“In thy strength and wisdom, O Father-Mother, join Thou the heavens above with the earth below!” cried the people in response. Again the music swelled through the temple and the warrior-priests made use of their long spears to light the lamps. Yermah received the three-handled silver cup of humiliation from the high-priest Imos, and partook of its bitter contents. From him it passed to Oahspe, then to Orondo, Setos, Alcamayn, Ildiko, Rahula, Cezardis, Ben Hu Barabe, and Alcyesta and then on to every man and woman in the temple. The priests composed and arranged the music used in the temples; and now a choir chanted a funeral text from their sacred books, referring to the sinking in earlier cataclysms of the continents of Ruta and Daitya, which extended into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. These continents included the Azores, the Cape Verde and Grand Canary Islands, while the peaks of Teneriffe are all that is left of Poseidon’s kingdom. The latter, an island three hundred and fifty miles long and two hundred miles wide, contained the crystallization of ancient civilization, and had colonies in the four quarters of the globe. The history of this race is written in the public works of the ancient kingdoms; in their bridges crossing great rivers and swamps; in the highways leveling mighty mountains and uplifting plains; in the matchless gardens and aqueducts; in the beauty and splendor of the cities; in fabulous treasures of gold and silver; and, more than all, in the grandeur of the mighty pyramids, temples and obelisks erected and dedicated to the glorification of a Supreme Being. It was also written in the provident laws of the nation—in its progressive civic life, its happiness and its calm, delightful view of the world. The priests chanted: “The end of the Etherean column that extended to Kinevat, on the borders of the vortex of the earth, was made fast by the pressure of Thy wide heavens. “And the vertex closed in from the extreme end, and, lo, the earth was broken!” The people looked at each other and shuddered. They understood the significance of Orion’s Belt, and they knew, also, that the three hills overlooking the Golden Gate, where the waters had lately rushed through, typified one end of the Bridge of Kinevat. Some among them knew that this referred to initiation, but it was generally supposed that the mystery had reference to death. One variant of this allegory was personated in the heavens by the constellation of Orion. The three bright stars in his belt represented Will, Aspiration and Harmony. For this reason the Dorado was required to pray before a figure of Orion which was the official lares and penates of Iaqua. In the abstract, the statue symbolized the god-hood in man. As an image of his own higher self, it was a something on which Yermah could concentrate all of his thought-forces. * * * * *