou but smilest upon me and utterest
platitudes instead of extending aid!"

But Leira answered not. With folded arms he stood gazing
upon the walls of the chamber and the mystic courts beyond
with a dreadful scorn upon his lips. There was triumph in his

377

ATLANTIS.

countenance and a certain sorrow, and after standing thus for
some while he threw abroad his arms, and with a strange look
upon his face turned his gaze upon all around.

"I go," he said; "fare thee well and hasten thy flight, for
now is the time come."

As with one great stride he reached the central space that
led downwards to the mystic Fourth chamber, the earthquake
shook the temple. A gust of luminous wind sprang up from
the opening, enveloping him, and the fleshly Spirit writhed and
would have perchance turned ; but Shapes of flame seized him,
and he passed down and I saw him no more.

And from that place of echoes rolled up a strange murmur
that filled all space with sound as of the humming of count-
less bees, while the symbols on the sides of the chamber of
Leira ran together tumultuously as the walls swayed above the
earth movement. The obsidian mirror flew into sparkling frag-
ments and spHnters, and upon the brazier a cloud arose in
which writhed some horror with life and movement. Dull sounds ,
filled the place, the noise of falling ruins mingling with the faint
murmur of a mighty concourse of people, and great pufls of
dust and smoke filled the chamber, blown from outer courts,
as in that terrific movement fell column and colossi, and bulging
floors permitted the walls to fall inward.

And ah, what fearful things were revealed, coming from
hidden places, which were the handiwork and experiments of
Leira 1 Misshapen horrors of some unknown life, monstrous
births of Devils mouthing in sightless misery as an instinct of
doom fell upon them, dusty, mangled, half-crushed and terrified,
crying with strange sounds and wriggling in painful movements.
The whole building was full of cries and sounds of the earth-
quake, and Pholia, huge of form and trembling from his wide
shoulders to his shaking knees, stood with bursting eyes gazing
into infinity. With his fingers he tore his cheeks and shoulders
as though to strip away the hateful flesh that he could not
control, and, half as in a vision and half in tangible form, writhing
upon the floor, strove with great throes to cast from himself
the carnal atoms, that he might fly. Dread sight where flesh and
spirit fought with hands that forgot their cunning and beat the

37«

THE ANSWER TO THE CHALLENGE.

barrier that lay intangible but potential above the hidden bolts
of Life I

In a great light a figure entered, grand and terrible ; one of
the armed Seraphim, glowing as a rosy flame, having a drawn
sword in his hand and a buckler upon his arm. Before whom
the writhing Demon leaped up, fleeing upward to the highest

WITH BURSTING EYES GAZING INTO INFINITY.

roof in swift flight, and being smitten there, falling. In sight
of the people the carnal figure flashed downwards into space,
striking upon the terrace below, which sloped earthwards by
reason of the mass being slanted, and bounding off" with a
spatter of blood clear beyond the building down to the yawning
chasm beneath.

379

ATLANTIS.

But the Spirit fled, pursued by the Seraph, which had order
to bind such ; and as a wind-blown wraith before the sword
of flame he went, casting over in his hasty mind what he
should do. And in dark places among weeds and short trees
grew strange plants, into one of which he entered, hoping thus
to escape; but the swift pursuer espied by how he entered the
plant, and bound him therein until certain revolutions and a
cycle of revolutions had passed.

380

CAP. IX.

THE SCORPION WHIPS OF GOD.

There were riots in the city and dreadful scenes, as deserted
by the priests (many of which being removed as PhoHa): and
with none to direct them, the people became as wild beasts,
panic-stricken and starving. P'or all the granaries and all food
stores had been seized and reserved for the army and the palace,
the mass of the people being commanded to seek their own
sustenance. And in the great trouble many in authority en-
riched themselves by secretly bartering food for much wealth
against the times when the trouble should have passed ; and
the slave-dealers received many beauteous girls who gave them-
selves up to them in order to be fed and to escape from the
cold. But by reason of the famine and all the animals having
at last been devoured, it became usual to eat human flesh,
notwithstanding that some of the bolder ones preferred to
wander without the walls and wage war with the ferocious
beasts, feeding their stomachs upon the flesh of lions and wolves.
Yet even these disappeared, and in a deserted land the half-
ruined city lay beneath a direful canopy of gloom, enfeebled
and dying of its own inflicted horrors.

From wantonness mobs sacked the Bazaar and loaded them-
selves with all manner of ornaments and jewellery, although
the merchants had hidden much of their wares in fear of such
attacks ; but many of them, while covering their shrunken bodies
with robes of splendour and adorning their limbs with all that
the Earth could produce of flashing gems, sank down and
moaned, being seized in the intestines of a vile cramp whereby
they gnawed their flesh and all things of leather until such also
were gone.

The desolation was dreadful, but the moral condition of the

381

ATLANTIS.

people was worse ; and nothing was left now to fly to for pro-
tection from the terrors that devastated the land. All in
authority appeared equally helpless, and only once of late had
Azta's slung coach passed before their eyes, moving at a swift
pace with drawn curtains, its guards not daring now to wan-
tonly interfere with the dreadful creatures who sat stark and
starving, glaring upon their full persons with the lust of hungry
lions. There was no wine in which their misery could be
drowned, and silent groups sat in terror and only shuddered
when the earth shook, dying in the fatal cold of the nights.

Their numbers were augmented by discharged domestics and
slaves, as the nobles found themselves unwilling to endanger
themselves by feeding useless mouths; and these unfortunate
people, being fat, and also by reason of remembrance of past
arrogance, were killed and eaten. And this hostile feeling was
also extended to such of the nobles themselves who were not
too powerful, and at times the passage of such was violently
obstructed; while a madman attacked furiously the Lord Nezca,,
only being struck down when he had killed two of the guards.

Having commenced such outrages, the starving populace
turned with fury upon their superiors, accusing them of causing
their miseries and forgetful of their own evil. Leaders arose
among them, principally of those who had been cast forth
from great establishments and knew of stores of hidden pro-
vender, stirring them up to sack the palaces of the nobles.

Even those at the Red palace became alarmed at the aspect
of the people, who also were taught that the gods required
the death of the mighty ones of Zul which had grievously
sinned against them. In dreadful swarms they surrounded the
more isolated mansions and entered them by storm, sacking
them and compeUing their inmates to disclose where food was
hidden; jeering with brutal taunts at the plump beauty of high-
born ladies dragged before their dreadful ranks in whom no
passion but for food was left. Little fat babies were instantly
slaughtered by the ravening multitudes and devoured in their
blood, and older children also; but this dreadful food (they
being unused to it) brought on diseases and death.

And particularly the indignation of the people burst furiously

382

THE SCORPION WHIPS OF GOD.

upon the slave-dealers, who were of noble rank and great
influence; both because they remembered how many of their
young girls were abducted by them in past days for the palaces
of the great, and because now they must of necessity have
good store of food for those they now possessed, notwith-
standing that they had cast forth many as others had their
servants. Therefore great crowds assailed their establishments,
and dragging forth the lords stoned them to death with the
ready missiles of the debris. Their splendid apartments were
wrecked and the ornaments and valuables scattered broadcast
over the mob, while the women were brought forth for blood-
shot eyes to glare ferociously upon, and scan with lewd pleasure
their rounded and exposed beauties. Upon these unfortunates
the women of the crowd hurled vile abuse and pitiless mockeries
that were not lessened by the beauty and plump appearance
of the tender creatures thus dragged from their luxury and
plenty. There was one Temassa, a noted courtezan of the
city, who was the most violent of them all and the most
atrocious in savage deeds, slashing the faces of the more beau-
tiful of the women with a knife and breaking their teeth, that
they were beautiful no more. Heaps of furniture were smashed
with axes and clubs, valuable rugs and mantles were torn to
pieces in the efforts of individuals to secure them, and the
original excuse for the violence was lost in the madness of
carrying it out ; while the unfortunate beauties, after horrid
outrages, were stabbed to the heart, and some were devoured.
And thus the dark days passed and the people scarce kept
their lives within them, many dying of diseases, and of wounds
received in storming the palaces or fighting among themselves.
Thousands lived upon such fish as they were able to obtain,
and upon a few birds, upon the bark, leaves and berries of
trees, upon grass and leathern things ; and indeed their struggle
for food stayed at nought (they being weakly human despite
their ideas). But the great ones in the Tzan's palace determined
to set forth, before they too were seized of the dire famine,
and attempt to re-enter that Eden from which their traditions
sprung. Long had it been discussed, and now was a most
imperative need for it to be undertaken, for the army was a

383

ATLANTIS.

great drain upon the food supply left for its needful maintenance
and of such as were in the palace. Touching which, Nezca :

"Wherefore hesitate ye, lords of Atlantis? Thence ye came,
and now what shall prevent your return? Is it not a very
desirable land, nor having been, by any known testimony,
removed from where it stood ; nourishing also the Tree of Life
and that dire plant which now might prove acceptable. Nor
are the Angel guards to be feared, for we have tested the
virtue of such, and methinks great Azta were match for aught
that wears the guise of man. Why should ye tarry longer
where Famine reigns and unseen Death is lord?"

Discreet messengers were sent to the cities near and far,
to bid their governors lead forth all they could save to the
north, where under their king, who would also arrive there,
they should leave their unfavorable land, desolated by Zul, and
retake their old places. For it was necessary that they should
go in as strong guise as possible, remembering their brothers
and all those families of Adam which they had parted from ,
when they came first to Atlantis, (whose possible arrival Tekthah
warned them of,) which might dispute their passage, or might
even have taken the land for themselves. Yet this, as I have
said, they never did, being destroyed with Atlantis. But in the
issue these messengers never arrived at their destinations, nor
was any more heard of them.

Hut the secret preparations becoming known to the populace
by some means, aroused in them the greatest fears and rage.
Their leaders were about to leave them to starvation and death,
and to face alone the mysterious night of terrors ; while by
removing even the official mediums of the gods thus — the last
thing left to them — the chaos of mental nothingness into which
they were plunged would be unendurable. Why might not they
also go to this pleasant land from which they were sprung,
that the superior knowledge of their lords told them of, they
said, regretful that such as had aroused the legions of Heaven
against them should now depart and leave them to face the
heavy judgment ; deserted also by those magicians of wicked
arts who left their mistresses either dead by unseen means or
raving maniacs who declared frightful visions.

384

THE SCORPION WHIPS OF GOD.

Exasperated therefore by such things and perceiving their
frail mortality, a vast horde of emaciated people thronged up
towards the Red palace, around which was encamped the whole
army which was in Zul. Nor was there as yet so great a
danger encountered by Toltiah, for the thousands which came
up against him were far greater in number than the thousands
of the legions, and armed with weapons from the sacked em-
poriums of the Bazaar, being also desperate warriors and very
large in frame and sinew. Their exposed teeth shone amid
masses of uncombed beards, and naked arms, shrunken by
famine, but still formidable, beat the air with swords, spears
and clubs, while the earnest panting of the mute furious crowd
betokened how deep were its feelings.

Upon these dirt-grimed arms glittered rings of rare value
taken from sacked palaces and emporiums, and grand tiaras
crowned by peacock's feathers were secured among the tangled
masses of hair of both men and women. Upon some wretches
from the battlements and dreadful haunts of the city, whose
lineaments would inspire fear by their degraded ferocity, was
buckled armour of gleaming gold and silver, and the colours of
splendid mantles covered up most of the dirt and shame and
misery that marched beneath those myriad weapons, A vast
relief was upon all as the delight of the present action overcame
the past fears, and the joy of acceptable and pardonable violence
filled all hearts, together with the thought of storming the
granaries.

How sad it was to see where human passions rose from their
foul corruption into which they had fallen in order to rend one
another, and near relatives glower in loathing hatred each upon
each. The women in the crowd, perceiving among the legions
many lovers, shrieked curses upon them, holding forth tiny
infants dead of cold and famine and too emaciated to be eaten.
The lines of guards gazed in fear upon these appalling enemies,
whose fevered eyes glared from huge sockets and who resembled
an army of the dead coming up against them in overwhelming
vengeance.

Aroused by the murmur of the crowd Toltiah appeared,
and at sight of him a great yell of rage went up as the

385 25

ATLANTIS.

starving people hurled themselves upon the guards and an
instant battle closed furiously with sounds of clanging bucklers
and mighty blows. And at first the guards did but fight with
small stomach for the fray, because their enemies were brothers
and they had great pity for a plight that might soon be their
own ; but as the weapons bit deeply and the joy of war over-
came their fears and delicacy, they smote hard and fast in
dread of being overcome.

There fought with Toltiah all the men of note which were
in Zul, whose towering crests were known of all, and upon
the high terraces and roofs appeared those queens whose fames
were upon all tongues, to look with fear upon the near battle-
They read in those bright arms and splendid mantles and
jewellery the fate of the lower city, and dismay was upon them
to perceive the dreadful ravages of a famine that had not as
yet touched themselves. The humming of the sling-shot was as
the sound of bees where in deadly strife men fought, and
limbs, dismembered, flew into the air. Sword-blades, splintered
at the point of furious contact with shield or metal harness,
hurtled dangerously, transfixing far opponents ; while beneath,
the stabbing spears and knives of obsidian and copper did their
deadly work. Arrows, sent above the battle by both sides, fell
among the swaying heads, and long thrilling shrieks of agony
arose as they pierced them. The Lord Chanoc, governor of
Atala and Lord of Astra, who was sojourning in Zul, hewed
his way to the front with an Amazon's axe, where fought
Toltiah with Marisa's broad cleaver towering high above the
thickest fight. Around them fell many, beaten down by clubs
and pierced with spears, and the dead and dying lay Hke
autumn leaves where Nezca fought, his great sword carrying
destruction in its sweeping death. Backwards and forwards
swayed the dense crowd, too earnest in fight to cry out, but
the women screamed shrilly, and such as through weakness
fell never rose again, being trampled and smothered.

Around them were masses of ruins and debris, and in the dust
of fallen arches and pylons they fought. The low walls that had
been around the gardens before the earthquakes were now
heaped up above their ruins by heaps of dead bodies, which

386

THE SCORPION WHIPS OF GOD.

also fell among the trees and reddened the fountains with their
spouting blood. The red terraces were dotted with bodies
where the fight waged thickly, the guards now being driven
back by their opponents. Oris, giant warrior, fell over a dead
body and pitched his whole length down the steps, falling
among the opponents. Ah, luckless chief! Nor was he ever
to rise again, for seized of numerous hands the cruel weapons
beat his life from him so that his blood ran down the steps
and mingled with the rest. And nearly also had Nahuasco
died, for, stooping above a foeman, a huge toothed club smote
upon his back and he fell groaning; but Toltiah rushed upon
his foes, bearing them down by his great size and the strength
of his arm, and rescued the old warrior. Many in such manner
were smitten down as they stooped to take the rich ornaments
from their vanquished opponents ; and thus went the fight, the
leaders with fiery chivalry pressing forwards far in advance of
their comrades, courting capture and wounds, and both giving
and receiving dreadful blows. Nezca swung his terrible weapon
untiringly, glorying in the rushing blood; but, around him,
arms began to tire, and the combatants grunted at every smash-
ing blow, panting and sweating and smiting with both hands
upon their weapons.

And because of utter feebleness many men fell down, and
many more were seized of agony in their empty intestines so
that they groaned, neither were they able to fight any more,
lying in cramp upon the ground. And in spite of far smaller
numbers the guards prevailed against their famine-stricken op-
ponents, and beneath the dark clouds lay mingled in sad con-
fusion the wrecks of Earth and Man, formed (with but amazing
differences in quantities) from the same atoms.

387

CAP. X.

THE 15EAUTV OF HOLINESS.

Ever is there sadness greater or less in all the worlds, for
where Love is, dwells also Sorrow; and indeed they cannot be
separated, for without care is no love. And among the godly
family of Noah was much unrest concerning Ham and his
waywardness, and his espoused wife especially was distressed by
his absences and coldness towards her. She knew not of the
mistress he had deserted in Chuza, leaving her helpless and
alone in the midst of such terrors ; to her loving heart it was
sufficient that he excused his absence for so long to the ph^.-
nomena of the Heavens. And these were great indeed, nor
did Ham mock any more at the rolling thunder-clouds which
hung above them like the bellying roofs of a tent and stretched
afar to form a meet background for the flaming majesty of the
volcanoes, whose fires cast an infernal glow upon the darkness
above, whereby all the Earth appeared to be consuming in
burning horror. The winds, carrying the ashes and scoria;
afar, laid a pall over the land to cover its fallen ruins and
prepare it for what should come ; and looking over its dark
sorrow Ham wished to have transfixed Emarna's heart with
his spear, being haunted by the pleading love of her large
brown eyes.

Still in the village sojourned the two strangers, whom gentle
manners and speech had caused to become greatly beloved.
Which two now ordered to be prepared much food-stuffs for a
long period, which were stored up within the Mexiah upon the
topmost floor, arousing great curiosity in the minds of all, who
received no answer to their questionings save that so it was
commanded. There was an abundance of fruit to be obtained,
for the forests preserved the central trees and vines safe from

388

THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS.

the icy winds that shrivelled the stately palms and ferns which
were away from such kindly shelter; and to such haven came
herds of animals, indeed every sort of them appeared to flock to
the hills; which also was a phenomenon causing no little
wonder and uneasiness, as Ham reported the absence of them
upon the lower lands. Thus all day were carried in piles of
all manner of fruits and vegetables in rush baskets woven by
the women, and great cakes of bread prepared with honey ;
and in earthern vessels of rude manufacture water was stored
and sealed up. But of a night, when the black deck cut clear
and sharp against the dull red clouds, and the blacker shadow
of the door was displayed in the fire-illuminated side, the quiet
people marvelled at the structure and the preparations, and
thought in awe upon the nameless sins of Zul and those in
high places, and the mighty wonders wrought of the towering
sons of God. Yet their minds being either pure or simple it
came not to them to argue upon the mysteries of generation
beyond what was meet and comely, and the dread sins whereby
came such future doom being impossible and unsupportable, Man
becoming as a vast beast that wrought confusion without power
to govern or limit its appalling powers.

