here." Many wise men puzzled in vain over the meaning of the
inscription; but at last a certain priest observed that
whenever the sun shone on the figure, the shadow of the finger
was discernible on the ground at a little distance from the
statue. Having marked the spot, he waited until midnight, and
then began to dig. At last his spade struck upon something
hard. It was a trap-door, below which a flight of marble steps
descended into a spacious hall, where many men were sitting in
solemn silence amid piles of gold and diamonds and long rows
of enamelled vases. Beyond this he found another room, a
gynaecium filled with beautiful women reclining on richly
embroidered sofas; yet here, too, all was profound silence. A
superb banqueting-hall next met his astonished gaze; then a
silent kitchen; then granaries loaded with forage; then a
stable crowded with motionless horses. The whole place was
brilliantly lighted by a carbuncle which was suspended in one
corner of the reception-room; and opposite stood an archer,
with his bow and arrow raised, in the act of taking aim at the
jewel. As the priest passed back through this hall, he saw a
diamond-hilted knife lying on a marble table; and wishing to
carry away something wherewith to accredit his story, he
reached out his hand to take it; but no sooner had he touched
it than all was dark. The archer had shot with his arrow, the
bright jewel was shivered into a thousand pieces, the
staircase had fled, and the priest found himself buried
alive.[49]

[49] Compare Spenser's story of Sir Guyon, in the "Faery
Queen," where, however, the knight fares better than this poor
priest. Usually these lightning-caverns were like Ixion's