"O Eve, I am unhappy," said Adam, after a silence; "I do not know what has come upon the world. Last night when you crept into mine arms I was troubled; never before have I been troubled while you were with me; but last night, when you touched me, I trembled. I was unhappy, and I did not know why I was unhappy; but I feared to lose you, Eve. Though I touched you it seemed that you were far away. You were but a child when I first saw you with your mother; and I was twelve years old. It was last moon that we came together again; in the day that the djinns came down from the mountains and slew our kinsfolk. I was pasturing the sheep, and as I came back, leading my flock with my pipe, I saw the dying embers and the dead bodies. Then you called to me, and we fled together. Do you remember? That night we slept in the desert. I did not tremble when you touched me. You will never leave me, Eve? We are alone in the world. There are only ourselves, and the angels and the djinns." "The djinn who came to us yesterday has made us unhappy," said Eve. "He has withered the trees and made the tops of the mountains white." "He was not a djinn," said Adam; "he was an angel. He smelt of roses, his raiment was wonderful, he was clothed in glory." "What is that noise?" said Eve. "What is that pillar of cloud that goeth up out of the earth?" And they saw in the distance the army of Merodach, and, being afraid, they fled. "It is a pleasant site," said Merodach, as the elephants entered the valley; "the autumnal landscapes have always a certain melancholy which charms me." "The fallen leaves in the valleys are like fallen light," said Mekerah; "that slender birch flamed yellow a moment ago, but, at a touch, went out in a shower of sparks." "It must be delightfully cool in summer," said the Queen Parysatis. "The best time is the spring," said the Princess Candace. "The almond and cherry blossom will be out then," said Mekerah; "these slopes will be all pink and white, with petals drifting in the wind. The hyacinths and daffodils will be out then; and the red flower of Tammuz will fall upon the river." "I should like to come here in the spring, and go naked, and live in a cabin of boughs like Adam," said the Princess Candace. Adam could not be found. Merodach ordered that his men should encircle the whole valley, and drive whatever game there was toward him. "In this way, if he is still here we shall find him; and in any case we shall have some sport."