Then did I take thee to me--oh, thou Beloved,
And hold thee fast, lest harm should come unto thee.
Ay, I did cover thine head with mine hair, lest the sun should
strike it;
And altogether was I thine, and thou wast altogether mine.
And so it went for a little space, till Time was in labour with
an evil Day;
And then what befell on that day? Alas! my Beloved, I know not!
But I, I saw thee no more--I, I was lost in the blackness.
And she who is stronger did take thee; ay, she who is fairer than
Ustane.
Yet didst thou turn and call upon me, and let thine eyes wander in
the darkness.
But, nevertheless, she prevailed by Beauty, and led thee down
horrible places,
And then, ah! then my Beloved----

Here this extraordinary woman broke off her speech, or chant, which was
so much musical gibberish to us, for all that we understood of what she
was talking about, and seemed to fix her flashing eyes upon the deep
shadow before her. Then in a moment they acquired a vacant, terrified
stare, as though they were striving to realise some half-seen horror.
She lifted her hand from Leo's head, and pointed into the darkness. We
all looked, and could see nothing; but she saw something, or thought she
did, and something evidently that affected even her iron nerves, for,
without another sound, down she fell senseless between us.

Leo, who was growing really attached to this remarkable young person,
was in a great state of alarm and distress, and I, to be perfectly
candid, was in a condition not far removed from superstitious fear. The