Now upon a certain day, (the ship being completed,) Noah
built within it a temple wherein to worship fitly the Lord God
Jehovah, and made within it an altar, upon which he sacrificed
in the presence of all his family and the two strangers. And
when they were gathered together it was dark, but there
descended upon the altar a soft light that illuminated the place,
and a chord of music sounded upon the air. Low, beautiful
and wondrous, it seemed to gather from a great distance
until in a sweUing note of marvel it vibrated all around, and
as the harps of the Angels swept by the wings of rosy dawn
to the voice of myriad stars it fell upon the ears of the adoring
sons of Earth.

A cry of joy broke from Susi, but Ham, sinking his head
upon his deep chest, durst not raise his eyes; yet prayed fer-
vently. There was an awful silence, and methought it seemed
as though a Hand had been placed upon each bowed head,
from which sprang a light of exceeding beauty. Upon the

389

ATLANTIS.

children's foreheads it shone, Hghting their sinless eyes that
need as yet not droop even before that beauty of holiness,
they turning with fearless inquiry towards the Power of God to
see what might befall, nor fearing when from the visible Form
of music a voice came.

"Go forth!" it said : "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth, and subdue it : and have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the Earth."

It ceased. The bright light faded and a flash of lightning
consumed the offerings which were upon the altar; while from
great spaces came an echoing chorus, most beautiful and sweet,
"Go forth!"

And the two strangers, which had knelt in most holy a(^or-
ation, arose; "Go forth!" they said; "trust, and all shall be
well with you : and hinder nought that shall come. Servants of
God. go forth, and fare you well."

And leaping up, as bright comets they arose and were ng
more; and for a long while the people remained prostrate and
marvelling, Ham in his heart confessing his sins and making
vows of repentance.

And when all had gone forth and were asleep in the night,
Susi sat with Shem by the fire at the door of their tent, holding
his hand and watching the glowing clouds. And as they sat
they perceived many fiery orbs moving and crossing continually,
strange sounds breaking upon their ears with the shuffling of
myriads of feet, while the scintillating points increased in number.
The man would have arisen and enquired into the cause of it,
but Susi restrained him and they sat and watched for what
should come.

Into the light of the watch-fires came moving forms, and
presently they came nearer so that the watchers perceived them
to be animals ; nor was their wonder lessened when they ob-
served the number of varieties. P'rom large to small they
gathered in a far-stretching circle near to the fire-blaze, crowding
together as in deadly fear and whimpering pitifully. Stately
deer of great size towered with their antlered glories above
hideous baboons and huge apes of various species that looked

390

THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS.

with their vivid eyes and gleaming teeth Hke demon forms ;
horses snorted by the side of terrified crouching panthers and
ferocious aurochs, a cayman pushing its fearful muzzle through
a great crowd of rabbits, wild swine, porcupines, tortoises, conies
and timid gazelles. A fearful form showed among them, whose
tiny eyes, twinkling and evil, and the long horn upon its head
bespoke the dreadful unicorn, oc and large tapirs with others
like to them — half-mammoth, half-boar — thrust their huge bodies
forward. The sweeping tusks of a majestic mastodon shone
white in the glare, and long necks swung high in the midst of
the moving throng, from which the luminous eyes glared softly.
There was no trampling down of weak ones, no disordered
rushes ; but a vast fear seemed to pervade the mysterious
multitude.

There appeared no elucidation of such a perplexing mystery,
nor could the man's expanded nostrils discover aught but the
animal odours. There was no smoke by which he could read
of burning forests, whose abundant herbage should have sufficed
the beasts in satisfaction, not yet being withered.

The muffled thunder of a lion's roar vibrated the atmosphere,
and as at a signal, and without a sound, they were gone ;
fox, mastodon, pig, deer, rabbit — all gone. Those lithe forms
that would sweep along with the speed of a tempest, those
gigantic shapes that would rush with the terrors of an earth-
quake through the forest, had vanished without a sign, a sound.

The two watchers sat there for long, thinking and wondering.
Upon the clouds the manifested fury of the volcanoes was mag-
nificent and awful, and Susi wondered if again that figure
hovered above Axatlan in flaming majesty holding the sword
of fire.

Thus passed the wondrous night, and next morning a number
of the smaller animals were discovered in the Mexiah, having
entered by the sloping gangway through the door. Mindful of
the words of the Angels they were suffered to remain undisturbed,
and were nourished with food, being endeared to the women
and children by their tameness, yet causing fear by the know-

« The Rhinoceros (probably); see note Cap. IV., lib. II.

ATLANTIS.

ledge that they sought refuge from an impending catastrophe
that as yet their superior lords knew not of. Yet these under-
stood that some great thing was to come by reason of the evil
of Atlantis and the confusion of Mankind, and all prayed greatly
to Heaven and were afraid.

But ah, with what fears I looked upon the altered face of
Earth and strove within myself concerning the unknown Future !
What were these Mortals to so greatly move Heaven? Beings
of initial holiness who afterwards developed into incarnate Evils!
Beautiful they were, but mostly used their beauty to the for-
warding of evil, and, the more beautiful, so much the more did
they sin and were able to sin. Yet who would deem that those
little children, guileless and unwilling to do wrong, should take
to themselves a talent to go astray and lead others with them?
Instructed of Angels, who loved them, they were happy and
mighty in innocence, mightier than strong men, and yet in after
days they fell and became as the rest.

How I loved those little ones for their joyous fearlessness*
and for the beauty of their unsullied innocence, and loved to
watch them play until the shadows of Earth's weariness gathered
in their great eyes, surprised that they must cease to play, but
glad to leave even Earth's joys for pleasant sleep; when with
their little plump limbs deserted by their spirits, folded softly
within their tender mother's arms, they slept that mystic rest
they cared not to enquire of in quiet peace until bright dawn
kissed them into new life of Earth. Little living forms with
souls of Angels, until one day a wonder grows upon them, and
an awakening, as the body grows and the germs of Earth grow
within them and awaken to life and the voice of their mother
Earth.

Fondest of all was I of Huri, a tiny daughter of Susi, and
oft would beguile her baby hours with pleasant play, and guide
her feet to where the water-lilies grew in shady brooks, where
careless of harm she wandered, until the cold came and the
little brooks were sealed up and the lilies died. And always
did I look in longing for her to come and play and with her
baby laughter to drive away the load of sorrow in my heart
for a while, as in loving guise 1 held her little hand, or carried

392

THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS.

her within my broad arms where she lay and gazed so strangely
upon me as half-divining my nature. And one night I found
her alone in that temple within the Mexiah, where in dread
contemplation my feet had led me ; and as she stood there in
the awful shadow of the Holy of Holies, lifting the veil in her
little hand, not a doubt clouded her baby face overspread with
a joyous smile as she perceived me.

" Come ! " she cried, putting out her arms towards me, as a
tiny Spirit of Love that would lead to Heaven. But all un-
bidden the blinding tears arose at her pretty innocence, which
might go before the Throne unchidden, whilst I, with the
knowledge of the ages, dared now not enter the awful Presence
thus.

"Nay, dearest of God's little Loves," I answered, (and at
the thought of my words the tears burst forth,) " I cannot
come." Were ever words so sad?

Yet she persisted, catching at my hand and pulling with all
her tiny strength, pleading tearfully that I would grant what
was to her a small request; yet although it tore me to say
her nay, I would not. And yet once more in strange persistence
she required my obedience, nor would she be refused save by
force.

So I went in with her and knelt before the altar that was
to me, with all my dimmed perception, the steps of the Throne,
trusting in the great purity of her who so importuned, and
waited for a sign. But none came of any sort at all; the
Spirit was not there while I stayed, offended at my frowardness,

" It is not for me to be here," I cried in sorrow, pressing
the little one to my bosom, "but for thee, little beauty of
purity, it is meet; for ever thine Angels pray for thee before
the Throne of God, and as a very precious thing is thy name
cherished in Heaven. Would that I were as thou, my baby ! "

And so we went out, and I saw in the night many Spirits
descend to the Earth which were to work the appointed Word.

393

CAP XL

THE NAVEL OF THE CLOUDS.

And Emarna from the wilderness raised her heart in suppli-
cation that her love might be satisfied by even so much as a
sight of her lord. For with such things is love content, asking
but Uttle for its share and forgetting in one moment's bhss the
misery of past years.

And for a punishment to both that they did love in such
fashion it came to pass that Ham, scanning from a high point
the surrounding country, perceived her where she stood afar;
and yearning after her guiltily (whom he believed to be dead)^^
sped downwards towards where he had seen her.

Swiftly he ran and arrived at the place, she also running to
nieet him, throwing abroad her arms to embrace him.

"I knew my lord would come again," she cried joyfully.
" Upon yonder peak I saw thee poised as a god, and my heart
cried out to me that thou wouldst come."

The dark chief seized her, pressing her to his breast and
kissing her rapturously. ''Thou mistress of my heart," he
cried, "would that I had known thee sooner!"

He set her down, and seating himself upon a rock, drew her
on to his knee. He laughed and patted her cheeks, kissing her
at times and wreathing her compliant arms around his neck ;
while she, delighted to be so entreated, lay still and suffered
it joyfully with half-closed eyes, while above them the dark
clouds rolled and spread and the lightning flared on the horizon
of fear. Yet it recked not to that twain that the land was
black and forbidding, for in each other's presence was all desire
satisfied for a time.

" I dreamed that we should be parted, my Love," Emarna
said, toying with the warrior's braided hair; " yet, although I

394

THE NAVEL OF THE Cr.OUDS.

thought my dream fulfilled, have I sought thee long, and behold
there is but little to eat."

The man gazed hard upon her, suddenly perceiving in her
shrunken appearance the wealth of this woman's love for him.

" And 1 left thee alone to die," he murmured in self-reproach.

" But thou hast come again," she said, " and in thy love I
live."

He kissed her lips passionately, while she clung to him with
a fast embrace as though fearing he would go from her as he
did before. But the great man dandled her in his arms and
swore he would never leave her again though all the Angels
demanded it, saying that now he would return to the camp and
get her some food. But she forbade him, praying that he would
not leave her for a little, because that she had rather gaze into
his eyes than feed her body.

Whereupon, nothing loath, he sat with her, laughing and
talking in merry humour and pinching her cheeks; but she,
filled with sadness and forebodings, would have preferred him
to be more serious with her.

"A truce to thy silence, fair mistress," he cried gaily; "yet
thou art hungry and an empty stomach makes poor cheer.
.1 will go up yonder and bring to thee plenty of victuals."

" Nay, go not yet. Of a truth am I hungry, but hungry
for thy love. My heart is fearful and my soul disturbed be-
cause of the signs and wonders in the Heavens, that bespeak
no good, O Love of my love, and the heart of a woman speaks
in words that come sadly true. It tells me that if thou wentest
to obtain aught afar from me we should never meet again. May
we not die together, dearest?"

"Die! Who speaks of death?" he cried.

Emarna smiled faintly, yet a terrible fear gathered in her
dusky eyes. She opened her mouth and gasped, while a shiver
vibrated her from head to foot. Then her eyes dilated as she
gathered her forces for what she knew was a test her lover
could not stand, and pointed despairingly to where the clouds
rolled black as ebon night, as great spheres moving on one
another in a vapour of ochreous and purple hues.

" 'Tis nought," Ham said, following with his eyes her pointing

395

ATLANTIS.

finger, yet somewhat dismayed, for the sight was appalling in
its gloomy horror.

"Ah, my dear lord!" gasped Emarna, clutching at her throat
as though she suffocated; "but perceivest thou not the terrible
figure that comes towards us with the naked sword outstretched
over the land? His feet touch the earth and the whirlwinds
go before him; his awful head is crowned with horror and
blackness, and storms arise about his path. O my Love 1 To
flee were vain ! Kill me and then thyself, and in one another's
arms will we die! "

The chief sat motionless, with great eyes staring at the darkly
awful form that swept along the path towards them, swung
from the clouds. As the woman had said, a terrific commotion
was about it; cyclones eddied around its feet and around it the
lightnings, as fiery serpents, played, while afar sounded the
roar and shriek of an hundred tempests.

Yet, brave in her despair, the woman kneeled and bared her
bosom, pulling aside the mantle that the invited stroke might,
be sure.

"Strike, my lord!" she cried, lifting the spear and placing
the point against her round breast so that the cold bright point
was buried in the softness of it. Her lips were white, her eyes
desperate and her bosom heaved with wild pantings. " Cause
me not to suffer thus!" she cried piteously ; "it is cruel, dear
Love, and I am but a woman. Be brave, my Love, and strike 1 "

He lowered his appalled eyes upon her, while the distant
sounds grew more distinct.

"It is because of this," he said hoarsely, "and behold I shall
die because of thee."

Emarna sprang to her feet with a sharp cry of agony, sob-
bing wildly.

"That thou shalt never say!" she cried in torment, both
hands clasping her breast while she gazed through floods of
tears at the crouching chieftain. "Go!" she cried; "Go! while
I have the strength to bid thee. Go ! There is yet time, and
thou art swift and strong! Ely, oh fly, and hasten! It comes!"

The warrior rose up hurriedly, and with a glance of abject
terror made a leap towards the higher land — tlie foot-hills of

396

THE NAVEL OF THE CLOUDS.

the distant mountains. Then he checked himself and ran back
to where Emarna had sunk down to watch him.

"Come!" he cried; "I will save thee also!"

She leaped up in an agony of impatience, waving her hands
wildly against him, while her countenance expressed the torture
of her heart.

"Nay, nay!" she cried; "fly, oh fly! It is too late!"

Still he persisted, but, turning, she sped with the swiftness of
a deer towards the approaching horror; not unwiUing, if he
should follow, that they should die together. But Love cannot
mate with Pity.

With the roar of a vast tornado the terror was upon them,
and the man turned and fled with all his powerful speed, urged
on by a shrieking blast from the tempest that hastened his long
bounds, filling him with fear and an agony of furious haste.
Forward he sped with terrific leaps, the roaring, shrieking tem-
pest approaching ever nearer behind him. He cast away his
spear, his knife and axe, loosening the thongs of his bearskin
mantle and suffering it also to fall, while never stopping for an
instant his wild flight, only wishing that he had not delayed so
long. He gave no thought to Emarna, nor one backward glance
to where she stood and waved him a last farewell, with heart
more full of fear for him than for her own swiftly-approaching
doom, and then turned to face Death. He only ran as he had
never run before, with a horror of darkness surging down on
him and a deafening majesty of sound all around.

But far it was to the higher land. His furious feet beat the
earth, his hair fell from its comely braids and streamed out
behind: with gaping mouth he panted loudly, and on either
side his strong arms beat the air to aid his desperate legs. On
and on, leap after leap, racing and bounding, flying over streams
and fallen tree-trunks, over rock and hollow; and presently a
flash of lightning flew past him with a splitting of the air and
a nearly overpoweringly sulphureous odour. A swishing sound
rose above all others for an instant and a shower of icy spray
flew over the fugitive, reviving yet urging him to fresh efforts.

His feet splashed in water as a wave rushed past him, and
with a cry of terror he plunged onwards yet the more franti-

397

ATLANTIS.

cally. Wonder it was that heart or lungs did not burst in that
dreadful struggle for life, as before his eyes the landscape reeled-
and swirled. Death seemed to He both before and behind, yet
that behind was more certain than that in front, and the mortal
instinct bade continuous action.

Over his wide shoulder he cast a fearful glance, perceiving
thereby a horror of night in which opened a roaring, seething
inferno. His feet gave way and his joints were loosened, so
that falling down he lay still and panted as an hunted animal,
until a wave of water lapped over his feet. Whereupon he
leaped upright, perceiving a great and dreadful spectacle where
the tempest in all its fury raged.

There the clouds shut out all light, driven before the storm,
and enormous waterspouts ran in gliding circles that shone wan
and ghastly against the thick darkness. Torn and shattered
by the wind the vast clouds moved in swift battalions, swinging
funnel-shaped trunks to the earth that was rapidly disappearing
under torrents of water, surging and eddying, cascading over
rocks and filling hollows with swirling pools. It seemed as*
though columns upheld domed roofs, and court upon court of
ebony rolled back into the darkness above the wreck of storms
beneath, where vast figures gathered within the gloom as called
together by a signal. And now the thunder rolled, echoing
round the vaulted blackness, and through the cloudy columns
the wind swept with a hollow roar, reflected lightning illumin-
ating the dark colonnades with majenta and purple glares. A
rapidly-rising ocean flowed beneath, continuing the reflections
downwards, and encroaching with swiftness on the foothills ; a
mangled body whirled and tossed upon the waves, and there
were others also borne upon the swift tide.

Like the horror of a fearful dream it passed before his eyes,
and then he turned and continued his flight, leaping upwards
and onwards, searching with straining vision for the place of
the village of his people. Fearful voices followed him and fast
behind him the relentless waters rose, as fast as he himself fled
from them. There was only safety in the mountains, and so
great was the pressing peril that the man gave no thought
to the great phenomenon behind him, but only stumbled

39«

THE NAVEL OF THE CLOUDS.

onward with panting breath and bursting veins towards the heights.

Confused and weary he ran onward, at times walking per-
force, and then as fear possessed him afresh, racing with speed.
He passed a large tree and for an instant hesitated, thinking
to climb up into safety, but instinct bade him continue on lest
he be cut off from all escape. Higher and higher he climbed
in a horrid twilight, each step now being nearer the desired
goal, (for the ground was rising sharply,) yet feeling pains all
over him and perceiving his limbs to be cut and bruised and
covered with blood. Torn and gashed by thorns, briars and
rocks and many fallen branches, he marvelled that he had so
escaped, as he sank down in a patch of fern high above the
boiling flood and gasped in a great self-pity. Nor did it to
him occur that, fleeing one day from the punishment of his sins,
he might not haply so escape when the gates of Death were
closed upon him entered within them, and the Tribunal was set.

Yet also other eyes had witnessed that dread scene without
understanding it. For Azta, watching the lowering masses
over the land, had seen, as it were, a world burst in the heavens
with an outpouring of thick horror, and shapes descending
therefrom in the cyclones and dark night, and from very far
had come the voices of the storm while yet in Zul there was a
suffocating calm. Covering whole horizons the clouds nearer to the
city appeared to fall as in a vortex to where the awful gatherings
rolled, rent by lightnings and bursting with thunder that shook
the suspended Earth ; while as a palace of Infernal wonder and
magnitude the varying columns and roofs and rolling pillars of cloud
stood, fading into the illumined distances. From Earth to immense
heights rose those awful galleries ; across halls of purple and dark
ochre flamed green fans of light, disclosing enormous masses
rolling and tossing high in air where solid spheres flew into
shattered streamers, clutching like fingers of demons, and black
trunks swung above the roar of falling watery worlds above the
doomed region, while from the central inferno rays of darkness
lay like tremulous bands across the night that spread above Zul.

