sky, and the waves of the sea were dancing in the golden light. A long
procession was winding down from the city to the shore to the sound of
flutes and pipes.

First came a great multitude of people carrying lamps and torches and
tapers in honour of the constellations of heaven; then a choir of
sweet-voiced boys and girls in snowy garments; and next a train of men
and women luminous in robes of pure white linen; these were the
initiates; and they were followed by the prelates of the sacred
mysteries; and behind them all walked the high priest, bearing in his
right hand the mystic rattle of Isis, and in his left hand the crown of
roses. By divine intervention, the crowd parted and made a way for me;
and when I came to the priest he held out the roses, and I ate them, and
was changed into a man. The people raised their hands to heaven,
wonder-stricken by the miracle, and the fame of it went out over all the
world. The priest initiated me into the mysteries of Isis and Osiris,
and I shaved my head, and entered the College of Pastors, and became a
servant of the high gods.

* * * * *




The Arabian Nights

Or, The Thousand and One Nights


There is as much doubt about the history of "The Thousand and