shining in the moonlight. The sacred song of the priestess was finished.
Now she was praying aloud, slowly, and in a clear voice, so that Aziel
could hear and understand her; praying from her very heart, not to the
idol before her, however, but to the moon above.

"O Queen of Heaven," she said, "thou whose throne I see but whose face
I cannot see, hear the prayer of thy priestess, and protect me from the
fate I fear, and rid me of him I hate. Safe let me dwell and pure, and
as thou fillest the night with light, so fill the darkness of my soul
with the wisdom that I crave. O whisper into my ears and let me hear the
voice of heaven, teaching me that which I would know. Read me the riddle
of my life, and let me learn wherefore I am not as my sisters are; why
feasts and offerings delight me not; why I thirst for knowledge and not
for wealth, and why I crave such love as here I cannot win. Satisfy my
being with thy immortal lore and a love that does not fail or die, and
if thou wilt, then take my life in payment. Speak to me from the heaven
above, O Baaltis, or show me some sign upon the earth beneath; fill up
the vessel of my thirsty soul and satisfy the hunger of my spirit. Oh!
thou that art the goddess, thou that hast the gift of power, give me,
thy servant, of thy power, of thy godhead, and of thy peace. Hear me,
O Heaven-born, hear me, Elissa, the daughter of Sakon, the dedicate
of thee. Hear, hear, and answer now in the secret holy hour, answer by
voice, by wonder, or by symbol."

The woman paused as though exhausted with the passion of her prayer,
hiding her face in her hands, and as she stood thus silent and
expectant, the sign came, or at least that chanced which for a while she
believed to have been an answer to her invocation. Her face was hidden,
so she could not see, and fascinated by her beauty as it appeared to
them in that unhallowed spot, and by the depth and dignity of her wild