A few flames on temple roofs waved in the oncoming gusts
of wind, and ghastly nebulous apparitions showed where palaces
lay, but mostly an amorphous gloom was upon all. In the

399

ATLANTIS.

darkness the square entrances of the palace sprang into light
as slaves ignited the torches, the glow illuminating strips of the
great terraced steps for a short distance ; and fearing more than
I dared say I stood beside my Love to shield her if I might.
She shivered as I took her hand, looking upon me with her great
mystic eyes that flared like golden stars in the gloom, and I
saw that her strong mind and will were subdued before the
elemental terrors and reduced to subservience to what might come.

Yet the cloudy Horror touched not the city, passing in its
dread procession afar ; and to-night there was going to be given
a great feast to all who should set forth with to-morrow's light
in the desperate retreat from a doomed land, and fly to carry
sin and all evil imagining over all the world so that there should
be no end to the* wickedness of it all.

And I, what should I do? With my Love would I go, still
hoping against hope that I might cause her to rule in holiness
from another throne that would arise amid the same conditions
as the present one was deserted in. But standing with her on
that last night of sorrow by the cliff that overlooked the seS,
we perceived a star to fall from Heaven into the waters. Down
it fell, and ever downwards, nor did the waters quench it or

NOR DID THE WATERS QUENCH IT.
400

THE NAVEL OF THE CLOUDS.

dim its brilliancy, as tremulously twinkling it sank lower and
lower, a great light beginning to spread from it so that it moved
in a sea of silver. Brighter the coloured light grew and of deeper
tint and increasing, until in liquid flashing gold it shimmered
with living beauty ; and still the hue deepened gradually to
fiery red. Figures leaped to meet it, bright and beauteous,
surrounding it in bewildering mazes until the light darkened
upon an ocean of blood, and the night closed upon the wonder
and the mystery of it all.

401

CAP. XII.

**FOR TO-MORROW WE DIE."

The Hall of Feasting was crowded and the granaries and all
stores of provisions had been thrown open that their contents
might be carried forth with the fugitives on the morrow. And
many who had never entered there before, and only knew by
repute what they now found to be less than the gorgeous
reality, gazed delightedly upon the frescoes and the vast golden
mirrors radiant in the torchlight ; and happy they who could
forget if but for a little space their load of anxiety, drowning
it in the pleasures of such high fraternity and the glowing
warmth of light and colour, until it was recalled to them by the
mute reminders of yawning cracks and that long fissure, roughly
covered, that stretched from side to side of the room, one-third
of its length from the dais.

Some shuddered as they remembered that it was here that
the great massacre of the princes and nobles took place and
where their resurrected Chief was murdered ; while the deep
roar of the lions that guarded the Hall of the Throne caused
them to tremble by its uneasy omen and its nearness to them.

Torches flared wherever they could be placed, so that there
was much light, and without were bonfires where the army lay.
At the blast of a trumpet slaves began to dispose the guests
according to rank and directions, most being placed below the
fissure; those less exalted, luxuriating on costly furs, finding
themselves awed by the presences of some of the mighty of
the land whom they had before only seen in the distance.

But all eyes became centered on the dais, where lay Azta
and Toltiah, crowned and in full harness, in a blaze of light
that flashed upon armour and gems and made brighter the
coloured vestments, continuing in gleaming masses around where
st»od guards and gaily-decked menials, the shield-bearers, pipe-

402

"FOR TO-MORROW WE DIE."

bearers, fan-bearers, and all the great retinues of the nobles im-
mediately attending, and falling upon the array of gorgeously
apparelled queens and princes nearest to them, all wearing
everything they possessed too valuable to be entrusted to slaves,
ready for the morrow. The mistresses of the Tzan lay in
masses of coloured light, where all manner of starry gems cast
back the torch-flare : levie, Sumar, Annis, Vasni, Zia, Eval, Sio,
Cyvadne, voluptuous queens, shining as flaming Spirits in their
splendour of form and flashing ornaments.

Here one in a blaze of emeralds, turning upon her wide hips
caused the beauteous gems to cast their flashes in a bewildering
dazzle, and from the darker places where the wearers melted
into the shadows came the scintillating gleams of wondrous
jewels. Dark-eyed Sada, whose breasts were hidden beneath
shields of pearls, flashed her priceless gems with every move
of her large fat arms; blue-eyed Tua still held her head dis-
dainfully opposite Axazaya, mother of princes, her eyes bluer
by the contrast of the pearl-dust upon her face and strings of
pearls dependant from her red hair dressed high with gemmy
fastenings. Tola, pallid and large, looked around under her
immense coral tiara crowned with peacock's plumes, and beside
her was Kah, elegant and tall, who spoke cheerfully and laughed,
as also did the beauteous Mea, a very young girl, wearing
emeralds in her teeth.

By the dais was the lord Nezca, splendid in his glittering
harness and vast symmetry, and there also was the veteran
Nahuasco, whose lion-like head was scarce rivalled by Iztli, the
dark conqueror of Trocoatla, and whose regards were much
sought after by the more elderly queens. Chanoc, Lord of
Astra, shone in brave trappings, and among the throng were
Lamec, Adar, Eto-masse, Hammur, Mehir (Lord of Chalac), Rhea,
Hano, Uta, Sidi-Assur, Iru with the vast shoulders, and many
more great ones. But such as Xoleph the slaver and Mataca
the purveyor of meat found themselves ill at ease where they
sat opposite to the sea-captain Akin and the huge Hoetlan,
who wore a Unicorn-skull helmet and had great gold rings upon
his arms and ears and legs; and all who reclined below the
fissure envied the grandeur and beauty of all above.

403

ATLANTIS.

Yet how sad was that gathering ! There was no happiness
nor even freedom from care, for there were many there with
sore wounds received in the recent furious battle with the
people, and all knew it was a farewell banquet fed from their
terrible scarcity, perchance the last meal they would eat or
could be able to obtain ; and the people gazed upon one
another, stern and gloomy, thinking of the starving inhabitants
of the great place, who would be deserted and left behind to
die. Only to such as had never perceived the grand Hall
before was there any pleasure, and their delight at the bold
beauty around brought them relief. These did not notice that
the huge wine-vessels were not filled ; they had never known
their measure : neither did the meagre variety of the viands
cause them uneasiness, as, surrounded by such bravery, their old
desires began to appear with a regret that they must leave
their beautiful city.

The slaves handed round the meats and drinks, and in time
the gloom began to fall from all. It is enough to human
hearts, the joy of the tangible Present! The sound of many
voices began to arise, more and more, and laughter to flow
as the wine covered with its veil of mercy the remembrances
of woes past and to come. The slaves ran nimbly through the
tables, yet with a dire terror in their hearts, for they believed
that they would either be left behind or be slain when the feast
was over. The red torch-glare cheered the feasters' hearts, and
snatches of old songs were sung, and at length some of the
women, in whose thoughts the unused luxury of wine had
aroused wantonness, arose and danced with increasing gaiety.
The warriors roared applause, excited to enthusiasm by such
careless act that banished all thoughts of care, and braceleted
arms were waved in the fumy atmosphere, and beaten shields
thundered to the accompaniment of measured song.

Then Azta arose, and a shrill trumpet blast commanded
silence as she stood forth upon the dais, crowned with the
Lunar diadem upon whose crystal symbol the lights gathered
wondrously, her whole majestic form alive with fire where
wondrous gems in teeth, belts, plates and shields accentuated
her sumptuous beauty of outline. No chaplets of roses swept

404

'•'FOR TO-MORROW WE DIE."

in their soft loveliness beneath the swelling glories of her bosom
to-night; the roses were dead: but from masses of large emeralds
and opals rose the ivory beauties, and between them, pressing
the soft skin, reposed a pearl of enormous size. Her hair
was interlooped with strings of pearls, rubies and diamonds, and
even now her eyebrows were dressed with care. Over all was
cast a yellow veil of very fine silk covered with gemmy points,
and standing forth in her incomparable beauty before the
hundreds, she began in a clear voice the recital of the nation's
history, from when the tribes sprang together at the signal of
Tekthah up through their wars and triumphs to the present,
when, deserted by Zul and their gods, they must leave their
land and their glorious cities and set forth, not in ordered
march, but as best they could, to meet in the north, beyond
the mountains. Thence, if haply they survived, they would
again join their arms and endeavour to recover the return journey
to that Eden whence their old forefathers had been ejected,
and retrieve by force of armed knowledge their inheritance
under a leader whom the gods had given back to them from
the dead.

A great shout of approval answered her, and when she
raised the tall orbed sceptre of state, whose golden sphere
rested upon the four symbolical arms of their adoption, the
enthusiasm was very great. As a goddess of Atlantis she ap-
peared to them, wondrously arrayed, and never stood forth such
a standard-bearer!

Tears of emotion streamed from warriors' eyes and loud sobs
showed more than the grandest roars of triumph the intensity
of feeling wrought by a woman's magic. Toltiah, sullen and
observant, dared not rise to hinder the ambitious act that
should have been his, and Azta, moved by an uncontrollable
pride, cried out: "To-night am I Queen of Atlantis!"

" Hail, Neptsisl" cried Nezca, bending low before her his golden
crest. But no mortal lived to comprehend such comparison.

The Tzan's countenance expressed jealousy and mortification,
but Azta's eyes flashed fiery joy at the great ovation from all
the princes, satisfied ambition for an instant triumphing over
even that great love she bore to Toltiah ; and I wondered

405

ATLANTIS.

would it have done so had Huitza in verity stood there.

But Tairu began to sing the old battle-songs of the wars of
Tekthah, and all there beat upon their shields and sang also
in chorus; and becoming of reckless mood plunged their heads
into the wine-vessels and gorged themselves to the full, nor were
the women slow to follow their example. Clouds of sweet-
scented smoke rolled up from the inhaling-pipes, and being, as
I have said, unused to such by reason of enforced abstinence,
it wrought mischief within all ; and as the strains of music
commenced, many young women sprang forth in the dance,
kissing their hands to the company. Lascivious eyes watched
them, and drunken men raised themselves from the litter of
victuals into which they had fallen helplessly, to follow the
wanton voluptuous movements, which became wilder and more
abandoned by reason of the applause.

Screams of women arose, but, unheeding, that weird dance
of death went on ; and as exhausted dancers fell back into
ready arms, others eagerly took their place, whirling to the^
furious music with flying garments that they did not hesitate
to relinquish. The streaming torch-lights that flung their lightning
shadows now here now there excited them the more, and the
rich perfumes of the wine and viands pervaded their senses so
that many fell down and writhed in convulsions ; but through
the redly-illuminated dust swayed in reeking odours by currents
of air, swung coloured mantles and flashed spear and sword,
and the myriad gleaming points of gems. A hurricane of sounds
swelled to the lofty roof, pierced by screams of wantonness,
the people tiring themselves by the violence of their passions,
which they continued nevertheless. Toltiah, wallowing in ignoble
confusion, led the wild debauch, his mighty voice, now grand
and vast as an organ rising above a storm of wind and hail, now
attuned to sweetest music, crowning all other sounds with melody.

The nobles joined in the revels, the Tzan, supported by his
mistresses, drinking to Zul from a bowl formed by the skull of
a newly-killed slave, in horrid blasphemy. His drunken eyes
rolled wildly and he threw his great arms about in helpless
foolishness, as around him lay many overcome by exhaustion
and apojilexy But still women whirled with flying hair in the

406

" V()\< TO-MORROW WK DIK."

dance, the warriors seizing upon scenic by force, which being wives
and mistresses of merchants caused many combats and murders.

Azta, hke an Infernal ([ueen, drank with an>' chief wlio
petitioned her, and Iru, in the l)lood of two servants whose
heads he smashed together, drank to the conciucst of luleii,
caUing upon the warriors to remember the northern phice of
gathering. The dazzhng mirrors into.xicated the drunken senses
of all, and not a few raised their shaking bowls with lewd ex-
pressions and drank to the obscene frescoes amid roars of mer-
riment. The time sped in outrageous pleasures, and still that
wild saturnalia continued as the Devil's brood danced to its doom.
The licences were degrading in their daring extremes as the wine
was drained to its dregs, and men and women, sunk below the level
of the beasts, became mingled in a dreadful whirlpool of disgrace.

Suddenly a gloom fell over the light, and all believing the
torches to be becoming exhausted, the dances and revelries
became more frenzied still. A current of icy atmosphere entered
the warm chamber, and savage curses were shouted against the
return of the dreadful day that should end the joy of that
foolishness. With a last diabolical effort the music banged and
crashed and in dilirious mazes the dancers leaped, clasped in
each other's arms, in the fading light, j)anting in the dust and
heat and falling in confusion over prostrate bodies. Then came
a sound echoing through the va.st hall and stilling all else. It
was as though a silver trumpet had been sounded, loud, shrill
and piercing; and all who were able looked to see what it might
be. noting with dismay how the darkness increased.

I knew what it was, and Xezca knew also.

"Peace!" he thundered involuntarily, with a great shout; but
Azta laughed loud and long, her voice ringing in mockery over the
tentative silence that had fallen upon the throng. And looking upon
all there in the stillness that followed, the thought leaped into my
soul, which appertained also unto myself: In the enjo\-ment of the
Present prepare for the Future, (for also in so doing is a certain
ioy) ; because the Present even now is the Past, antl the Past is
for ever gone from us. nor is its enjoyment active, being but a
memory; for we can never recall the joy of the Xow, but in
preparing a pleasant Future we lay a golden road of ever Present.

407

CAP. XIII.

"MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN.

Azta's ghastly merriment died away in fearful silence as a
cloud descended, filling the hall with an intensity of darkness
and extinguishing the lights. With a knowledge that this was
the end I hastened to her side, for such was my chosen place
before Heaven, advancing my buckler for her protection against
all that might come, and daring to oppose The Omnipotent for
the sake of my Love. Not in impious revolt, but rather in
despairing justification of a course that had gone so sadly
through not submitting to superior knowledge ; and loyalty to
a spirit so madly beloved, and so disastrously. '

A wind swept along, chill with an indefinable horror of death
and corruption, and a low sound of mortal terror followed it.
All below the dais cast themselves down, save Nezca; and the
knees of Toltiah shook with fear.

A flash of vivid light cleft the dark obscurity, and there
appeared a Hand holding a four-armed cross, like to their
standard. In full view of all it appeared, and many believed
it to be a recognition of their symbol by the gods ; but Azta
and Toltiah, perceiving that they were in the presence of an
awful power, prostrated themselves, leaving but Nezca and
myself standing with shining countenances and figures visible
to all. For having sinned by knowledge and volition w^e cared
not as cravens to avoid what should come, standing with de-
spairing hearts while came another Hand and slowly broke the
symbol in twain.

An irrepressible groan broke from all who witnessed it, and
then a voice, more mighty than storms, but plainly and awfully
distinct, spoke :

" It is enough, U People of the Last creation 1 Your sins are

408

"MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN. "

no longer endurable and the word is spoken that you shall all
die. The tree is evil and the branches spread, but the axe is
laid at the root and it shall cease. Thus is it spoken! And
you, the shining ones, that stand so boldly now, beware I
For you also are words spoken that cannot alter. By the curse
of this people shall thy curse be doubled, Hesorio; and what
shall be done unto thee, O Asia? Not for thy forgetfulness of
that dear love extended to thee, for which in exact measure
art thou repaid, but for the havoc and confusion that thou hast
wrought must thou account. Kneel!"

The lightning sprang towards us and all was dark. Nor in
words were these things spoken to us, but by the perfect com-
prehension of Justice, which is of the all-understanding and all-
seeing Spirit and is not biassed by deeds or manners nor bound
by any fear of varying criticisms to pass its sentence upon the
motive of every act. The only unforgivable thing is disobedience,
whereby superior guidance is stultified.

Sounds were in the atmosphere, sounds of grief and waiHng
unutterably sad and mournful, but below reigned the silence of
death and each man wondered if he were the sole survivor of
a nation. Presently the darkness broke and the light of that
last day of horror crept in over the prostrate multitude. Heads
were raised fearfully, and soon, believing what they had seen
to be the result of their furious revels, many shamefacedly
arose, yet carrying within their souls a dread presentiment of
coming doom.

With a terrible anguish I raised up Azta, pressing her pas-
sionately to my bosom while the bitter tears fell fast.

"I cannot part with thee, my Love! Thou art all I have!"
I cried, with intense agony ; *' O Hesorio, can nought be
done ? ' '

The prince shook his head gloomily. Entering now from
without the people thronged, leaning upon spears or the shoul-
ders of others, waiting for some signal from Toltiah; while
among the debris of that carnival of sin lay many, dead or
unconscious from the effects of the wine and dissipation; di-
shevelled women lying in their shameless nakedness with their
drunken lords. One or two raved in madness, with bursting

409

ATLANTIS.

eyeballs, and foam upon their lips, tearing, biting and shrieking ;
and the daylight shone fearfully gray upon the assemblage.

Toltiah arose, shuddering with dilating eyes. For the first
time he turned in appeal to me, gazing with drunken orbs
upon me in horrid terror, mad with excesses and fear and with
his godlike perception fearfully keen.

"Father," he said, with imploring sarcasm, " behold our plight
which has come upon us. Canst thou not aid by thy power?"

"■Fool!" I cried bitterly, *'and craven as well as fooll does
not thy remaining soul rebel against appealing to one hitherto,
unacknowledged and spurned.? Too unutterably late art thou
who hast impiously challenged Heaven and now shivers beneath
the lash. Begotten of sin, poor wretch, I, even I, pity thee
yet cannot aid. Thine hands, Devil-directed, have pulled down
ruin upon Earth, and Death usurps thy throne this day."

He turned with impatience and wrath to the assemblage.

"Come!" he cried, supporting himself heavily; "let us go
and leave the gods to kill each other."

But even as he turned the ground heaved, and the earth,
moved irresistibly, burst the floor pavement and fell asunder,
and down the abyss, buried in clouds of dust, fell tiles, bones,
amphoras and shrieking people with clang and clatter. The
gap closed with a sickening movement, and a sound, that caused
faces to blanch in awful horror, issued from it. The end wall
crumbled away in ruinous masses, and all the walls bulged
fearfully and rent themselves with that great movement,
while scarcely the four columns in the centre of the hall up-
held the ceiling that leaned in broken planes upon their different
lengths.

