altogether too contemptible to provoke even derision! Hyspiros a
traitor to the art he served and glorified? ... Hyspiros a
literary juggler and trickster? ... By the Serpent's Head! they
may as well seek to prove the fiery Sun in Heaven a common oil-
lamp, as strive to lessen by one iota the transcendent glory of
the noblest poet the centuries have ever seen!"

Warmed by enthusiasm, with his eyes flashing and the impetuous
words coursing from his lips, his head thrown back, his hand
uplifted, Sah-luma looked magnificent,--and Theos, to whose misty
brain the names of Oruzel and Hyspiros carried no positively
distinct meaning, was nevertheless struck by a certain
suggestiveness in his remarks that seemed to bear on some
discussion in the literary world that had taken place quite
recently. He was puzzled and tried to fix the precise point round
which his thoughts strayed so hesitatingly, but he could arrive at
no definite conclusion. The brilliant, meteor-like Sah-luma
meantime flashed hither and thither about the room, selecting
certain volumes from his loaded book-stands, and bringing them in
a pile, he set them on a small table by his visitor's side.

"These are some of the earliest editions of the plays of
Hyspiros"--he went on, talking in that rapid, fluent way of his
that was as musical as a bird's song--"They are rare and curious.
See you!--the names of the scribes and the dates of issue are all
distinct. Ah!--the treasures of poetry enshrined within these
pages! ... was ever papyrus so gemmed with pearls of thought and
wisdom?--If there were a next world, my friend,"--and here he
placed his hand familiarly on his guest's shoulder, while the
bright, steel-gray under-gleam sparkled in his splendid eyes--