Yet all this glittering, gleaming brilliancy was subdued by the dimness of the light, and the organ-loft shone out almost as from a mist of unreal glamour. She paused beside the open door and looked behind. I stood and looked upon it too. “What wealth! what countless millions have been spent on this,” I murmured. She laughed; and when she laughed it seemed as if the jewels gleamed more magically. “Yes,” she affirmed, “countless millions have been spent. It is the work of ages, and has been built to the glory and praise of God Eternal.” Then she turned away, and I turned too and gazed within the doorway. A large hall of great expanse met our eyes. From its sides many doors led off, and passages, and here and there on the right side high windows opened on the gardens we had left. I had hoped on leaving the dim church to throw off the deep depression that hung round me, but it was hopeless. From without there came the sound of singing birds, the splash of fountains, a gentle music, but I recognised they might as well be silent for all the joyousness they brought to me. The beauties of the hall were lost except to my intellect. I regarded them calmly and with an interest that had dulled. Exquisite workmanship in furniture met my eye at every turn. The painted ceilings, the polished floor of rich mosaic, the easeful chairs that were in themselves like flattering apologies for graceful broad-armed thrones, the squares of rich-coloured carpet, the inlaid tables with their fine carved legs, the couches piled with softest cushions, the massive fireplaces filled with living coal, met my eye and left merely the impression of a dream. Yet I strove to find some pleasure, but could find none. From this she led the way into an apartment which was smaller and more adaptable for private life. Its beauty was like all the rest, on the richest, finest scale. She beckoned me toward a sofa by the fireplace, in which the flames leapt lightly, and with a sudden feeling of weariness I threw myself down on it. “You are tired, stranger,” she said softly. “Sleep, sleep, and wake refreshed. The journey has been long, longer than mortal thought can reckon.” And then, overcome with weariness and exhaustion, I slept, and for the time remembered nothing more. CHAPTER II