A strange weird sight broke upon all eyes, where, through
the tremendous gap caused by the fallen wall, the temple of
Zul leaned from its height, dark against the gray dawn. From
every aperture and long rent in the shadowy mass streamed a
blood-red light, dull and awful, and as all eyes turned upon it
the topmost and second storeys fell in a cascade of ruin into
a mist as it were of blood, where a great released brightness
illuminated the dust of that fall. The third storey fell, leaving
the wreck of its columns and vaulted roofs standing, and the

410

"MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN."

walls of the fourth storey which faced the palace fell in ruins,
carried away by the torrential masses from above so that the
central chamber was exposed in which were the dark mysteries
of Neptsis and Zul displayed in fire upon its walls. From the
square space in the midst shot up a strange dull-red flame, and
methought there were awful figures which moved in dismayed
fashion within the brightness around. And crowning the horror
sat the stern majesty of WAEF, the Accuser, looking upon the
ruin of Earth ; sublime in immovable majesty, awful in inflexible
testimony.

Azta shrieked in my arms, hiding her face in my bosom, not
wishing to longer view that portentous god and those awful
ruins where, flung afar, the golden fire-tower gleamed amid the
dark heaps. Protected by all my diminished power she had
no hurt upon her body, but in her mind was helll And to add
terror to terror the two great lions which guarded the Hall of the
Throne came bounding with broken chains among the people,
half-starved and of ferocious appearance. Unheeding all else,
they leaped straightly to the dais and with a great spring hurled
themselves at once upon Toltiah. The mighty being fell beneath
their weight, and with a roar one of the brutes smote the
grand Solar crown from his head. Azta with a shrill scream
of anguish leaped forward and attacked the brutes with a dagger,
but before she could avail and before I could hasten to the
rescue they bounded off" among the panic-stricken people, biting
and roaring savagely, disembowelling with tremendous blows
and bearing all before them.

But Azta cast herself by her so strangely regarded offspring
in a passion of anguish. She gazed with madness in her eyes
upon his countenance and shuddered with a dreadful moan as
she perceived that his skull was broken, blood and brains
oozing in ghastly flux between the shattered bones and among
the ruddy masses of hair. His hand fell as lead from her
horrified grasp, and with a panting cry she fell as one dead.

I gazed wildly around over the poor wretches fleeing from
that place of death, and saw how Iru rent one of the beasts
with his godlike strength and that the other lay pinned to the
earth by a spear. What would happen now r Too well I knew

411

ATLANTIS.

there was no escape from the pronounced doom, yet could not
my power prevail aught to save this one who lay unconscious
at my feet?

Nezca moved off last with measured strides. " Fare thee well
for a space, Prince of Heaven/' he said, raising his great spear
in salutation towards me: "We shall meet again when these
have passed."

He was gone, all that remained now were dead, save only
Azta and myself. Upon my heart lay an icy horror. "For
you also are words spoken that cannot alter," Yet not even
now for myself I feared, but I knew that if my Love loved
me not we should be parted for ever; and the thought bowed
me beneath its weight of agony with a torture that would have
annihilated me could I but have died. In an agony too keen
for words I stood in so fiery a hell of suffering that my soul
fainted within me.

Monarch of the dead I stood ; my murdered victims ! Around
me they lay amid mounds of debris of earth and masses ^f
masonry, dead by the beasts, by their fellows and by their own
excesses, dead in their formidable might of sin amid stripped
bones and smashed amphoras, with their mantles and armour and
gems gleaming between the dusty ruins from which the painted
frescoes reared themselves in mockery and the long golden
mirrors stood out brightly. Earthworms wriggled over the
debris, and scorpions and centipedes ran over the dusty remains
of the feast. Portions of the ceiling kept falling with crashing
and clinking sounds, piling up the ruins and revealing the sky
hung with thick clouds rolling ominously.

A great cry of despair came up from afar, tossed upon the
icy wind like the wail of lost spirits. It came around the walls
where the thousands who gathered for flight were augmented
by all the starving population, who hoped by accompanying
the more privileged ones to obtain some succour and escape
with them. But they found all egress barred by a broad river
of water, stretching as far as they could see in eddying, swirling
currents, bearing upon its flood trees, debris, and corpses.
Drowned animals floated feet upwards, their bodies swollen
incredibly and emitting a noisome odour, but there were many

412

"MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN. '

things that lived — sharks, sea-unicorns x and loathsome cuttles.

Small wonder the poor creatures despaired! There was no
escape from the horrors that were upon them, for from north
to south the stream joined the ocean, eddying in waves that
encroached more and more, and beaten into fretted points by
drops of heavy rain that commenced to fall. A dark freezing
mist covered the city with a dreadful night, and none knew
what hour it was, neither were able to distinguish aught by
reason of the gloom that dropped as a veil over the Earth.
They ran up and down the walls, alarmed, terrified, panic-
stricken : with wringing hands they shrieked, cursed and raved,
yet dared attempt no crossing.

And there were many who believed they might obtain salva-
tion through the ships, and these, running swiftly, made for the
harbour, not a few losing their way in the obscurity and re-
maining among the streets and houses. And this thing spread
as it seemed by instinct, whereby the thousands began to run
all in one direction; the stronger getting before those who
were weak and the starved ones, but all following the leaders
because of the instinctive dread of being left alone. Yet there
were many who understood not the reason of the wild flight
and felt a vague terror that some dreadful thing was befalling,
and numbers of the weak ones fell down and died, for the
distance from the farther walls was very great.

Beneath their feet the ground heaved, hurling hundreds down
in suffocating masses, and shrieks rose from their parched
throats. A great hght broke through the gloom, where from
the crater of Zul shot up a column of lurid flame, and there
was visible to many the three giant idols that sat within the
volcano above the lake of fire, by reason of the walls having
fallen in. Crowning the whole city they sat, immovable in
the bright glare as though in Infernal conference, and all per-
ceiving them shuddered. Yet in the 'light two gamblers sat,
with eyes only intent upon the dice, regardless of the cold and
mist and rain.

There approached the patter of the sandals, by twos and

a. Probably swordfish or narwhal.

ATLANTIS.

threes and dozens and scores, and from far distances sounded
the rustle of the myriad-footed rush. And then above all rose
an appalling sound that reached even Azta's dull ears and
caused her to lean upon me, trembling, her eyes, widely open,
gazing with a dreadful dark void from her ashen face.

The great reservoirs and the huge tank of the Baths had
burst and suffered a mighty wave of water to leap like a solid
cataract down the terraces, sweeping all before it and carrying
hundreds of the fugitives to whirling destruction. As flies
before a hurricane they went, dashed against impediments and
flung headlong, crimsoning with their blood the Hquid mass
that swept a path of ruin from the hill of Zul to the battlements,
and through, plunging with a torrent of foamy uproar into the
waters that surrounded the city.

414

CAP. XIV.

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION.

With dismay the leaders stayed their flight for an instant,
and then, panting and perspiring in mortal terror, again made
for the harbour. In their faces were hurled storms of spray from
great breaking waves, which in their fury filled the harbour with
wreckage. Of all the ships only the Tacoatlanta was left, plung-
ing wildly in the midst of floating overturned rafts, coracles
and little boats ; the battered wreck of one of the other warships
rolling like a great animal against the waterway, of which onl)'
the top step was above water, and that one being washed con-
tinuously by surges that dashed in over the reef beyond.
Sheets of foam drenched the crowding people that thronged
down to the boats, and against the darkness hanging like a
veil from the clouds rose masses of wan spray, leaping over
the rocks near the shore, in whose holes and crannies lived
dreadful sea animals, and at times dashing over the crater of
Zul, which burst into clouds of steam at each contact.

Farther out, flowing sullenly under a heavy rain, the waves rolled
in long gray lines to the shore, flooding the lower lands completely
and breaking in thunder against the clifis; but, as animals in
their terror, and preferring the perils of the waves to the horrors
of the land, the crowd rushed to the waterway, the leaders
hastening in order to obtain possession of the ship and get out
to the centre of the harbour to await events, warned by the throngs
behind them of the deadly danger they ran. Nevertheless, so
great was the panic that there was no halt or stay, and in a
frenzied mass the people debouched on to the platform, none
giving heed to friends or relatives in that great rush for life.

Hoetlan was the first, and recognising the danger of hauling
the boat up to him, dashed through the waves, holding by

415

ATLANTIS.

wreckage, and clambered up. There followed him closely a
slim youth and a butcher from the Bazaar. The Tzantan with
a slash of his sword severed one of the moorings, but scores
of people began to clamber up, holding to the bulwarks and
clutching trailing rigging. Yet there were no children to add
to the horrors of that wild rush, for long before they had been
left behind, struck down, deserted, or trampled under foot by
the racing crowds.

And among them were persons of rank, high captains and
Lords of territories, and a few great ladies, unrecognisable in
their dishevelled array.

"Make way!" screamed one, trusting foolishly that her rank
would secure a place ; " make way ! I am the Queen Axazaya 1 "
But some pushed her down and she fell into the water;
whereon, rushing through the waves, a black shark leaped,
sweeping some refugees from their feet and vanishing with her
amid screams of terror.

Now scores of frantic hands clutched the ship's side, whicb
by reason of the multitude already on board leaned dangerously
and offered a large side to the outer waves. Those within her
slashed at the unhappy wretches, and as the last restraining
rope was severed at length the vessel began to move from the
waterway under the hauling of those on the anchor ropes.
But clinging hands held still, and others clutched them ; and,
falling upon the side, a wave rolled the great ship so that the
gunwale dipped down, plunging the miserable beings below the
water, and by the movement causing to fall the stowed sails
and bursting the lashings of the catapult which was amid-
ships.

Relieved from the overbalancing weight for a moment by the
water floating it thus, the Tacoatlanta rose with a heavy roll
nearly upright; but the weight pulled from the waves caused
her to dip again more violently than before, and those who
would have cut away the strangling mass had enough to do to
save themselves. Long dark forms threshed through the water
as the fierce sharks swept towards their prey, and the waves
were topped by triangular fins.

The ship rolled up once more, and then, as with a sickening

416

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION.

lurch the catapult and all loose things fell down the slope
caused by the downward roll, the people within fell down over
one another headlong into the waves heaving red and terrible.
For an instant, so compact was their mass, it appeared as
though they struggled upon a flooded pavement, but they
spread abroad and sank, and the red water rose among them.
Some sharks, overwhelmed and surrounded by their victims,
leaped up through them, falling upon the dry and solid masses
and struggling ferociously until they fell through.

Nor availed the godlike power of physical man where the
Tacoatlanta wallowed, the farther bulwark high above water,
the hither supporting a struggling mass to which breaking
waves, dashing over in a falling mass of foam, added confusion
to hideous confusion. Solid red patches rose up horribly through
the water, breaking into pink froth upon the waves, above which
tossed a forest of arms, legs and heads of the weltering wretches
who strangled and fought, those who wore harness sinking like
lead when support was removed.

The crowds at the waterway watched with blanching faces.
A silence was upon them and they stood as though carved
in stone, gazing on the frightful scene before them. The tangle
of rigging, the floating spars and oars and enveloping sails,
the seething mass of humanity, appeared* like a vision of
dilirium, and among the writhing masses the long gleaming
forms of the terrible fish dashed swiftly. Gorged and satisfied
they bit right and left, gouging out bloody masses of flesh
and severing limbs from trunks, while, below, the congers
and water-snakes tore the unhappy beings, their graceful forms
at times appearing above the water. Limbless bodies were
tossed about and a headless trunk was pushed upright high above
the rest, a hideous sight with the spouting blood. From far
the sharks crowded the harbour eager for prey and attracted
by the scent of blood, until it appeared to be alive with them;
and the great warship, full of water, came floating up to the
steps of the waterway in ghastly mockery.

Within her, as it were in a floating tank, a small shark
dashed about, until a poulp, entrapped in Hkewise and annoyed
by its rushes, seized it in a grasp from which there was no

417 27

ATLANTIS.

escape, while another serpent-Hke arm fell writhing among the
spectators and drew a victim to a dreadful doom.

The crowds broke up, and through every street the people
ran bewildered and terrified, shuddering at the increasing thun-
drous roar of the surf upon the cliffs, that sent the icy spray
flying afar over the city and at times eclipsed the light from
Zul. With the exertions of the past few hours, the chill fever
and starvation, hundreds lay dead and dying all around, as
now within the palace the flying scud drifted and fell, pattering
among the ruins and raising little clouds of dust. Upon the
dais, surrounded by desolation and death I stood, while Azta,
returned to her wild grief, sat with her head buried in her
arms, holding Toltiah's cold hand. From her head I had taken
the heavy crown, I, who had placed it there above the sceptre
of the V^engeance of God; and now not a sound or a move-
ment betrayed the fact that aught lived within that place, and
the sounds of the ceaseless rush of feet, the moans and cries
of the populace and the noise of the tempest were borne to u^
softly, as of a dream. The dreadful glow from the volcano
quivered through the mist, and there sat that conclave of silent
figures majestic and immovable within its mouth, in grim
semblance of judgment upon the city.

" Wilt come with me ? " I asked of my Love, yet scarcely recognis-
ing my voice in that hoarse utterance, longing to take her away.

She shook her head. The time passed on, yet we moved
not, we who lived, each possessing the knowledge of unrewarded
faithfulness, yet with the determination thus to remain to the
uttermost instant. In dumb despair I stood, unable to think
or pray ; for I, who had lavished a love upon this Love of
Earth that should have been rendered but to God, would not
now cry to that forsaken One to aid me. And of Earth, it is
the nobler nature that flies to God in joy, and not in sorrow ;
for when all is dark the recreant soul cries for aid in its ex-
tremity to a Heaven that is all forgotten in the bright day,
but the noble nature praises the generous hand that it will not
unworthily petition. Yet a wild prayer burst from the depths
of my heart that Omnipotence would help the woman I loved
not wisely but with such devotion. Let me bear her punish-

418

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION.

ment, but let her go free ; for it was through me, and me alone,
that this had come to pass.

Yet there was no sign. The rain poured down and the great
hall was awash, streams occasionally bursting with a rush through
dams of wreckage and carrying the debris swirling to another
level where pools were formed by water that trickled in all
around the walls, in which the livid and swelling corpses rocked
hideously. Azta noted nought as she sat in a stupor with a
dull weight of aching horror on her that numbed her senses;
she, who had seen the mysteries of the worlds, who in daring
wantonness had stood face to face with God and laughed. The
splendid dark golden masses of hair flowed in their glory among
the strings of pearls and gems, but she had cast down the
sheltering mantle from her head and the rain fell unheeded
upon her. Raising Toltiah's buckler I held it above her so that
the water fell from it in a pouring cataract around, and at
times the lightnings played upon its vast surface as thunder-
storms added their majesty to the elements. In sad mockery
the gems which Azta wore gleamed and flashed, splendid
glitterings of bright coloured lights that were so contrary to the
desolation around, and yet seemed to find weird company in
other glancing points where from dusty pools came the reflected
lightning from great gems that ornamented some poor Clay
half-submerged. Or a bright circle of light upon the buckler
of a once godlike chieftain, smitten all amazed in his mortal
frailty, who perchance esteemed himself imperishable in his
arrogance and dared to face Heaven in blasphemy.

From very far off came a dread sound and presently the
earth rocked, and as the fearful time crept on, a great fall of
heavy spray sounded with a swishing hiss all around. What
horror! what suffering!

O to be free!

To wrench from out our hearts
The sad remembrances of days gone by;
Past— ah, God! Lost! And ne'er shall come again
Bliss that was ours for such a little while —
Bliss that was given us but to destroy!
O stars of light that mock us as we weep —
Tranquillity that mocks our wild despair —

419

ATLANTIS.

Agonies that may pass, hut to us now

A burning lionor.

NVilrl tears tliat gush from sorely stricken hearts,

(Iroanings uf spirit, frenzied teeth that gnash

Imjiolent in fierce agony of thought!

\ever again'. Why was it given us

To know the blessedness of those past days —

'ilie awful misery of days that are —

.\nd worse, of those to come r

Creator! (iod!

Hear us and lielp us of Thy love! Thy Lover
Is it Thy L(jve.- And do we hear aright?
\'eiigeance is sweet, sweet for intended wrongs,
l!ut this were vengeance for invited sins —
Sins we were made to do, and pleasant made — ■
O God! What vengeance upon helplessness!

420

CAP. XV.

"BEHOLD, I WILL DESTROY."

Meanwhile the other cities were in similar pUght, as, full
of their own inhabitants, whose numbers were greatly increased
by fugitives from hundreds of villages and great tribes of the
plains who had fled thence from the terrors of the outlying
lands, they waited in fear and trembling, dismayed by storms
and earthquakes under whose influence they lay in panic.

The crowded cities of Axatlan, which being near to the
large volcano were always in danger of being overwhelmed
with streams of lava, poured forth their refugees to the Atalan
cities and crowded the capital, overrunning Chalac also. The
Hilen river, swollen and turbulent, overflowed its banks and
surrounded towns with inundating moats, overwhelming such
as lay low, and by reason of this and the numbers of people
requiring food that grew impossible to obtain, the horrors of
famine lay upon all the land.

Upon the streets and roofs of Talascan and the neighbouring
cities the volcanic dust lay thick and dark, and furious blasts
of icy wind swept the lighter particles far and wide. Earth-
quakes had shaken the buildings and temples to their found-
ations and filled the people with consternation. In every street
lay piles of ruin hidden under gray ashes until they appeared
as huge dust heaps, from which the dogs and vultures dug out
crushed corpses and devoured them. And believing the moun-
tain Axatlan to be the cause of their woes, there was talk of
deserting the ill-favoured land and going down to Tek-Ra, to
rebuild the capital and settle there. Yet the people of Talascan
loved not to leave their beautiful city, and though many towns
around them were deserted for the higher-lying lands of Tek-Ra,
they still remained, notwithstanding that Zul, as Lord of

421

ATLANTIS.

Fire, ravaged the land. Holocausts had been offered to him
in vain, nor to any cessation of his wrath had his dread altars
run black with bloody sacrifices. And even He who told me
of these things spoke with disapproval of the horrible excesses
that o'ertopped in wickedness even those of Zul.

