dwelt in each, and felt the varied types of existence mingling their magnetic thought with mine; I could feel the struggling of worlds up to their goal thrill through my spirit; on the underside it was like the wail of one who has abandoned the upward conflict and plunged into the waters of oblivion; on its upper side it was like the fervour of souls who see through mists of life the elysium they have yearned for. I was conscious of the infinite tragedy being enacted upon each orb, and yet not near enough to see what destiny awaited it. I was drawn within the eddy of a new and loftier ambition; my spirit perceived stages of being within its reach, yet beyond all it had known; and it throbbed with new eagerness to rise above itself. Nothing could be more rapturous than the consciousness of this system beyond system, each with its own type of life and stage of spiritual aim, each with its peculiar medley of magnetic influence, each drawn into its own vortex of emotion and energy. A touch on my hand broke the spell, and I was down on earth again, exalted, yet knowing the contrast. It was Thyriel, who would remind me of my duty to my own being and to the state. I arose and moved out with her but she knew the ecstasy too well to break in on my dream, and led me out to the sea arcade, where I could hear the low rippling melody of the waves beneath and the faint music of the world of air. I turned my eyes up to the azure, and seemed to tread amongst the orbs that veiled their silver radiance in the blaze of noon. Out of my life, I am sure, the exaltation never wholly vanished. I had been among the living fountains of eternity. I had moved conscious of the birth of worlds, and known the throb that is a myriad of ages. Was this not to be kin with God, to know the all-grasping passion of a moment of divine life? Ever and again the greatness of the memory flamed out into conflagration within me, and I was then in the mood to make or conquer worlds; and never wholly out of my blood died the exaltation I had felt. CHAPTER XI A CATASTROPHE