In lesser degree the tempests terrified them, sweeping over
the city with fearful violence and damaging the buildings, while
they flooded the streets with water, The shipping by the
waterway was wrecked or carried away, and the river-god Nop
was implored for clemency in vain on behalf of his favoured
city, around which he spread a watery desolation far and wide.
Through every street ran a stream hidden under floating scoriae
and volcanic dust and no man dared venture abroad, so that
the famine became great and many died of it. With feelings
similar to their brethren of Zul they cast down their graven
images, hurling abuse and sacrilege upon them and burning
those of wood. All the dogs and such animals as could be
obtained for food had disappeared, and in dread and secrecy
the miserable people began to devour their children, believing
that in thus saving their own lives they prevented suffering to
those who would have at least to die some day. Yet this
platitude but extended to the slaughtered ones, for each mortal
believed that himself would never die.

Bands of murderers satisfied every lust with violence, causing
fierce reprisals and bloodshed, and at length the whole city
appeared to be threatened with self-annihilation, A sulphurous
night hung above it, illuminated by the glow from the nearer
volcanoes and the gleam of bright lightning ; the rain and
hail began to fall upon them in torrents of water, and a hum-
ming roar that silenced all else bespoke the advent of that
dread tornado that had buried ICmarna and many cities and
villages that lay in its path, and which fell upon the drowning
city with the horror of a bursting world of waters below which
the disturbed Earth rolled in frightful convulsions. Scores of
warriors, attracting the lightnings to their metal-clad bosoms,
were blasted and calcined; and piteous shrieks were carried
by the wind like voices of demons in the air, as with falling
ruin many half-broken structures fell, arches, columns and great

422

"BEHOLD, I WILL DESTROY."

Stone idols toppling into the splashing flood. Streams, dammed
by wreckage, began to force torrential passages, carrying with
them dreadful streaks of blood and tangles of entrails and
whirling masses, and from the lurid roof of clouds a funnel-
shaped trunk swung over the centre of the city, to which, with
a fury of tempestuous power the winds gathered and swept all
before them with appalling force, whereby the grand temple of
the Sun was hurled crashing upon all the buildings beneath.
And now came swift destruction to the doomed city, as from
the river in a seaward direction appeared through the gloom a
vast nebulous veil moving towards it. This was a tidal wave
approaching from the ocean, which sweeping with fearful violence
through the Gates of Talascan and bearing within its world of
waters the ruins of the towns of Reb and Hir as stones within
a war-engine, advanced its swift front, higher than highest
temple, upon the battlements, spreading over the flooded land
with great velocity and irresistible power.

With the sound of appaUing thunder the walls, torn from
their deep foundations, sped forth with the wave-like bolts from
the artillery of Heaven, and hurled thus, smote down temple,
palace and column, that adding their masses in the forefront
of that moving wall of death swept every obstacle before them.
The lower part of the mighty wave was a mass of seething,
dashing foam, broken into smaller waves that struck and recoiled,
carried onward again by the power behind them; the foamy
crest flew in a falling veil of spray all over the city, and its
frothy sea reached the farther walls in advance of the devastat-
ing mass beneath.

Onward swept the tremendous bore, and when it had passed
there was but a level expanse of water upon which no vestige
of the doom of a great city could be read, although farther on
were heaps of tossjng refuse that carried terror to the hearts
of the crowded cities of Chalac and Trocoatla and the villages
. of Tek-Ra and northern Axatlan, as, swelled by a thousand
overflowing streams and the refuse of a hundred cities, the
great flood lapped around their walls.

Beneath the waters of a stormy river the ruins of Chuza
were hidden from view, and within the whole path of that great

423

ATLANTIS.

wave of the Ocean even such towns that lay upon hills were
swept away or so surrounded that all escape was cut off from
the inhabitants. Such as dared to attempt flight upon logs
found themselves afloat upon an interminable sea agitated by
violent currents and whirlpools and ever rising higher and higher,
the air also being poisoned by the fearful odours of corruption,
as corpses, swollen to bursting, floated upon the waves, dotting
the watery plain with myriads of points. There were the huge
bodies of mastodons floating in the company of human corpses
and dead sharks, and millions of smaller creatures emitted
poisonous gases from their rotting bodies. The sea-animals
were the most odorous, some of them being of enormous bqlk
and shape, floating like islands upon the expanse of water that
the rain beat into fretted hollows. By such forests as remained
from storm and wave these floating things collected in shoals,
causing many hunters who had taken refuge among the branches
to fall down unconscious and meet their death in the waters by
reason of the effluvia.

The territories of Atala, Axatlan and Tek-Ra were entirely
submerged, and great regions in Chalac and Hava were flooded.
The highlands of Astra had disappeared beneath the waves,
sunk by earthquakes and landslips and topped by fathoms of
vast)' waves, that washed the high walls of Zul, and all her cities
save Surapa, which lay inland upon a hill, were swallowed up
and drowned.

Every hill appeared to become a volcano round which storms
raged and thunders shook the Earth, while the clouds carried
the reflected light from the eruptions far out over the waters,
giving them a terrific appearance as of deep places of storms.
It was all one dread night now, traversed by terrors of elemental
warfare in which Death stalked, pitiless and devastating. Long
before had the great tribes of the savage peoples fled to the
West as the first signs of awe touched their instincts, flying
before the horrors that stalked like the spirits of Furies above
their conquered places and the doomed tribes of their conquerors.

Tek-Ra had sunk beneath the waters, but the high walls of
Aten and Lote still resisted the sweeping violence of the flood
that had buried the low-lying villages and towns of Axatlan,

424

"BEHOLD, I WILL DESTROY."

nearly all being along the Hilen. Driven to the higher storeys
of mansions and temples by the deluge of waters, the thousands
of these cities were plague-stricken by the stench of the floating
carcases, and many in panic fled upon rafts, vainly hoping to
find safety in some direction or another. But the greater
numbers remained in terror and famine, reduced by dire distress
at length to eating their own flesh and that of the least corrupt
of the floating bodies, which, impregnated by salt water and
putridity, brought on hideous maladies. Heavy rain, hail and
snow poured down without ceasing, raising the waters rapidly ;
earthquakes caused high storm-waves to break upon their walls
and level them, and in many places the people ran upon the
ruins, wringing their hands and cursing blasphemously.

And of those which went abroad upon rafts some returned,
dead and putrefying by reason of the plague that had smitten
them down, while every outburst of the storms and waves
developed new masses of debris and dead bodies, some, as their
dress bespoke, being swept down by currents from the ruined
cities of Hava. As the waters deepened unclean beasts appeared
swimming in them, writhing slimy tentacles as a nest of serpents
which grew from one head. Hydras flourished innumerable
arms, and down in the south grew forests of sea- weeds shelter-
ing countless fish and reptiles that terrified the wretched people
by their numbers and by their rapacity, notwithstanding they
had enough horrid food. Upon the larger floating bodies vultures
sat, and by rending the inflated skins with their beaks caused
the gases to escape so that they sank quickly ; and some few
hunters were able to obtain certain sustenance by shooting these
birds with arrows attached to Hnes, and also by ensnaring the
fishy creatures that swam in the waters.

A large volcano suddenly sprang up by Aten, whose eruptions
were very great and shook the ground afar, x In the gloom the

X Volcanic disturbances are very wide-spread in their terrors. We read in
Prescott's "Conquest of Peru," chap, ix:— '-The air was filled for several days with
thick clouds of earthy particles and cinders, which blinded the men and made
respiration exceedingly difficult. This phenomenon, it seems probable, was caused
by an eruption of the distant Cotopaxi, which, about 12 leajjues S. K. of Quito" —
and. at least, double that distance from the narrator — -rears its colossal and per-
fectly symmelrical cone far above the limits of eternal snow — the most beautiful

425

ATLANTIS.

tall cone lifted her crest of flame, and the fiery waters appeared
to burn with a glow of their own under the lurid reflections.
In fancy the people perceived figures rise from the fires and
others descend into them, and, smitten with a despairing terror,
dared whatsoever would to fall upon them.

And by reason of this violent mountain the volcanic dust lay
many cubits deep in places, formed into a deadly mass by the
waters, wherein people perished miserably. At length the far
ranges of volcanoes beyond Axatlan became violently disturbed,
communicating afar their travail, the glare from the fires lighting
the clouds with fearful effect and rending them with electric
explosions. The new hill burst into eruption more greatly than
before, whereby huge rocks were hurled into the air to fall
again in every direction ; while the whole great basin from the
mountains to the coast was upheaved and shaken continuously,
above which the high waves ran in conflicting currents from
all directions. From Axatlan flowed a sea of fire, which meeting
the waters exploded and burst into steam with a continuous
and terrible noise, and, by reason of the coldness of the air above,
causing a thick mist to hide everything. Dead fish floated in
myriads, boiled and mangled, and soon a long ridge of lava
rose through the waves like a dead peninsular from which
other volcanoes arose.

These, stretching afar, caused the unhappy people to believe
that they would be engulfed in the fiery embrace, and hundreds
preferred to risk death upon rafts, whereon they fled, regardless
of destination and desirous but of escaping so dreadful a doom.

and the most tenible of American volcanoes. At the time of Alvarado's expedition
it was in a state of eruption, the earliest instance of the kind on record, (1534)
tliough doubtless not the earliest. Since that period it has been in frequent com-
motion, sending up its sheets of flame to the height of half a mile, spouting forth
cataracts of lava that have overwhelmed towns and villages in their career, and
sliaking the earth with subterraneous thunders, that at the distance of more than
100 leagues sounded like the reports of artillery ! "

Dr. Samuel Kinns in "Moses and Geology" tells us that during the last erup-
tion of this volcano in 1741 the column of ashes and vapour is said to have risen
a mile above the cone, and in 1533 a mass weighing 200 tons was hurled from
it a distance of 10 miles. TJie volcano Coseguina in tlie Andes threw its ashes
700 miles w itli a noise that v as heard 1000 miles away, after being dormant for
26 years.

426

"BEHOLD, I WILL DESTROY."

And what was Man to face the terrors of Heaven! Amazed
he was as he perceived how powerless was his esteemed might,
and how simply the body of Earth could be deprived of life
without even a little power to save that which God had com-
manded to cease. For these floating people there were the
cooked fish ready to hand, yet for water they could but drink
the nauseous rains that fell through the poisonous atmosphere
and caused madness and fever in their veins.

But their sufferings were cut short by an eruption of vast
magnitude, as suddenly the waters burst through a thin crust
of earth into the very heart of the near volcano. An enormous
puff of steam and water mingled flew high into the air with a
roar as the whole cone of the mountain lifted and toppled over,
a tongued circle of flame leaping forth all around. The earth
rose up, collapsed, and then with an uproar that rent the clouds
a world of lava, rocks, earth and water was hurled into the
heavens. The whole force of the explosion was concentrated
on Aten, and up went temples and mansions, walls, towers and
ruins in a flying horror of ruin, hurled by that awful bomb
high and far. For long there sounded the heavy splashes of
falling waters and debris mingled with red showers and human
remains ; while a wave, raised by the vast upheaval, sped over
the waters with fearful velocity, sweeping away half-submerged
forests by its awful rush. Onward it went with more than the
antelope's speed, a wall of moving force that stretched upon
the right hand and upon the left for leagues, carrying before
it the ruins of Bar-Asan, Katalaria, and Azod, and all towns
and villages which lay before it.

It struck the high towers of Lote, tearing them away, and
bearing on its rushing flood the crumbling ruins and the bodies
of struggling thousands, soon silenced in its vast suffocation.
It smote Surapa upon its tall hill, and swept away such devastated
cities of Hava as remained; passing thence from far Trocoatla
with incredible speed, pregnant with its rolling masses and rushing
majesty of destruction ; to cast its trophies with a seething roar
at the foot of the walls of distant Zul, where it broke in a
majesty of foam and flung its spray over the remains of the
temple crowning the doomed heights of the last city of Atlantis.

427

CAP. XVI.

THE TRAVAIL OF EARTH.

Up to the distant mountains, where dwelt in sojourning the
tribe of Noah, spread the waters, the pouring torrents of rain
which the people could perceive upon the horizon increasing
their volume, and long tidal waves carrying their flood up to
the heights from which it never receded to its former level.

Vet Mam, notwithstanding the escape which he had had from
doom, (which great phenomenon had been seen of his people
also, causing much fear,) became of a morose temper, gazing
long over the flooded plain as though he looked for one who
came not. But an occasional sickening odour borne from afar
spoke plainly of death and corruption out beyond the foothilh
and forests that stood as a barrier between themselves and
myriads of dead things, while around them also was death,
yet only of the lower creation, such animals of plains as, being
driven up into the mountains by stress of circumstances, were
unable to support their existence there and perished.

The two lower storeys of the great ship were now inhabited
by many animals, moved by apparently individual instinct tc
seek shelter; the fitting survivals taking a refuge thus among
human beings as a last escape from their hardships.

The heavy rain and storms approached nigher, and of all
their griefs for the unhappy people Susi's was the saddest,
P^Tr all she grieved, but especially for such as she had known
the high ones of Zul in whose company she had sojourned foi
so brief a space. To beautiful Azta she felt a great yearning
love and pity, despite the haughty air and indescribable coldnes5
manifested by her, yet dared not pray to so awful an Omni
potence, that had spoken the doom, to avert it. She had warned
the proud Uueen in such manner as none other would have
dared to, perceiving the great heart beating beneath a possi

428

THE TRAVAIL OF EARTH.

bility of power that would have wholly enslaved some people,
and had read, written upon the surface, the potent might of a
current that flowed strong and irresistible in its great depths.
She had been impressed with the feeling that in knowledge
and power this wondrous woman was as an Angel, fallen in-
deed, but never losing the bearing and power. For her, there-
fore, she sorrowed with a woe the reason of which she could
not herself define; but in the object of her grief recognising a
potentiality that, if differently employed, could have saved a
nation from its sins.

Vast clouds, blood-red and terrific, hung above the volcanoes
and formed an Infernal canopy around flaming Axatlan, where
thunders swept around the abysmal darkness fearfully and con-
tinuously in muttering wrath, and the electric currents lighted
the vapoury dome. The rain fell luminous through the gray
shadows like showers of swords, and great birds flew like
wraiths of the storm with weird and ominous cries. There were
many strange voices in the air, some of awful sound; of despair;
of strange musical sadness. Fearful of such and greatly im-
pressed, the families repaired to the Mexiah, inhabiting the
topmost storey, because they dared not sleep longer upon the
Earth soaked with spray and in danger of inundation. Shem
had carried within all his collection of storied tablets and
treasures, placing them in safety with care and zeal, and the
food which was prepared for the unknown period was also
stored up and the large water-vessels filled. The spray of the
tremendous rains was blown by the winds to them, and of a
night the forms of many beasts moved around them upon the
earth, some recognised by their cries, which carried an accent
of fear, proclaiming that their instinct spoke of approaching
terrors. And they who watched upon the deck perceived many
to ascend within the ship by the long gangway which reached
from the earth, and enter in by the door : such as were already
sojourning therein being penned up. And as each night the
pressure of the terror became greater, the more wild or more
timid animals were also constrained to seek a refuge, until upon
one night came a great number which were perceived by the
watchers upon the high deck.

429

ATLANTIS. ;^

There were many large creatures which climbed upwards,
yet of what kinds could not be determined, save but by the
indistinct sounds made by them.

Occasional snarling sounds and grunts and strange whistlings
came from the moving shadows, and once the subdued roar of
a lion sounded with its majestic utterance afar. Snorts and
hisses, moans and squeaks, mingled occasionally, but there was
mostly only silence filled by sounds of shuffling and scrambling.
It was a dark mysterious procession, from which for an instant
a long vague object rose up even to the deck and then vanished,
and wonderingly the watchers lay with their hands upon ready
weapons and covered with cloaks because of the spray of the
deluge and the cold wind. From behind them the dull, lurid
glow from the volcanoes only made the darkness in front the
more conspicuous and vague, but a great blue reflection of
lightning that lay upon the clouds, as though a very bright
moon had shone upon them, brought instantly into relief the
ground, the gangway and the animals.

There crouched horses, deer, cattle and many felines, their
ears lying flat and fangs exposed in a sudden snarl of fear as the
bright light startled them, and many other animals of all kinds,
among which anacondas and smaller serpents recoiled with the
swiftness of the light itself, hissing loudly, their movements,
combined with the sudden brightness, causing a whirling ap-
pearance to all around. Instantly a myriad gleaming eyes sprang
into prominence, and on the farther boundary of a dark mass
of animals stood many forms of vastness appearing as dark
cliffs rising above a sea; some by the curling glories of their
inmiense tusks proclaimed themselves mastodons, above their
heads waving serpent-like trunks ; but there were others of huge
hairy bulk, black and terrible, whose necks, tall as palm-trees,
supported a serpent-like antlered head, now thrown low back
over their quivering bodies. There was also a strange monster
whose similitude none there witnessed before, and, not re-
cognising, the eye was unable to define its outlines before the
darkness came ; yet nevertheless the weird enormity of it filled
them with horror.

With the morning light all such as were harmful and noxious

430

THE TRAVAIL OF EARTH.

were gone and not one remained, although no eye had seen
and no ear detected the sign of their retreat. Upon the horizon
Axatlan raged furiously and it was evident that an eruption
of more than usual magnitude was taking place. Weary and
awe-struck, all gathered upon the deck to witness what might
happen, with prayer upon their trembling lips, perceiving how
as a temple of blood-red flame the aisles and domes of cloudy
vapour extended even to them, so that the surrounding scenery
was as one Infernal hall where a throne of fire raised itself at
the distant end in a horror of revolving flames : and as a curtain
of luminous gold the pouring hail fell before all the scene.
Around them an electric deluge heightened the waste of waters,
where, rising from their deep fathoms, only the tops of hills
and remains of lofty forests showed, surrounded by their putrid
gatherings.

Suddenly a far disturbance shook the floating storms where
that spurt of watery steam that spoke the doom of Aten rent
the tempests. The waves separated to right and left in steamy
hissing spray as a ridge of earth, running swiftly as a serpent
rising from the ocean, appeared above their troubled expanse
with sounds of explosions and rendings. A cry of terror broke
from all as the circling volcanoes burst into a fury of fire and
uproar and the heavy clouds rolled into worlds of light, while
with a stunning majesty of sound came to their ears the noise
of the awful explosion that had hurled the proud city in wreck
and flying horror to the sky. Great Axatlan trembled and reeled,
vomiting blood-red matter, and then the high cone vanished in
a bed of fire.

In a silence of awe they watched, believing the world to be
sinking in molten horror, themselves the last ones of its myriad
children. A vast wave of water, high-rolling and foam-crested,
flowing in the opposite direction to the watery destruction that
had submerged Lote, appeared to seal the doom. The Earth
shook and rolled in mystic space. Below, the moving waters
ran in hills and deep valleys of fear; above, the tremendous
masses seemed about to fall and bury them with their disturbed
spheres, torn by lightning and thundrous tempests. The watchers
fell down and cried to Heaven from the depths of the great

431

ATLANTIS.

wrath of the vengeance; the mothers with their children fainting
in fear below. The wind was now one great humming roar
and the voices of the Doom were terrible and stupendous.

The wave broke high among the mountains, and in its gray-
green seas, reflecting in open places the luminous clouds, the
bodies of poulps could be seen writhing in death's agonies,
burned by steam and dashed upon the rocks. In the open
waters the spotted sharks swam, their white bellies gleaming in
sudden terrified rushes when whirlpools formed with a seething
cone of suction as the waters fell into opening fissures. They
swam in groups, full of terror, uncaring but to snap at floating
bodies, and avoiding such places where the great poulps struggled
in their misshapen hideousness with sliding shield-like eyes and
gnashing beaks. Unrecognisable shapes, which had been carried
with violence from the sea, grovelled in the depths, some
spouting blood from their scalded heads to great heights
and rolling on the disturbed waves, convulsed by the lower
earthquakes.

Ham, with pressing words, would have entered the vessel
and closed the ports, as before his eyes ever appeared the figure
of one who was buried beneath the flood because of him, and
superstitious fears caused him to see her in every horrid wave ;
but the sire with quiet words of authority forbade unseemly
haste.

Earth and sky were shaken by awful thunders ; and fireballs,
flying from ebon masses that appeared almost solid, plunged
into the violently agitated waves in volumes of steam and
spray, sending watery columns to the clouds. The mountain
basin in which the Mexiah lay was agitated continuously by
subterranean eruptions; upon all hands could be heard the
thunder of falling masses, as larger rocks, blasted by the light-
nings, parted in bursting ruin, whose fall, echoed by every
tortured defile of the hills, filled all space with an unceasing
uproar.

A continuous light caused the unhappy people to look up,
and Susi, who had come to her husband, first perceived the
two strangers returned. With a cry of joy she ran to them,
falling upon her knees with her fair arms outstretched.

432

THE TRAVAIL OF EARTH.

"O Sirs!" she cried, her sweet young face radiant with
enthusiasm, "we are but mortals and the storms terrify us.
Leave us not, for we know whom ye are and whence ye come,
and in your hands are the directions of the God which we know
and love."

The greater spirit laid his hand very tenderly upon her head.
"Kneel not to us, sweet one," he said: "yet are we verily
come to thee and to thine to bid you have trust and faith, for
in the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are you blessed, and He will
preserve you. Arise, old servant of our Lord, and hearken to
the word that bids thee persevere in thy righteous course
which has found high favour in the sight of Heaven. For to
thee is given the task of again raising thy race which perishes,
(save thy family,) this day to the uttermost one, to which ones
saved thou shalt preach their mission, which is, to go abroad
over all the Earth and lead the heathen to knowledge of God.
For a space. Fare thee well ; and fare you all well, O chosen
of our Lord! We shall meet again. Get you within."

They went forth, and as the prostrate people arose they
beheld a very strange sight where for the last time on that
scene the bright sun looked. Piercing the dreadful clouds, his
arrowy beams shot bright and strong into the midst of the
black inferno, filling a space with wondrous light, and casting
upon the mists around the Mexiah a strangely beautiful tint,
causing it to appear that it was surrounded by Heavenly glory.
A zone of vivid green lay upon the blue Infernal halls, a
splendour of colour that appealed to their minds in the voice of
a chord of most perfect musical sorrow and hope, of unutterable
depth and beauty, x And then it was gone, and headlong
dropped the portals of horrid night, wherein, from a throne of
flame set upon a rising floor of waters, Death executed the
justice of God upon the land.

Within the Mexiah the family of Noah prostrated themselves
before their altar. A sound was heard of closing doors as the
hatches were secured from without and all light was shut off.

a Wouia this he the fust aiipeaiance of the Rainbow r See former reference
to this phenomenon, footnote p. 323.

433 ^

ATLANTIS.

save such as came through the long screened windows which
were beneath the roof for the draught of the air. The crisis
was upon all.

They felt the floor beneath them roll and tremble, and to
some of them the thought came in all its fearful import that
they were afloat upon an Ocean. Terrified sounds were heard

PIERCING THE DREADFUL CLOUDS WITH WONDROUS LIGHT.

faintly ; there was a lurch and a violent upheaval, causing them
to cry out for fear. Roll came upon roll ; the vessel appeared
to be whirled around and lifted up, cast down and driven
violently in all directions, while overhead sounded a tremendous
thud and swish that caused the whole structure to shake. Be-

434

THE tRAVAtL OF EARTJt.

lieving themselves to be engulfed, they lay trembhng with bated
breath as a vast concussion drove them sideways at terrific
speed.

A tidal wave of oceanic magnitude had broken upon the
mountains and fallen over them, and the recoiling waters dragged
them with irresistible violence to the inferno of whirling foam
where the body of the wave rose, swirling and eddying above
the basin. Over the falling mass a counter-current sped with
tremendous velocity, bearing the Mexiah far out over the waters,
where she floated in safety carried away to the east.

On a level keel she sped, and her inmates knew she was
saihng upon the Flood, while the muffled thunders and the
heavy tapping of the rain on her sloping deck were now the
only sounds audible.

We may notice that no mention is made of the pillars of Seth, mentioned by
Josephus, who appears to have mistaken the son of Adam for Seth or Sesostris,
king of Egypt, said to have erected such a pillar in the laud of Siriad. Seth, or
Set, whose name appears in Setee (Sethos), another Egyptian monarch, was also
one of the gods of that country, at one time worshipped, but afterwards represent-
ing physical evil. He is called Typhon by the Greeks.

Neither do we find any mention of Turk, the son of Japhet, from whom the
Turks claim descent. The historian Abou'lgazi Bahdur-Khan calls him the eldest
son but he may have been the first one bom after the Flood.

435

CAP. XVII.

THE GATES OF DEATH.

Black horror brooded over Zul ; a horror that knew no gleam
of hope or of mitigation, but remained waiting in anguish of
terror for a certain doom and trembh'ng at every sound, believing
it to be the herald of approaching dissolution. Above them spread
the vaulted roof of thunder, alive with serpents of fire, and upon
all hands stretched court beyond court of dreadful cloudy temples
where the spirits of storms raged furiously above rolling waves
pierced by the white columns of the hail.

The starved and half-drowned thousands crouched all over the
city among the dripping ruins, not caring even to congregate
in numbers by fear of sweeping destruction, save where crowds
gathered upon the steps of the red palace and remained in
shuddering terror, drenched and freezing. Here and there, washed
along in swirling streams, were recognised corpses from other
cities cast by the storm-waves even in the streets of the capital.
From the darkness they came, these poor waifs, carried upon
the mountains of water that cast their dreadful trophies far and
wide, to speak with their dead presences of a doom of vengeance
falling and to come.

But in some of the palaces yet standing men feasted on hidden
stores of meat and wine and lay drunk and dying of desperate
excesses, and songs, awful in their unheeding recklessness, were
shouted in the face of Death. In such places men and women
danced in hideous revelries, stabbing each other to the heart
and shrieking curses and blasphemies to the last. But most
sat in mute despair in the deluge of hail and rain and awaited
what should come.

A madman clambered up to where the fire-tower of Zul lay
upon its heaps of ruins, and for the last time the great drum

436

THE GATES OF DEATH,

rolled out its sonorous echoes, scarce heard among the noise of
the elements. Azta heard it, crouched there upon the dais, and
I heard it also. For both of us there was a voice in the deep
booming sound, recalling the remembrance of a calm moonlit
night; bidding a long, long farewell. A sob of agony burst
from my soul, but Azta sat there as silent as the dead figure
whose hand she held. My perceptions, more sensitive and deep,
received a greater impression than hers ; and indeed, could mortal
have felt that stab of keenest horror he would not have survived
it, so bitter was it in its depths of sadness. Yet from her eyes
ran two great tears that trickled over her arm and splashed
upon the floor; tears of a sorrow that was nigh all too grievous
for her to support : and well the gloom and the rolling thunders
befitted the sorrow of two hearts panting in the throes of death,
yet living.

"Pray, pray!" she whispered in a fearful voice.

"I cannot prayl" I answered her in such tones of despair
I scarce believed the voice to be mine, recognising that although
praise is ever meet and proper, yet prayer is sometimes neither.

Without, the screams of storm-driven seagulls sounded like
spirit- voices of the tempest; the high walls had disappeared,
the lower terraces were under water, with a few tall buildings
rising vaguely here and there and some broken columns showing.
Before the rising waters the people were compelled to congregate,
crouching above floating dead bodies and at times themselves
washed away to die.

A quivering cry of horror, echoing from afar and carried by
the furious blasts of wind, proclaimed a fresh terror. Around
them the waters suddenly sank with a seething rush, sucking
the rolling bodies with them, and like dark fangs bared, sprang
up the masses of ruins. Those who witnessed it believed them-
selves about to be dragged into an opening chasm and fled
upwards with white shrieking lips, while such as only heard
the weird cry of fright cried out also from a sensation of unknown
dreadfulness leaping upon them.

The crowds facing the sea and those crouched upon the red
terraces of the palace steps and among the gardens perceived
rolling upon them from the ocean a long floor of moving water,

437

ATLANTIS.

making the eye giddy with the rapidity of its onward move-
ment ; as though under that vauhed roof, whose vast domes of
thunder-clouds, upheld upon the columns of the hail, were
wreathed with awful lights, spread swiftly a carpet of water.

Meeting the cliffs with a force that threw the gasping spectators
to the ground, it broke into an inferno of billowy, foamy
masses, bounding, tossing, seething, dashing high and falling in
thunder and vast hills of hurrying foam, rushing onward irresistibly
and burying temple and monument, column and wall, palace and
terraces.

The vast ruins of the temple of Zul, upheaved and hurled
forward with awful power, crashed down upon the terraces of
the palace, sweeping the flights of stairways with their andro-
sphinxes and the winding glories of columned porticoes and
corridors and massy pylon towers in rending masses before them.
Great trees of the gardens, torn up by the roots, flew forward
and cleared the thronging victims from the terraces as though
a besom removed them, and the largest buildings went dowii,
before the rush of oceans. Divided by the tall hill and the
mighty ruins of the palace the watery Horror passed ; but another
wave followed, sweeping along with a high foamy crest and
reinforcing the power of the first mighty destroyer, rolling the
ruins of a vast city and the mangled corpses of its thronging
population in a hurrying avalanche of blood and wTeck over
the waters of the sunken land, mingling the great masses with
others and crumbling them to fragments in an eddying sea of
pink foam.

One object rose above the fearful flood. It was the top of
the crater of Zul, beneath whose protecting and dividing point
stood a portion of the Imperial palace — the Hall of Feasting.

There, unsheltered and alone, were we three upon the dais.
The floor had been swept clear of debris and bodies, and only
streamlets and cataracts occupied the space so lately filled with
warmth and heaped up with luxuries. A long portion of the
side wall still raised its pictured imageries, the golden mirrors,
dimmed with salt spray, blank patches between the gaudy colours,
still showing through the ravages of wind and wave. One
torch still remained, twisted in its holder and dripping water

43«

REINFORCING THE POWER OF THE FIRST MIGHTY DESTROYER.

ATLANTIS.

from its soaked, half-consumed materials. Beneath it lay a few
remnants of the roof and the hideous figure of a dead man.
Then came the third wave, advancing swiftly under its long
gleaming crest and. breaking upon the hill in two giant tongues
of froth and spray, which, meeting, leaped all around the high ♦
dais with a giddy rush and then swept away the tottering wall.
Azta looked up slowly as she heard the crash, and saw the
coloured ruins melt away in the churning white foam. But a
little way beneath surged the waters of a level ocean, flattening
under the deluge from the clouds and lighted up, until it appeared
like a sea of molten gold, by the electric glories, that, quivering
in bright paths of light or reflected in dreadful gorgeousness
on the black and indigo vault, showed where the rolling gates
of thunder opened to a wonderland of cloudy horizons. Against
this bright background stood the bare black crater, steaming
but silent, the last point of Atlantis, but above it appeared to
gather rolling spheres, and among them moved great bodies,
bursting and filling the air with molten lines of electricity.
Opposing forces met and exploded all around the cloudy Inferno,
currents and cross-currents of furious wind tore them, and,
reflected gloriously in the flowing water, the great serpents of
fire sped crackling from point to point of thunder.

There were skeletons in the water, now shimmering far down
as they sank, and returning currents brought bones still covered
with flesh, and bodies to which clung costly draperies floating
with others bloated and emitting poisonous odours. Afar sailed
a log of wood to which the last efforts of love had secured a
fair young girl, now lying beneath it, because the branches had
been smashed and broken off", destroying the equilibrium. Yonder,
a broken raft still held some sad burden secured to its loosened
fragments, and upon others were children held closely in a dead
mother's embrace that no fearful shock had yet loosened : and
lovers, faithful in death, floated secured to one another upon some
frail support, to whose puny protection they had perforce trusted
with a true and sad foreboding that for them no Sun would
rise again. How touching a sight it was to see how love
manifested itself thus, strong before the majesty of Death; and
to me it came with a wild sorrow, for ever was I moved by

440

THE GATES OK DEATH.

pain; and now was a great consolation in remembrances of its
oft alleviation by me which it might not become me to have
boasted then. But how dearly sweet now the memory of the
full heart relieved that melted in tears of grateful joy, and the
benedictions of eyes that spoke more than any words of Earth.
Yet who could help Me?

The waters were calm but for a long rolling swell and the
occasional flurry of opposing currents. A little way out, just
under the surface, lay a long phosphorescent form, shimmering
and horrible. It was a great shark, and Azta felt in a strange
manner that she had witnessed that scene before, and was
fascinated as she gazed upon that motionless body and marked
the head with its strange monstrous profile that resembled a
fearful caricature of a human face. She, who had looked upon
the mysteries, felt in her soul a fearful depth of fright, dreadful
in its appalling vagueness. Before us both an infinite Hell of
horror opened a space in which the mind groped blindly, agonized,
bewildered and deathless.

Around her fell a pouring torrent of waters from the sheltering
buckler; upon one hand stood an undying, faithful love, stronger
than death, proved dearly in this awful trial; upon the other
lay the already gathering signs of corruption. Moved by some
agency a golden circlet rolled from beneath the dais, and Azta
recognised it as a bracelet worn by Huitza, remembering that
she had noted how it flashed upon his arm that night that he
died. How it came there she knew not, but by reason of its
former ownership she seized it eagerly, perceiving within the
massive ornament a flat disc; upon which gazing, with eyes
blinded with tears, she saw in the light that it was one of her
own gold plates that adorned her forehead-band. There upon
it was the symbol of the butterfly, and others that spelled her
name.

Amazed by a shock more powerful than aught her soul had
yet felt, she stared at the golden band. Stared with her eyes,
her heart, her soul in a wild emotion that carried her far above
the horror of an instant ago and swept her back to the torch-
lighted hall, the warmth and grand cheer. She saw the fierce,
rolling eyes of those haughty lords and heard, mingled with

441

ATLANTIS.

their great roars of laughter, the wanton cries of women. The
golden mirrors again flashed their dazzHng kaleidoscopes of
colours like sunbeams between the harsh, gaudy paintings, and
the torches flared and guttered. It was the lightnings that
conveyed the effect to her mind, so realistic and life-like, but
she thought not of that, nor knew it. She only dreamed on
in that vision of blessed rest and permitted her spirit-eyes to
wander over the gay happiness, albeit of sin. She felt again
the pang of unrequited love, that appeared to instantly change
to a sudden wild joy as she gazed steadfastly upon the great
War-chief of Atlantis and then looked beyond to where sat the
Emperor and the gleaming Guards. The music fell upon her
ears ; sad, splendid strains of wondrous harmony, far beyond
the performer's usual powers. She felt within her the pleasure
of the mystic potency bestowed by myself, and looked over
to the captain of her guards, Nahuasco, and next to Shar-Jatal
with the hooked nose. He spoke softly to Sada, and she
wondered what he said to her. There were Nezca, Mehir,,
Axazaya, Azco, Toloc, Tua, Pocatepa — so many that she
knew ! Old Na stood by her, and there was the young frivolous
favorite, Gadema. The gems sparkled again as they had sparkled
then, the wine flowed ruby red, the song and jest arose. She
smiled in happy joy, her soul filled with delight, new and strange
and thrilling. To her there was no gloom or cold ; in a beau-
teous vision her Love had come to her in comprehensible form,
and not as an illusive beauty that had ever faded beiore her
dazzled understanding could retain It; startling by Its suddenly
apparent grandeur and sublimity that compelled and fixed the
awakened perception. Clear, perfect and all-mighty It stood,
born of that vision to potential reality, but It had not the
features of the one to whom her strange wild nature had clung
so obstinately through good and evil and had been unable to
forget. For now to her the brilliant chief appeared as a Devil,
the incarnated power of her demon-father whose spells were so
heavily upon her, and brother to herself who had conceived and
brought forth the Curse of Atlantis; but her Love came in
clear guise and filled her whole soul with complete and un-
utterable joy, high and sublime, gazing from its pure heights

442

THE GATES OF DEATH.

of intensity upon the petty ambitions of Earth, and raising her
upward.

Her eyes opened widely in delicious rapture and the glorious
vision was past and gone. Before those yellow orbs, shining
with a new light, the bright picture melted and faded in gray
mists, and a sensation of deadly chill succeeded. Yet there
remained the joy of love that nought could quench or lessen,
the waters that now lapped the floor on which she sat frightened
her not, and looking with her clear eyes upon Toltiah's dead
face she perceived there such a dire expression of selfish crime
and soulless sensuality that she dropped his hand, understanding all.

The watery plain was alive with light to the mysterious
horizon, lying now like a flat table of fretted gold on which
were myriads of black spots. Nought but the crater of Zul
broke the continuity of the black and gold of cloud and wave.
Sometimes a tremulous heaving passed over the waters, a
shinmiering movement imparted by submarine disturbances; the
monotone of the thunder was like the voice of an organ that
moaned incessantly, while as sad tears the luminous drops of
rain fell upon the waters of the Flood. What strange peace I
What gloomy majesty of subdued sonorous sounds and vast un-
disturbed immensity of emptiness ! Yet it was very awful, and Azta
felt that she was an intrudier in the presence of the wrath of God.

A voice broke on her ear, terrible in its despair and the
wild entreaty more felt than expressed :

"The End approaches," it spake; "Nay, but for a power
that wickedly defies Heaven it were here long since. Arise,
an thou wilt not come with me, and bid me farewell, O my
Love, nor forget one who gave up all for thee. I can protect
thee no more."

Azta heard the summons, and with a heart-rending bitterness
came a pitiless intuition like a voice from those Heavens that
were so dreadful, and she realized what I would never have
told her— that I had perchance lost all hope of regaining
Heaven for the preference of endeavouring to obtain an uncertian
love of Earth. Her brows bent under the sorrow that crushed
her beneath its weight and she caught at her throat as though
she sufibcated.

443

ATLANTIS.

She slowly arose, groping painfully with closed eyes. Under
the glare of the lightnings her face looked like chiselled pure
marble, lovelier far than the coloured mockery of her wondrous
gems, and she stretched out a hand as one in a dream. Her
breathing had ceased, her white lips opened slowly with a sad,
fearful expression as her head fell backwards.

My arm supported her and the outstretched hand rested in
mine. I pressed a long lingering kiss upon her forehead and
drops that were not of rain fell upon her face, hot, scalding
drops of agony. Upon my shoulder her head rested, the glorious
hair radiant with light. No breath moved the full white bosom;
in that fearful moment she was as one dead, and raising my face
to Heaven I lifted my voice in an impassioned appeal for her.

''Almighty God!" I cried in agony, '*it is enough! Not
for myself I plead, but for this one whom thou hast created.
Forget not in Thy wrath who calls upon Thee, and for the dear
love that thou didst bear in past times grant my petition and
visit the sins of this one upon me, and me alone. Respect^
my despair and accept my confession and pardon one whom
I have caused to transgress, O dread Avenger."

I paused. My eyei undazzled by the lightnings wandered
over the awful gloom. Beneath me I felt the ground tremble,
and a long, terrible shriek broke from me in the soul's last
agony as no answer came to my appeal.

Azta raised her eyelids. She was dying, and her body had
ceased to feel any sensation, but those glorious eyes still lived
and sought mine.

1 looked upon her face and saw it set in horror as she met
my awful glare and perceived within my countenance the
shadow of a doom that was courted for her; the doom of an
undying soul.

But. as she looked, the vision broke upon her mind, and
within those yellow depths I read in that last moment the
dawn of Love, the entire comprehension of all that had lain
unseen within her grasp, the wealth of Heaven and her sup-
jjressed consciousness. With a new awakening her eyes gazed
into mine as they had gazed with such strange questioning of old, a
long joyous look that searched as it had vainly searched before,

444

THE GATES OF DEA'III.

and found and comprehended all at last. With a heavenly smile
she threw her arms about my neck, her splendid beauty crowned
with the ineffable majesty of death and a grand new life.

"I have found my Ideal," she breathed joyously; "kiss me,
my Love, my lord."

What glory of happiness was mine ! There, alone, surrounded
by the falling heavens and the drowning Earth, we two stood,
and upon me came the perfume of her breath and her hair
and the passionate flash of the rubies. What to us were the
opening gates of Death? In that great life were we invulner-
able and unafraid. O splendour of exalted joy that with its
opal wing brushed away the weariness and sorrow of the terrible
past and set us upon a throne of living grandeur 1 This Soul
was mine, mine with its beauteous eyes and expanding sweet-
ness, won at such dire cost; yet as I folded her to my breast
and pressed my lips to hers with a long kiss of love I only
grieved that I had sacrificed more than I had a right to.

"O wonderful," she cried, as she lay in my arms and looked
into my eyes; "that I should have been so blind. Kiss me
again, l^eloved, nor ever again will I leave thee."

What sweet intoxication was it that made us both rejoice in
our new life and turn that moment of horror into a great
pleasure? Queen of the Dead she stood, wondrous in unearthly
majesty; for the first time she raised her voice in song, as an
echo from far away that grew and swelled into an impassioned
melody, in inspired words born of the new life within her soul ;
and over the grave of Atlantis floated the Requiem of Earth,
the Welcome to Love.

Vision of joy more great than joy in seeming,
Shadow of Love more sought than Love's bright day,
Ever beyond all grasp and ever growing
With each great step that talces us more astray.

Height after height surmounted grows more barren.
Step after step, each bringing greater pain,
Hope after hope lies hardening in our spirits.
Speaking of sliadows that we cannot gain.

Where is our Love, sweet joy of joys Eternal ?
Pleasure of pleasures pure as purest gold;

445

ATLANTIS.

Life of our life, and Sun of that vast Heaven
So empty that our hands could never hold.

Where is our Love, that, fed by Love, would flourish
Greater than worlds of sunlit visions bright —
mi all our soul with vastest satisfaction
Passed in mad dreaming of a dream's delight?

Fire of bright fires enravishing our spirit,

Subtly unseen by eyes that know it not:

Come, though in Death thy dear embrace be welcomed !

In Death's dark valley welcome me, my Love!

Her head fell back upon my shoulder, her arms clung about
my neck. With her eyes she gazed upon me in all the mute
eloquence of a perfect understanding and love, as a long sigh
came from her heart. Then the light faded from her eyes ;
one word gasped from her lips : " Forgive."

/\nd thus passed Azta, once ruler of Atlantis, last of all
those thronging crowds that had stood before her there where
the waters flowed. But I remained alive, supporting her to
the last.

It came in thundering majesty. The tall hill sank deep as
the vast crater opened and the waters poured in ; and then
earth, air, sky and flood were rent by an explosion that lifted
a mass of liquefied stratas with a frightful upheaval. Up went
hill and terrace, foundations and walls, masses of masonry and
human remains, fishes and animals in one awful blending of
torrential horror, falling in a mighty wreck, continued by single
falling masses and great splashes whose sound lasted for some
while as descending waters and stones fell far and near to sink
to a level buried fathoms deep, forming the bed of a great
ocean.

Waves ran in all directions and the sound of a great sigh
floated over the waters stretching level and unbroken to the
horizon, the only thing that broke their continuity being the
Mexiah as she floated in that bright night of horror over the
grave of a nation, bearing a tiny remnant of it that should
go forth again and spread over all the world.

FLMS.
446

APPENDIX.

§ I.— Concerning the existence of the semi-mythical island of
Atlantis there appears to be no definite information, and it is
probable that there never will be; for even could we find its
whereabouts stated, the geography of the world has altered
since and would render such statement of no avail. In the
angelic narrative we get no information as to where it was
situated, and as there was no reckoning by latitude and longi-
tude in those days we have to content ourselves with the name,
a name that we have often heard of and placed among the
myths without thought or reason. We cannot locate this land
by any climatic hypothesis, because we find the climate under-
going apparently a total change in its latter days, possibly
even heralding the glacial epoch, (§ 6), but as to probable
location see § 2.

§ 2. — All very ancient legend and the most rudimentary his-
tory, the vague allusions of Plato, Aristotle and Seneca, speak
of a country in the Western Ocean, which would scarcely be
likely to be the distant Americas; and I think we may accept
those legends as to a land existing in what is now the Atlan-
tic Ocean at about the period discussed in § 4, remembering
that after all legend is oral history and starts with some found-
ations. This land, stretching from Florida, probably included
above-sea portions of Europe and of Africa, the latter supposed
to be the birth-place of the Adamites; (see note, end cap.
XX., lib. ii). All theories as to what was land and what was
water at those remote epochs must be more or less suppositious,
and as geological results are not at all analogous we cannot
say for certain what has been, and we may remember Darwin's
words: — "I look upon the geological record as a history of
the world imperfectly kept and written in a changing dialect;
of this history we possess the last volume alone, relating to
only two or three countries, of this volume only a short chapter
here and there has been preserved, and of each page only here
and there a few lines."

447

ATLANTIS.

>/ 3. — Truly, an examination of the bed of the Atlantic Ocean
does not seem to indicate a sunken land over which a sea more
or less shallow flows. Indeed we learn that, from the appear-
ance of the continuity of animal life on the Atlantic sea-bed
from the Cretaceous epoch to the present time, that the great
basin was practically the same as now at that far back later
Secondary period ; but although Sir Chas. Lyell points out the
apparent fact of volcanic formation in a deep ocean, there
are eminent naturalists who hold the theory that the Madeiras,
Azores and Canaries are the last remaining points of a great
submerged land connecting them with North Africa and the
West of Europe. The earliest eruption according to Sir Chas.
Lyell would have taken place in the later Miocene period,
which would correspond with my theory as to the period of
Atlantis (g 4).

(I; 4. — The theories as to the period of Atlantis, the Glacial
epoch, and the evolution and creation of Man, are mutually
dependent upon one another, and can hardly be separated.

I place Atlantis in the Pliocene epoch, just before that of
the Glacial, by these arguments : i , the creation of Adam ;,
2, the hlood.

I. The creation of Man is mentioned in two places, Gen.
i. 26, and ii. 7 ; and in this second place he receives the breath
of life and becomes a living soul. This man was Adam ;
Gen. ii. 8. But there were men before Adam ; and as there
is too much in the evolution theory to be overlooked, as we
shall see later, (^ 23), we may remember that Prof. Ernst
ILxckel says that the period during which the evolution of the
anthropoid apes into ape-like men took place was probably the
last part of the Tertiary period, the Pliocene age, or perhaps
the Miocene, its forerunner. Then, I think, these pre-Adamite
men having sufficiently evolved from a lower form to surpass
all other animals in the needful artribiites, a perfect man was
created, of what powers we are not fully informed : and this
would be at the end of the Pliocene epoch. And, says A. W.
Buckland, in full support of my theory of there being such a
land of Atlantis at such a period submerged by a cataclysm
of the Glacial epoch following, " the missing links between men
and apes, if existent, probably lie deep down in oceanic mud,
and therefore their discovery is more than improbable ; for if
we would trace man back to his origin, we must imagine a
world geographically quite unlike that we inhabit." Then,

448

APPENDIX.

when the Adamites increased and multiplied and the beauty
of their daughters tempted the sons of God to stray, so that
all became confusion, the cold winds ushered in that tremen-
dous change which passed over the world, and the land of the
ancient legends was erased by the waters of the Flood.

2. I take this great cataclysm as one of the results of
such a change as the Glacial epoch, following the Pliocene,
and again I quote Buckland in support. In his "Anthropological
Studies" he gives a list of French and English remains of
animals found in caves, seeming to show continental condi-
tions . . . and "with the exception of the mammoth, beaver, and
reindeer, the whole fauna seems to show a climate warmer than
the present. If then we take this fauna to represent a contin-
ental period, one of upheaval, we are lead to a conclusion
contrary to most geologists — that the Glacial period was one of
subsidence, that as the land became elevated, so did the temper-
ature rise also, so as to become suitable to the manuals of
tropical climes, whilst the reindeer and beaver, which, it may
be remarked, are few in number in English caves, may repre-
sent the vanishing fauna of a; past era of Arctic cold

Whether the caverns were occupied in pre- or inter-Glacial times
it is difficult to decide ; but it is certain that they were fre-
quented by Pleistocene animals, and by man, before the character-
istic Glacial deposits of this area were accumulated.

The natural conclusion is therefore that the caverns were
occupied by an early Pleistocene fauna, and by man, anterior
to the great submergence indicated by the high-level marine
sands, and therefore also before the deposition of the so-called
great upper boulder clay of this area. As there is no evidence
against such a view, it may even be ligitimately assumed that
the ossiferous remains and the flint implements are of an earlier
date than Glacial deposits found in this area."

\ 5. — It would appear analogous reasoning that the terrible
catastrophe which would agree as to period with all that I have
stated should be caused by a vast change over the world, (see
note, p. 323, lib. iii). Before that we cannot tell what it was
like, but it was different in many ways, climatic as well as
<• geographically quite unlike that we inhabit." For Buckland
says — " Another curious fact which has attracted much attention
of late is, that recent Arctic explorations have proved incontest-
ably that a mild semi-tropical climate once existed within the
Arctic circle, for not only have coal and coral been found

449 '9

ATLANTIS.

within the most northerly lands discovered, but the fossil flora
of these lands is found to include plants semi-tropical in character,
and which could not thrive or produce seeds with the amount
of light now received in those regions, even if they could by
increase of habit have borne a considerable increase of cold."
The Arctic regions would now indeed seem to be passing
through their first Glacial epoch.

I 6. — Thus Buckland. And that the Flood was a very real
and very terrible event is supported by Lenormant in his "Les
Origines de THistoires", the translation of which I give: "The
long review, which we have just read, warrants our affirmation
that the story of the Deluge is a universal tradition in every
branch of humanity, with the exception, however, of the black
race. But a remembrance everywhere, so precise and so similar,
cannot be that of a myth capriciously invented ; no myth, religious
or cosmogonic, presents this universal character. It must be
the memory of a real, and terrible, event, which so powerfully
impressed itself upon the mind of the ancestors of our race as
never to be forgotten by their descendants. This cataclysm
took place near the primal cradle of humanity. See note, end,
cap. XX., lib. ii.

§ 7. — What pre-Adamite man was like we do not know, but
believe him to have been a huge ape-Hke creature, similar to
those of cap. viii., lib. ii. Of such probably was Cain afraid
(Gen. vii., 14). Although of course the family of Adam by this
time would by itself have comprised a great mumber of people —
Dr. Kinns thinks 20,000 01, and of such were probably the
mysterious Zuzim, Rephaim, Emim, Horim, Avim and Anakim
of Palestine encountered by the Israelites.

In America, too, we learn of the Quinames or giants, who
occupied the valley of Mexico before the arrival of the Nohoa
tribe of the Olmecs, and dwelt in the mountains around for cen-
turies afterwards. According also to a legend La Puebla was
inhabited by giants at the time of the arrival of Quetzalcohuatl,
and that the pyramids of Cholullan had been built by them an
unknown time back.

These being pre-Adamites would show that the Flood was
no more universal than it had need to be, and was probably
only for the purpose of blotting out a race whose dreadful
powers overran proper limits.

X. "(jraven in the Rock," Vol. I., p. 86.

450

APPENDIX.

'i 8. — On the long and short skull theory — dolichocephalic — and
brachycephalic — French anthropologists of this school hold the
origin of man to be in the Pliocene or even Miocene ages to allow
time for the two types ; although authority for this is doubtful (and
see § 1 6.) But Buckland tells us that implements of Man are found
associated with the bones of extinct mammalia which carry back his
antiquity with certainty to the close of the Glacial period, if not
to its commencement. Agassiz estimates human remains found
in the Florida reef to be 10,000 yrs. old; and Mr. Dowler found
a skeleton beneath four buried forests in the delta near New
Orleans said to be 50,000 yrs. old. Man's association with the
mammoth would take him back to the Pliocene group.

§ 9. — Concerning archaic Man we read in The Races of the
Old World that the mind is lost in astonishment in looking
back on such a vast antiquity of human beings. A tribe of
men in existence hundreds of thousands of years before any of the
received dates of the Creation 1 Savages who hunted, with
their flint-headed arrows, the gigantic elk of Ireland and the
buffalo of Germany, or who fled from the fierce tiger of France,
or who trapped the immense clumsy mammoth of northern
Europe. Who were they? we ask ourselves in wonder. Was
there with Man as with other forms of animal hfe, a long and
gradual procession from the lowest condition to a higher, till
at length the world was made ready for a more developed
human being, and the Creator placed the first of the present
family of man upon the earth? Were those European bar-
barians of the Drift period a primeval race, destroyed before
the creation of our own race, and lower and more barbarian
than the lowest of the present inhabitants of the world? Or,
as seems more probable, were those mysterious beings — the
hunters of the mammoth and the aurochs — the earliest pro-
genitors of our own family, the childish fathers of the human
race?

As says Sir Thomas Browne: —

The greater part must be content to be as though they had
not been : to be found in the register of God, not in the records
of men. The number of the dead long exceedeth all that shall
live. The Night of Time far surpasseth the day, and who
knoweth the Equinox?

§ 10. — Again Buckland: — "We see everywhere primitive man,
a naked savage, devoid of every art except those necessary to

451

ATLANTIS.

self-preservation, his first improvements being the manufacture
of implements of war and the chase. Man in this condition
would seem to have spread gradually over the whole earth, for
his relics are found everywhere, and his descendants, still in
the same state of utter barbarism, are found in many outlying
lands which have been cut off by changes in the conformation
of the land from communication with races who have gradually
acquired civilization ; and may also be traced in low and outcast
tribes down-trodden by conquering hordes."

This is so, but we do not know what those primitive men
were like, but they were not the sons of Adam with whom the
angels mingled. They were probably, as is the increasing
opinion, of the Australoid type, spreading from a now submerged
centre, which type may be traced in many of the most ancient
remains found ; and of whom we read in " Adam and the
Adamite" that the difference between the European and the
Austral negro is such as to make the latter appear scarcely
human at all. See § 14.

§ 1 1 . — But as there were human beings before xA.dam, and our
human race to-day is no differently constructed to any animal,-
except in manner consequent upon environment, we may take
it, I thmk, that the creation of Adam was a moral and not
physical, with a consequent immense improvement. Man, as
the physical animal, is the same, and it is pointed out that the
practical identity of gesture signs among races so unlike as the
English and Australians indicate extreme closeness of mental
similarity throughout the human species.

§ 12. — •! see nothing in Man — except from a moral stand-point —
to warrant any claim to an especial creation. As a primeval
animal he did not equal the ant or the bee in organized intel-
lect, and there is reason to believe that he had no speech.
Adam appears to have been endowed with the gift, as also
God-like perceptions, and to him was given the naming of
animals.

Man is distinctly an animal, apart from his moral perceptions :
in his passions and appetites and propagation he is no better
than the lower orders. He has the organs of speech, but so
has the parrot, and the parrot with the perceptions of Adam
would speak. Man is the animal best fitted for the impress of
God — as an animal he may have been as formidable as the
gorilla in a long-past time that has obliterated all traces of him.

452

APPENDIX.

§ 13.— The great anatomist, Prof. Huxley, tells us that there
"is no justification for placing man in a distinct order" from
apes, and St. George Mivart says : — " By universal consent apes
are placed in the highest rank of all brutes, and excepting man,
are generally taken to be the most perfect animals of the mam-
malian class. It may be questioned, however, whether, if the
animal man had never existed, this place would be assigned
them by an observing intelligence. The half-apes, or Lemurs,
commonly placed in the same order with them, are certainly
inferior mammals ; and it might be contended that the perfection
of the mammalian type is rather to be found in the Felidce,
by reasoning analogous to that by which it might also be con-
tended that birds (with their differentiated limbs, perfect cir-
culating and respiratory systems, acute sense organs, complex
instincts, and teachableness) are really the highest of all ver-
tebrate animals, and represent the vertebrate type of structure
carried to the highest degree of perfection yet attained."

§ 14. — With reference to § 1 1 we again quote Buckland: — "If
we are to maintain a belief in the unity of the human race,
we must suppose them to have crept to their present position
with the singular and ancient fauna and flora of that far-off
land" — Australia — "from a common centre, at a period when
Australia formed part oi a vast continent since submerged.
There are many who hold the belief that in this submerged
continent was the cradle of the human race ; that there, beneath
a tropical or semi-tropical sky, some tribe allied to, but not
identical with the present anthropoid apes, (who, it may be
observed, seem all to radiate from a point of which this buried
land would be the centre), gradually developed into man, at
first only one step removed from the brutes, but slowly advancing
in the arts which distinguish men, and that in the Australians
we see the first steps of that development checked from further
progress by gradual isolation, consequent upon the slow sub-
mergence of the continent of which it once formed a part.

§ 15.— I do not think there was any gradual advance in arts,
any more than there is among animals of to-day ; and I take it
as probable that the simple evolution of life and capacities for
enjoying it stop short at that which only the gift of moral per-
ceptions to Adam could give. I fully believe in the evolution
of the animal Man, and I think the peculiar idea of descent from
a totetn points to a knowledge, or theory, of such an advancement.

453

ATLANTIS.

g 1 6. — With regard to the two forms of skulls found in connec-
tion with the earliest human remains known, a curious fact is
noticed by M. Hovelacque in his work entitled " Notre Ancetre."
He writes — "a very striking fact is this, the anthropomorphic
apes of Africa, (gorilla, and chimpanzee) are dolichocephalic,
as are the African negroes and the Bushmen ; whilst the anthropo-
morphics of the extreme East are brachycephalic, as are the
negritos of the Andaman Isles, the inhabitants of the interior
of the peninsula of Malacca, and of certain parts of Melanesia."

Ruckland thinks that this might denote some local causes,
tending to the production of a dolichocephalic type in Africa,
and of a brachycephalic in Asia ; although he advances the fact
that the strongly marked brow-ridges so prominent in the gorilla
and chimpanzee, and apparently characteristic of the earliest
known palaeolithic races, as also of the extinct Tasmanians, and
in a less degree of the Australian and Papuan of to-day,
are not found in the orang-hutan of Asia, which has a broad,
flat face, to a certain extent comparable with the mongol dwelling
in the same land.

§ 17. — With moral perceptions and imagination man far surpassed
the other animals of Earth, becoming their head, and triumphing
in organized cooperation over disunited and ignorant efforts.

§ 18. — " I. It happened after the sons of man had multiplied
in these days, that daughters were born to them elegant and
beautiful.

" 2. And when the angels, the sons of heaven, beheld them,
tliey became enamoured of them.

"3. And they took wives, each choosing for himself; whom
they began to approach, and with whom they cohabited, teaching
them sorcery, incantations, and the dividing of roots and trees ....
and the women conceiving brought forth giants." (" Bk. of
Enoch," Archbishop Lawrence, 3rd Ed. pp. 5 — 6).

^ 19.— Either it was that in olden times supernatural visitations
were frequent, or the psychic perceptions of Man were keener;
see Gen. 19, and many more examples. Certainly "the children
of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of
light," which would apparently show that one perception or
the other must be paramount, but there can be no overpower-
ing combination. This being so, our Saviour appeared in earthly
form to conquer Earth, being, as the Angels of Atlantis, an

454

APPENDIX.

incarnated spirit. We cannot discuss here the fact, stated and
legendary, of carnal conception by mental stimulation, nor argue
"the adaptable life of all spirits" of cap. x., lib. i, wherein all
perceptions mingle.

g 20. — In consideration of the fact that the physical atoms of
Man, the Earth, and the Planets are the same, it is not perhaps
so very extraordinary that under some conditions the mind of
man should conceive strange ideas of analogy. We see in our-
selves the seasons of the year manifested, and our written
symbols of speech probably originated in natural figures, as
J L 1 r — parts of the square of Orion, — and the mystic alphabet
contained by || and = which, crossed, contain nine spaces ft. A
volume could be written upon the relation of human and world atoms,
and the curious soul-perceptions of the inwardness of everything,

§ 2 1 . — ^J. Muehleisen Arnold thinks the question worth considering
as to whether the fall of angels did not tend to materialization
of some sort, and if this is so, then Man, led by his perceptions,
would move in inverse ratio, and when the superhuman had
entered into his nature we may believe his destruction was
necessary. And it is necessary to consider the majesty of years
of the antediluvian Adamites, which, together with supernatural
perceptions, would bring a vast experience that generations of
ordinary men could not attain to now.

§ 22. In regard to Creation versus Evolution it may be well
remembered that originally the word of Genesis i, "to create"
meant "to carve"; which would indicate gradual perfection of
form from a shapeless mass ; but it is not fully considered I
think that there is as much wonder in Life as in its manifes-
tation, and in different forms evolving slowly and marvellously
from one simple principle. Each form is but the same principle
adapted by its shape and powers to its environment; life is
discovered in snow, in hot sand, in calcined lava, in brine, in
ice, in hot vapour of 210' f., and in hot water.

Agassiz says the Evolution theory is a mistake, Haeckel that
the idea of Creation is wholly unscientific. He says, speaking
of Darwin's doctrine: — In place of an arbitrary act of Creation,
we have a necessary law of Evolution. By this the wide-spread
incarnation of the divine creative power, or anthropomorphism,
is done away with the false idea that the creative force shows
any likeness to human method of action.

455

ATLANTIS.

Lamarck thinks that organic species originated by the gradual
variation of a few spontaneous original forms ; and I believe
that the consensus of opinion leans to an aquatic origin. In
water Van Helmont searched for the principle of all things, and
every reptile, bird and mammal, (including man,) shows, in its
developmental stages, in the gill-slits perforating the throat, an
aquatic ancestry.

The foetal development of mammals is stated to be a swift
progress through the various adult forms of ancestry, stopping
at the baby mammal, and is certainly a most curious and
marvellous progress.

St. George Mivart says : — " We must suppose — and the evidence
for it is extremely strong — that the group of beasts, or 'mam-
mals,' arose or was developed from preceding reptiles.

" Reptiles are furnished with several successive series of
teeth in their jaws, and if the above theory is correct it is
extremely probable that the earliest forms of beasts had the
same. And so ' milk ' and ' permanent ' teeth are a remnant
of this.

" That such was their origin is confirmed by the fact that some-
times one or more of a third series of teeth become developed, "
while the careful observer Leche has seen traces of teeth pre-
ceding even the milk teeth,

"Thus in beasts actually of our own day, we have vestiges
of four successive series of teeth, though, with the rarest excep-
tions, it is only the second and third of them, (' milk ' and
'permanent',) which now come into existence."

Prof. H. G. Seeley says : — " There is no doubt that the
mammals have lost the composite structure of the lower jaw,
which is found in reptiles ; and reptiles have lost the greater
part of the arch of bones which in fishes intervenes between
the brain case and the lower jaw, if their structures are inherited
from one group to another".

There are very strong arguments for and against the theory
of Evolution, and Lamarck's is. one that admits the difificulty
of the single form of ancestor. We take the moneron, the
lowest form of life, a microscopic mass of protoplasm. The
offspring by natural selection evolve into a higher form; but
throughout countless centuries some must remain monera pure
and simple, as they are to-day. Or are these latter beings ever
evolved from something lower?

Observing clear analogies, and particularly the foetal develop-
ment, I think, despite a few arguments to the contrary, that

456

APPENDIX.

animals certainly have evolved ; but whether from one or more
original forms I should not like to hazard, although I do
not see why one Life-germ would not be as good to argue
from as several, and up to the point of life where Adam was
endowed with moral perceptions and governed by Reason, I
think that survival of the fittest was the only and improving
law of earth and earth-life.

I think it probable that animal life was pretty evenly distri-
buted over all the world at one time, or that the various species
moved by epochs all over the world and are nor all peculiar
to one spot of earth. The Kangaroo would appear to have
been at one period as widespread as the primeval Trilobite,
and England the home of animals now inhabiting Africa. If
Australia were joined to Asia at one time, the glacial epoch
might have stocked it with a few forms and cut it off from
the mainland. Buckland observes that Madagascar, although
lying close to the African continent, yet possesses a fauna and
flora more nearly resembling S. America. Wallace, however,
does not regard this as denoting that Madagascar and S, America
have ever been united by direct land communication, but that
both have been peopled from a common source, the intermediate
links having been destroyed, or rather superseded by more
modern forms ; that is to say that the forms now found in S. Ame-
rica and Madagascar have once been very widely spread, and
have since become restricted to the regions where they are
now found.

§ 23. — In considering the possible manifestation of the Creator
and the marvels of creation that we cannot comprehend, it
always occurs to me that the tale of the Cheese-mites is one of
of the most inspired parables that has ever been uttered as to
the incomprehensibiHty of the incomprehensible. As it does
not seem to me to be well known, it may not be out of place
to repeat it here.

There was once a colony of Cheese-mites, who after a time
began to manifest a wish to know what their Httle world of Cheese
was made of and whence it came. All sorts of ideas were
advanced and explorers searched and excavated in all directions ;
great meetings were held, at which the latest scientific theories
were expounded as to fortuitous conglomeration of atoms or
instantaneous creation, while there were many dogmas concern-
ing the platter upon which it rested. A long time they strove,
and arrived at the most brilliant ideas with convincing earnestness,

457

ATLANTIS.

yet were not satisfied. For, is the tremendous ending, all their
wisdom could not conceive a Cow.

At many periods of history the line between Revelation and
Imagination has been cut away, and all the records of the
grandest history of earth, the Bible, have been Hghtly put down
to the latter. It is to the modern tendency that Mr. Gladstone
refers, as a state of things " peculiar and perhaps without
example, in which multitudes of men call into question the
foundations of our reHgion and the prerogatives of our sacred
books, without any reference to either their capacity or their
opportunities for so grave an undertaking."

Imagination could not have compiled a history that every
discovery proves, and after every great attack the Bible remains
the same and triumphant. J. Muehleisen Arnold, in his preference
to "Genesis and Science", says respecting the theories of a
number of the leading naturalists, physicists and theologians of
the continent, among whom such well-known names as Cuvier,
Arago, Pasteur, Agassiz, Kepler, Liebig, Humboldt, Virchow,
Burmeister, and Mtiller appear: — "where I could not adopt their
arguments or make their conclusions my own, I endeavoured to
show, from what are deemed authoritative statements, how great
is the confusion among themselves, and how utterly without
weight and value, in consequence, must be the assertions hazarded
by scientists against the book of Genesis."

"Theological ethnology" is referred to in a manner calculated
to suggest to the public mind a somewhat fanciful study ; and
although we may perhaps agree that it is an easy way of
disposing of an argument to put down to a miracle that which
we cannot comprehend, yet I fancy that too little account is
admitted of a divine power that was undoubtedly more exhibited
in earlier times than now. Do we believe the tales of the
witch of Endor, the Incarnation of our Lord, the miracle at
Shinar, and the wonders of the New Testament? Why should
we give to the inspired writings every meaning but the stated
ones, and imagine all round the facts given us?

We are reminded that, "with the common people familiarity
breeds contempt; they venerate that only which they do not
understand; it is darkness and not light which moves their
wonder and excites their awe; ' and so many adopt different
religions because each satisfies his own peculiar conceptions. An
evolutionist and creationist each inversely scoff at the idea of
a miracle being performed at the birth of man, or at his being
the result of evolution

458

APPENDIX.

Dr. Schrader takes all the old cosmogonical legends as myths,
and thinks the Hebrews learnt of the Flood in Ur of the
Chaldees. But, says that great, accomplished scholar, Mr.
Gladstone, referring to the tablets of Berosus, ..." the Bible
story, more sparing in its details, but far broader and more
direct in the terrible lesson it conveys, may reasonably have
been judged to have come down from the source with the
smallest amount of variation in essentials from the original.
It is here as everywhere. 'The wisdom of this world', the
race favoured with stable institutions, and with intellectual
development," —the Chaldeans— " yet fails in the firmness of
its hold, and the clearness of its view, where the appreciation
of the tremendous moral lesson is concerned; while the race
of wandering shepherds, who are but the ' babes and sucklings '
of intelligence, yet transmit that lesson in a type so fresh and
clear that our Lord has only to quote and enlarge without
correcting it, and so to launch it anew into the world as a
solemn chapter of His gospel teaching."

The first words of Genesis— In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth — must have been communicated to
man, or he might well have imagined that they were always
there. And the science of to-day, that argues by analogy, may
have been — nay, probably zaas — first directed on its course
by that statement.

The Bible, economic of facts, appears to be almost solely
the history, not altogether, as has been stated, of the race of
Adam, but of the Hebrew race ; and I think that in considering
archaic man, we are too prone to place undue importance on
the Israelites being sprung direct from Adam without any
evolution from a pre- race.

We hear nothing of the Cainites after the Flood, from which
point the history runs nearly exclusively to and from Abraham.
If the history of the former were continued with, it might
develop — who knows — into Mongol history. Up to the Flood
the Cainites took the lead in development of arts. No hint is
given us of any glacial period, and indeed we find no meteoro-
logical observations save as incidental to miracle, nor mention of
any great cataclysm but the Deluge. The important sect of the
Essenes is not mentioned, although holding as influential a
position as the Pharisees and Sadducees. Neither Moses nor the
prophets make any allusion to the Negro, although the Israelites
in Egypt must have been brought into contact with him.
Daughters are not mentioned in the early genealogies of the Bible

459

ATLANTIS.

except in a bare statement that they were born to the patriarchs,
and with the exception of the sister of Tubal-Cain, (Gen, iv. 22.),
Even the wives of Cain and Seth are not named.

Ouibblers take exception to a few isolated statements of Holy
Writ as inaccurate, and particularly such as deal with chronology.
The well-known and oft-disputed words, " And the evening
and the morning were the first day," are a most fruitful source
of argument; but to me it seems to perfectly express the
dimness of the embryo formation progressing onward to the
accomplished event, which was ''very good." It will be observed
that it is always the evening and the morning, not the morning
and the evening of the modern ''day."

We also learn, (Mr. W. L. R. Gates,) that "before the in-
vention of letters the memory of past transactions could not be
preserved beyond a few years with any tolerable degree of
accuracy .... The invention of the art of writing afforded the
means of substituting precise and permanent records for vague
and evanescent tradition .... but writing was practised many
centuries before historians began to assign dates to the events
they narrated .... Reckoning by cycles, as among the Ghinese,
the Saros of the Ghaldeans, the Olympiad of the Greeks, the*
Indiction of the Romans" is an old form of chronology, and "it
suffices, therefore, to point out that the so-called era of the
world is a purely conventional and arbitrary epoch."

The systems of solar and lunar chronology and reckoning
by epochs is very misleading, and the early chronology of the
Bible cannot be reckoned in years of time — the evening and
morning periods of Genesis are grand in their sublime idea of
an uncounted time of awakening.

The Bible statements are clear. It is no accidental formation
that goes on before our eyes, as some strenuous arguments
would have us imagine. As Mr. Arnold says, " It will be
quite as easy to imagine the English Bible to have resulted
from the accidental shuffling together of type, paper, and ink,
the great book coming forth self-made, after myriads of failures,
in its present perfection as it can possibly be to assume that
certain structures are the fortuitous production of nature or
matter."

Mr. Gladstone says : — " It is doubt, and not belief, of all the
things received, which ought in all cases to be put upon its

defence, and to show its credentials Untested doubt,

which often makes a lodgment in our minds, is a tenant without
a title, a dangerous and in the main an unlawful guest.

460

APPENDIX.

..." Obviously, almost mathematically, the increased powers
of worldly attraction disturb the balance of our condition, unless
and until they are countervailed by increased powers of un-
worldly attraction and elevation."

On Max Miiller's statement that without language there cannot
be thought, the great statesman says:

... "There are in human nature a multitude of undeveloped
{so to speak) embryonic forces of impressions received from without,
and finding a congenial soil within, which never ripen to
maturity, or make their way into articulate speech, or obtain
a defined place in our consciousness ; and yet these germs of
thought may ripen, though not into propositions, yet into acts.

" My belief is that at this moment these unspoken and un-
tested movements not so much of mind, as of appetite, or, to
use a milder word, of propensity, pressing upon mind, these
not thoughts, but rudiments of thoughts, are at work among
us, and within us; and that, were they translated or expanded
into words, their sense would be no more and no less than the
old vulgar sense of those who in every age have held that
after all this world is the only world we securely know; and
that the only labour that is worth labouring, the only care worth
caring, the only joy worth enjoying, are the labour, the care,
and joy that begin and end with it."

The italics are mine. The meaning, in a nutshell, is what
so many of us feel, that we preach God with our hps, but our
careless actions betray the consciousness given by those " embry-
onic forces" that v^^ feel the earth and nought besides.

... " The nobly candid admission of Mr. Darwin {Analogy
part ii., chap, vii)," says Mr. Gladstone, " respecting the possible
atrophy, through disuse, of the mental organs on which our
higher tastes depend," would blind our eyes to things super-
human, and "Among those organs I cannot but include the
organ of belief."

461

University of California

SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY

Return this material to the library

from which it was borrowed.

fpcn J n.nnV

JAN 1 8 i990

[ojohn^

juius'a^ REc

OCT 0 6 1997

RECEIVEC

JUL 2 4 1997

OCT 11 19^

SB* ocTOi^

■•^'' ■''• ■'^■•^'''■■'^^^^M

IllilJIlll Hill ililliiili lilt'
A 000 493 931 0

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Atlantis. The book of the angels"

See other formats